Hindu’s right of passage starts at birth. They have a large ceremony where honey is put in the child’s mouth and the name of a God or Goddess is whispered in their ear. After a couple of days the baby’s name is announced by the priest. The babies are usually named after a God or Goddess.During the first couple of years depending on the gender of the baby. A girl gets an ear piercing ceremony and the boy gets their first haircut showing a symbol of any wrongdoing in their past lives .
Another Rite of passage is the ceremony of the Sacred Thread is held during when the boy is still in his Adolescence it represents the rebirth or the initiation into the community. The boy has to be in the presence of a guru or a holy teacher and have his head shaved and be wrapped up in a saffron robe and renounce all of his material possessions and after he is given a piece of thread which is called the Unadorned Thread which is supposed to be symbolizing the interconnectedness of all things that represent several qualities such as: The power of Speech, Memory, Intelligence, Forgiveness, Steadfastness, Prosperity and Good Reputation
The ceremony ends with a fire sacrifice.
During marriage it’s always usually arranged by the parents but the children also have a say. The celebration can last several days. There are three main stages of the wedding. The first is Jayamalla where the bride’s parents welcome the groom and his family. Members of each family are introduced and the bride and groom exchange Jaymalla which are flowers and exchange meaningful words to each other
The second thing is Madhu-Parka where the groom is sat down in a specially decorated altar called mandap given a welcoming drink which is a mixture of milk,ghee,yogurt,honey and sugar.
The third thing is the exchange of gifts. The fourth there is the ceremony of vows. Then the couple walk several steps while reciting a prayer. The 1st step means food. 2nd is for strength, 3rd is for prosperity, the 4th is wisdom, the 5th progeny, the 6th is health, the 7th is friendship. Another is Surya Darshan where the couples for some odd reason look in the sun to be blessed with a creative life. They look in direction of the Dhurva to remain unshaken and steadfast. Finally the couple are blessed by elders and priest for a long and prosperous marriage.
Another Religion that has Life cycle rites is Judaism, The first rites is Circumcision it’s shown as a commitment and as a physical sign of the body. It’s usually held on the eighth day after the birth it is held in front of family and friends. Showing the community’s welcome of the newborn. Prayers and Benedictions are recited and the child is given a hebrew name. Now if the child that is born is a girl. The father is supposed to read from the jewish bible called the Torah on the first sabbath and then the name of the baby is announced.
Another rite is the Bat and Bar Mitzvah. The Bar Mitzvah is for the Boy of the family on his 13th birthday and even if he decides to celebrate it or not. He is now bounded to live by the commandments of the Torah. He has the responsibility of himself to read the Torah and the right to be required to go to full synagogue services in orthodoxy. Before the Bar Mitzvah he usually reads and studies the readings for about a year.
As for the Bat Mitzvah it’s held for a girl when she also turns 13 it’s the same thing as it is for a boy
Another Ritual is the weddings. It happens in two stages, the first is eruism and nisuin which means marriage ceremony. Eruisin means the woman is legally the wife of the groom and the groom gives the bride a marriage contract that is signed and is hanging somewhere in their room. It’s always usually customary that the bride and groom don’t see each other for about a week before the marriage ceremony. The bride is seated on a throne to receive her guests whereas the groom is surrounded by friends and family who toast him. The ceremony takes place under a canopy that’s held up by four poles. The groom then takes a ring and places it on the bride’s finger and then they are married according to jewish law. After the wedding for the first seven days friends and family make festive meals in honor of the bride and groom.
Another Religion is Sikh. To be in the Sikh community you have to be initiated into a ceremony called Khalsa which means Community of the Pure. To be in this community you have to follow 5 important things. The first is you cannot cut your hair, It means holiness you are following God’s will. The second is Kangha which is a small wooden comb in the hair it shows as a sign of cleanliness. The third is Kara which is a steel bracelet which shows that you are connected to God. The fourth is Kachera which is short cotton underwear it’s just something traditional. The last one is Kirpaan which is a sword meaning that you are protected. When a baby is born they are given a special type of prayer and Amrit which is a special type of drink is put in their mouth after that they are given a naming ceremony called Nam Karan. Where they randomly open a page and say a hymn and the first word of the sentence is their name. The name Singh which is Lion it means courageous is added to the boy’s name for the girls it’s Kaur which means Princess. All Sikhs must wear turbans. When the child turns 14 they get an Initiation ceremony which is called Dastaar Bandhi which means wearing of the first turban. They also learn the 5 things it means to be a Sikh after the ceremony they are blessed,prayed on and they join in on a meal together. When they get married they have a ceremony called Anand Karaj that is performed by a Guru, where scriptures are read from their bible called Granth Sahib it shows their commitment to one another. A group prayer is said to the couple and they sing religious songs.