Quinceañera

What is it?
Quinceañera is celebrated on the day of the fifteenth anniversary. This is a Spanish tradition that is more commonly celebrated in Central America and Mexico. It symbolizes the transition from girl to lady.

Quinceañera Customs
Celebration starts with mass in the church. The girl wears a full-length ball gown and carries a bouquet. After the mass, the guests are directed to the banquet hall, where the party will take place. The party lasts for several hours. Flowers, balloons, and decorations to match a birthday girl's dress are ubiquitous. The party will consist of dinner and dancing, but there are also a few special traditions that are part of the celebration, although these may vary by region. The quinceañera is celebrated on a grand scale and often proves to be very costly for the family. For this reason, extended family and good family friends usually donate money or help out with supplies needed for the party.

Traditions:
Chambelanes: This can be translated as "chamberlains", they are boys or young people who accompany the quinceañera and dance with her.
La última muñeca (Last Doll): The birthday girl is given a doll, which is considered her last doll, because after fifteen years she will be too old. As part of the ritual, she passes the doll to her sister or another younger member of the family.
El primer ramo de flores (first bouquet of flowers): the birthday girl is offered a bouquet of flowers, which is symbolically the first flowers presented to her in her youth.
Fifteen piñatas: A girl breaks fifteen small piñatas, one for each year of her life.
The celebration culminates in the cutting of the tiered birthday cake, while guests sing the traditional birthday song, Las Mañanitas, for the birthday girl.