Australia’s Rites of Passage

Authors

  • Rebecca Rankin University of New England

Keywords:

Rites of Passage, Schoolies Week,

Abstract

Australia in the Twentieth Century was, as it continues to be, a place of culture, diversity and history; many of its traditions were adopted and developed from its original British and European heritage and from the influences of various cultural migrant groups. The same can be said for Australia's rites of passage. This can be seen through our implementation of celebrations such as the Bar Mitzvah; the Samskara, a series of Sacraments in Hinduism; and First Confession, First Eucharist and Confirmation from Catholicism. At immediate glance, it might not seem that our nation has any specifically Australian rites of passage; however, a longer look a secular practices reveals that several, although most likely shared with other countries, have taken on a form that has allowed them to become part of our national identity over the last 200 years.

Author Biography

Rebecca Rankin, University of New England

c/- English Discipline, Communication, Media and Writing, School of Arts, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351.

References

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O' Shea, Helen, 'Kylie Does Her Deb’, Australian Folklore, 8, 100-111.

Ryan, J.S., Folklore Lecture Series 2010 (Armidale, NSW: University of New England, 2010).

Seal, G., The Hidden Culture, 2nd edn (Perth: Black Swan Press, 2001).

Various, Schoolies History <http://www.schoolies.org.au/history-of-schooliesweek.htm> [accessed 9 May 2010].

Williams, P., National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Alcohol, young persons and violence (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2001) <http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/0/9/E/`/`7BO9EO8DOI-F508-4FBI-85AB02A99OA17AE2%7DRPP35.pdf#pag~l~55> [accessed 9 May 2010].

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Published

2011-11-05