Sweet Sixteen Birthday Tradition

Traditions and small rituals for the sweet sixteen birthdays include the father-daughter dance, changing of the shoes, the tiara ritual and the candle lighting ceremony.

The sweet sixteen party like a wedding is an American tradition to commemorate the passage from girl to woman, celebrated in the U.S. and Canada with anything from a casual party at home to an elaborate ball. Every family marks the sixteenth birthday with a different style, but the following ideas are a few of the most popular traditions that play a role in the sweet sixteen celebration.

Candle Lighting Ceremony

The candle-lighting ceremony is an old favorite that is seen in many coming of age traditions. It gives the child who is coming of age a chance to thank those who have played a major role in her or his life. At a sweet sixteen, there may be sixteen or seventeen candles (the last one for good luck). The first candle is lit by the girl's parents, and the second by siblings, if she has any. Traditionally, the next four candles are for other family members, and candles seven through sixteen are for friends. The fifteenth candle may be reserved for the girl's best friend and the sixteenth for her boyfriend or best male friend. The seventeenth candle, if she has one, is lit by the girl herself.

Shoe Changing Ceremony

The shoe ceremony is a great idea for a girl who wants to honor the bond with her father or the relationship between her and her grandfather. The sweet sixteen girl sits on a chair in the center of her guests while her father or grandfather brings a pair of high heeled shoes and ritually changes them for the flat shoes or slippers that she was wearing.

The heels are used as a symbol of transition into womanhood during the quince anos or fifteenth birthday coming of age celebrated by girls in the Hispanic community.

Tiara Ceremony

The tiara ceremony is very similar to the shoe ceremony, but uses a sparkling crown or tiara in place of the high heeled shoes. Some families do both rituals simultaneously, with a girl's grandfather bringing either the shoes or the tiara on a pillow while her father carries the other.

Father Daughter Dance

The father-daughter dance is a tradition that is also seen at weddings, where the bride's father hands her off ritualistically to the groom, her new husband. At a sweet sixteen, the father-daughter dance marks the change in a girl's relationship with her parents as she grows up and becomes an adult and less in need of their guidance and care.

Any or all of these traditions can be used to make the sweet sixteen birthday special and to signify the importance of a teen's growth into an adult.

Although the Sweet Sixteen party is usually for girls, some families try to do something similar for their sons too. They may throw huge parties with big birthday cakes, usually displaying the boys' interests.

A Tribute to Martyr of Twin Tower on 9-11

World Trade Center

Remembering the twin towers, largest towers of the world till September 11, 2001. In an attack on 9/11/2001, the twin tower was destroyed by some terrorist along with thousands of life. This was one of the biggest terrorists attack in the history of USA and the world.

World Trade Center was more than its signature twin towers; it was a complex of seven buildings on 16-acres, constructed and operated by the port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The towers, One and Two World Trade Center, rose at the heart of the complex, each climbing more than 100 feet higher than the silver mast of the Empire State Building.

Built in the 1970s, World Trade Center along with the 110-floor Twin Tower in New York City was designed to withstand normal fires and hurricane-force winds. According to some reports, engineers believed that even the impact of a Boeing 707 would not bring the towers. But no engineer could have prepared for the destruction caused on September 11, 2001.

On September 11, 2001 at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Time, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group Al-Qaeda-affiliated flew four hijacked Boeing 767 jet of American Airlines and slammed two of them into the twin towers of World Trade Center in New York and third plane to Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. When passengers attempted to take control of the fourth plane, it crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, preventing it from reaching its intended target in Washington, D.C.

The plane punctured the tower at floors 94 through 98, but the tower was not yet destroyed. After burning for 56 minutes, the south tower collapsed, followed a half-hour later by the north tower, with the attacks on the World Trade Center resulting in 2,753 deaths.

Tribute in Light

In August 2006, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the Port Authority of New York and New jersey began construction on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. A great Memorial does not make from stone, glass and steel. Architects and designers in New York City created an annual light show to honor September 11 victim. Twin beams of light from haunting "phantoms" of the buildings destroyed in the terrorist attacks. After that they plan to build a National Memorial & Museum on the be-half of September 11, 2001. The Memorial will be opened on September 11, 2011 and the Museum will be open in 2012. 

Let us remember and honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children murdered by terrorists in the horrific attack. Recognize the endurance of those who survived the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the compassion of all who supported us in our darkest hours. May the lives remembered, the deeds recognized, and the spirit reawakened be eternal beacons, which reaffirm respect for life, strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and inspire an end to hatred, ignorance and intolerance.

National 9-11 Museum

Ground Zero

Some Facts about Statue of Liberty

New Colossus and its famous last lines have become part of American history. Here is the sonnet in its entirety:

“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the people of the United States from the people of France in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution. Over the last 127 years, the Statue of Liberty has become an internationally-recognized symbol of freedom and democracy.

French Sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi Designed the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty has been a landmark in New York harbor since 1886, but the story of the sculpture begins about 20 years earlier.

In 1865 a French writer and lawyer, Edouard de Laboulaye, first came up with the idea of the statue. Laboulaye had a keen interest in the United States, and had written essays in support of the Union cause during the Civil War. At the war’s conclusion he had the idea of creating a massive statue celebrating the concept of liberty. He wanted the statue to be a gift to the people of the United States from the people of France.

In 1871 Bartholdi sailed to America, and when entering New York harbor he realized he had found the perfect location for the statue he envisioned.

The Torch Was On Display in Philadelphia in 1876

At Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition in 1876 the torch of the Statue of Liberty was a popular sight. Bartholdi had the hand and torch of the Statue of Liberty brought to Philadelphia in 1876 and it was prominently displayed at the Centennial Exhibition, a large fair celebrating the 100th birthday of the United States. After the Centennial Exhibition closed, the torch was taken to New York City, and was on display in Madison Square Park for several years. 

The statue, of course, was still being constructed in Bartholdi's workshop in Paris.

The Head of the Statue of Liberty was displayed in 1878

The face was featured at the paris International Exhibition in 1878. It was prominently displayed in a park in Paris.

People at the fair could pay an admission fee to climb inside the statue’s head and look out the windows in the crown. This is so popular that people need to book the tickets for crown at least 3 to 4 months in advance. I am planning to get a ticket for me in next summer. Hope I will get one for me. 

The Statue was built in Bartholdi’s Workshop

Bartholdi’s workshop in Paris workers formed the parts that would become the statue of Liberty. The parts of the statue of liberty are formed by bent copper sheets. But the arm is actually made of plaster the process of construction was that enormous plaster forms were made first, and copper plates were then shaped to match the contours of the plaster version.

After some years when the statue is displayed it turns blue-green with age due to chemical reaction between metal and water. The process is called as patination and occurs with most copper when it’s placed outside.

The true color of the statue before patination was a shiny reddish brown color. There is no painting color in statue of Liberty. 

The Statue’s Steel Structure Was Designed by Eiffel

In 1881 the French engineer Gustave Eiffel designed a steel interior skeleton supported the statue. Gustave Eiffel would later design and build the Eiffel tower in Paris.  Eiffel, relying on his experience building steel bridges, came up with a brilliant design that could hold the weight of the statue while also withstanding the high winds it would encounter in New York Harbor.

By early 1884 only the Statue of Liberty was completely assembled in Paris. It’s not placed upon a pedestal, as it would be when assembled in New York harbor. To gain entrance to the statue when it was assembled in Paris, workers created an entrance in the statue’s right foot, which is at the rear of the statue. 

The Statue of Liberty Was Finally Assembled in 1886

The statue of Liberty is disassembled in Paris, packed into crates, and loaded aboard a French freighter, which departed in late May 1885. The many parts of the statue arrived in New York in June 19^th. The ship was greeted with cannons booming in celebration. After being shipped France, the statue was placed on Bedloe’s Island in New York.

In May 1886 the steel skeleton designed by Eiffel started to rise atop the pedestal, and by summer the copper plates of the statue itself were being riveted into place.

The Statue of Liberty was officially unveiled in October 28, 1886. President Grover Cleveland presided, and after a number of speeches, the sculptor Bartholdi pulled a rope and the French tricolor covering the statue’s face was pulled away.

Cannons boomed, fireworks lit the sky, and observers said it was like a thousand Fourth of July celebrations.

Since its construction, the Statue of Liberty, or as Bartholdi called it, Liberty Enlightening the World, has become a great symbol of the United Sates, and of freedom in general.  

The Statue of Liberty is really a amazing piece of architecture from 19^th century which is situated at the border of New Jersey and New York. The famous Brooklyn bridge of New York and Ellis Island (old entry port of USA) are the neighbor of the Liberty island which makes it more beautiful and attractive place for the visitors.


You will enjoy the boat ride to Liberty Island and Ellis island from New jersey and New York. Also, while waiting in the queue for boarding the boat from New York, you can enjoy the standalone musician who will play a tune from any song or National Anthem of your country of origin. For us, he played the tune of Indian National Anthem.