The Precious 18’s

In the Philippines, a debut party is rarely complete without the precious 18’s, especially the 18 roses, 18 candles, and 18 treasures. These traditions symbolize the debutante’s road to womanhood. In staying true to the theme of a girl turning 18, the 18’s rituals were born.

But aside from the classics, more and more debutantes today are concocting their own version of 18’s. For a debutante, choosing the perfect set of rituals for the big day is an integral part of the planning stage. But what kind of rituals are there? How are they done? Who are involved in each? Asking these questions can help you in choosing the best ritual for you.

Let’s start off with the classics. These three are a staple for every debut party.  If you’ve ever been invited to a debut, chances are you’re already familiar with them.

These three 18 traditions are:

The 18 Roses

The 18 roses signify the debutante’s readiness for love & romance.

• How it’s done – waltz music is often played for this ceremony. 18 men are each given a single rose meant to be given to the debutante once they dance with her. The debutante takes turns in dancing with each until she receives all 18 roses.
• People to choose – the 18 men for this ceremony tend to be male family members, the debutante’s closest male friends, and the debutante’s significant other. The 1st and 2nd roses commonly belong to the father and the brother respectively, while the 3rd to 17th roses are for the debutante’s male close friends. The last rose is for the debutante’s “special someone.” You can watch a sample here.

The 18 Candles

From romance to wisdom, The 18 candles signify the debutante’s road to a bright future.

• How it’s done – 18 women will be given lit candles and will take turns in giving their speeches, usually containing advice for the debutante. After giving messages, the women place the candles next to the debutante’s birthday cake and the debutante proceeds to blow them out.
• People to choose – the 18 women must be important to the debutante’s life. As per tradition, the mother will be the first to give a speech, followed by aunts, best friends, etc.

18 treasures

The 18 treasures symbolize important instruments that the debutante might need in her path to womanhood.

• How it’s done – the people chosen for the 18 treasures will take turns in showing the debutante their gift and will proceed to give a speech about this gift’s significance to the debutante’s life.
• People to choose – whilst the previous 2 traditions involved either all males or all females, the people in the 18 treasures can vary gender-wise. But it’s best for the debutante to pick the people who are very special to her since these treasures will be regarded as such in her life.

 

Although these three rituals are considered essential in every debut, that doesn’t mean you have to limit your rituals to them. Organizers and even debutantes themselves have come up with new and fresh 18’s rituals guaranteed to spruce up an already fab party.

The following are just some of the many contemporary 18’s ritual ideas that are slowly garnering a lot of hype.

18 shots

 Similar to giving a toast, this ceremony is an expression of honor and goodwill towards the debutante.

• How it’s done – 18 people take turns in drinking any alcoholic beverage in the party but wine is commonly used. This is usually accompanied by a speech.
• People to choose – as with the 18 treasures, the participants may vary gender-wise, but are usually the debutante’s aunts and uncles or close friends.

18 blue bills

The 18 blue bills symbolize financial stability and independence. They are also known as “the 18 thousands” and are among the most recent rituals in debut parties.

• How it’s done – done at the same time with the 18 roses ceremony, each participant pins a thousand peso bill on the debutante’s dress whilst she is dancing with her escorts.
• People to choose – aunts, uncles, godmothers, and godfathers are commonly chosen to participate in this ceremony. In the same tradition of receiving gifts from ninongs and ninangs every Christmas time, this ceremony leans on the tradition of godparents providing for their godchild.

whatever you can think of

• Have a quirky idea for a ceremony? Discuss it with your organizer. In planning for the perfect debut party, a great way to make your day memorable is to make it unique and personalized. Do you want an 18 roses dance to the tune of modern music? Go for it! Do you want your 18 shots to be jello? Do it! Debut planning is a great way to stimulate creativity.

 

With these tips in mind, you now probably have an inkling as to what your 18 rituals will be. Debuts do more than symbolize womanhood. They also let the debutante assert her identity. Mix and match these rituals to achieve the party that’s so “you”.