Graduation is a momentous occasion signaling the end of the academic era and the beginning of a practical life. It is a once-in-a-lifetime moment celebrated in unforgettable ways called graduation traditions. What are these Graduation Traditions Around the World? Let’s explore the blog.
The most familiar Graduation Traditions Around the World include yearbook signings, tearful hugs, and a party of a lifetime. However, Graduation Ceremony Traditions vary widely today. As diverse as these traditions are, they all express the core values of hard work, achievement, and growth in life.
Do you want to know what Graduations Traditions Around The World are trending? Connect to this blog and explore how graduates make their graduation ceremonies memorable for the life to come. We have compiled a few exciting graduation traditions for you to read.
College Graduation Traditions Around the World
The graduation ceremony is a wholesome experience for the graduates and their loved ones attending it. Graduation Traditions Around the World hold significance and have distinctive features. These traditions are a part of cultural heritage, often incorporating social and religious elements.
Each graduation tradition is celebrated as an exceptional milestone event, from the classic cap-and-gown ceremony to the unique celebrations. Some celebrations include parades and intimate gatherings. Here, we break down the common and unique graduation traditions. Have a look at them:
Graduation Rituals Around the World (Common Rituals)
Graduation Dress Tradition
Wearing specific attire, most significantly a graduation gown, follows the Graduation Dress Tradition. It adds elegance to the most treasured occasion and symbolizes the achievement and honor of completing a degree.
Graduation Cap Tradition
The tradition of wearing caps symbolizes academic achievement and freedom of scholarship. It dates back to Celtic times when Druid priests wore caps to represent intelligence.
Tassel
The tassel on the cap is also symbolic of its unique nature. The tassel hanging from the cap represents a student’s transition to a graduate.
Diplomas
The formal presentation of diplomas is a universal part of graduation ceremonies around the world. Students walk to the stage and are awarded a paper from the chancellor that marks the completion of a degree. The walk to the stage to get the Diploma holds memories.
Tossing the Cap
Tossing graduation caps into the air is a symbolic gesture of freedom. It is the most treasured tradition of graduation and a celebration of achievement.
Processions and Ceremonies
Many universities begin with a procession and have a traditional graduation ceremony. These ceremonies are a blend of making speeches and awarding diplomas.
Graduation Traditions Around the World (Unique Traditions)
US
The tradition of class rings started in the United States. These rings adorn the school’s emblem and the graduate’s name. It is a perfect keepsake that serves as a lasting reminder of the years spent pursuing education. The tradition of exchanging class rings has spread to countries around the globe, celebrating the students’ journey.
Hawaiian Leis Graduation Tradition
The graduation ceremony in Hawaii is a colorful event. The graduates wear traditional caps and gowns. The graduates’ families give Hawaiian Leis to the graduates. Leis are bright flower garlands that represent best wishes for the future. Hawaiians celebrate their day with a traditional graduation ritual of dancing, singing, and celebrating.
Philippines
Do you wonder about Filipino Graduation Traditions? In the Philippines, graduates follow common graduation ceremony traditions. In addition, the ceremony holds the cultural value of wearing corsages pinned on the left lapel.
China
Chinese have stuck to the Western culture of graduation ceremonies, but times have changed. To embrace their culture and tradition, Chinese graduates wear Mamian skirts, hairpins, embroidered collars, and even ornamental pieces in their hair and outfits. Chinese graduation ceremonies are formal events between students and professors.
UK
Graduation Traditions in the UK have a deep cultural significance. From wearing graduation gowns and caps to cap tossing, speeches, and diploma awards, graduation ceremonies follow common traditions but represent a grand celebration. Oxford in the U.K. shares a similar tradition of showing affection by “trashing” its graduates.
Trashing (Italy, Argentina, UK)
Family and friends playfully cover graduates with cream, flour, or even ketchup, a tradition known as “trashing.” Trashing is a tradition followed in the Graduation Ceremony in Italy.
Doctoral Swords (Finland)
In Finland, PhD graduates are awarded hats and swords. They present hats and swords as symbolic to “fight for what has found to be good, right, and true”.
Rolling Hoops (Notre Dame)
University of Notre Dame graduates roll hoops down the steps as a tradition. This common tradition, which holds cultural significance, is followed in China, Africa, and Greece.
The Last Bell (Russia)
In Russia, graduation is called “The Last Bell.” The girls wear black dresses with white aprons, reminiscent of their school uniforms.
Senior Portraits
Many cultures, including Western ones, celebrate graduation with senior portraits. Senior portraits represent a teenager’s transition to adulthood. These portraits are used in yearbooks, graduation announcements, and as keepsakes for families and friends.
Graduation Fun Facts
Do you know Fun Facts about Graduation that make the event the most happening thing in a student’s life? Graduation or graduation ceremonies have emerged from an enriched history. Here we unveil the History of Graduation Ceremony
The word “graduation” comes from the Latin gradus, meaning step. Graduation signifies a step towards a higher level of education. The first graduation ceremony, which took place in Bologna, Italy, dates back to the 11th century.
It is also worth noting that graduation season varies around the globe. It is held between May and June in the northern hemisphere, and in the southern hemisphere, it’s usually between November and December.
The Diploma: The Romans first used diplomas to validate a soldier’s time served. They were written on animal skin.
World’s Oldest Graduate: Leo Plass set the world record when he graduated from Eastern Oregon University.
The Gown: Gowns were worn as early as the 1300s! Scholars and clerics wore them not for ceremonial purposes but to stay warm.
The Graduation/Class Ring: These were initially coveted seals heavily guarded and valued. Kings and popes had them destroyed upon their deaths so no one would take their power and authority. Class rings have the same significance today, as no two years’ class rings are exactly alike!
The word “alumnus” is Latin and means “a pupil” and, literally, a “foster son”.
The graduation cap was initially a “hood” and is believed to date back to Celtic times, when Druid priests wore capes and hoods to symbolize their intelligence.
Michael Kearney of Mobile, Alabama is the youngest known high school and college graduate. He finished a home-school high school program at age six and at 10 earned a bachelor’s degree.
Traditional High School Graduation Announcements
Graduation announcements are one of the Graduation Traditions Around the World. They are a significant keepsake elaborately designed with the graduate’s photo. The announcement is made to inform family and friends about the date of the ceremony.
In Japan, graduation announcements often include a formal calligraphy message. In some countries, announcements are printed in the national native language or English.
Traditional Graduation Invitations
A graduation ceremony begins with graduation invitations. A tradition that has been followed since graduation ceremony has emerged. These designs of the invitations depend on the country and culture.
In many Western cultures, graduation invitations are casual and use modern designs and fonts. In contrast, in more traditional cultures such as India, the invitations are designed to be ornate, printed on fine paper, and feature intricate designs.
People May Ask
Tradition at the End of a Graduation Ceremony
At the end of a graduation ceremony, common traditions for graduates are the following:
Toss their caps into the air
Move their tassels from the right side to the left side
Post-ceremony celebrations with friends and family
