This past Saturday, a close friend of mine had her 18th birthday. In Filipino culture, when a girl turns 18, there is usually a big party held for her, also called a debut. We do this because the girl turning 18 shows how she has become a lady from being a girl--the debut of being a woman. It's like the Filipino equivalent of a Quinceanera, except it happens when she's turning 18, not 15.
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| Claudette! And yes, the theme was purple. |
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| My brother in 18 Roses |
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Me and some of the girls from 18 Candles :)
What we also do during Debuts are 18 Roses, 18 Candles, and 18 Gifts. During 18 Roses, 18 guys that are friends of the girl's, (Claudette) each give her a rose and have a slow dance with her for a couple of minutes. In 18 Candles, 18 girls that are again, friends of Claudette's, each say a little message to Claudette. (I nervously did it!) My friend even made a video for her, it made her cry. :) Finally, in 18 Gifts, 18 people (No matter what gender) "present" each of their gifts to Claudette. They also need to tell her how each gift represents the debutant in some way. Even though this took quite awhile, it was still very touching to see how many people did all this for her.
If you see this, I hope you had an awesome birthday Claudette! You deserved it. :)
Picture Above: Me and my sister :) |
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| Me and Claudette afterparty :) |
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| Me and friends after presenting the dance we've been practicing on for so long xD (Ojie is missing, though) |
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| Claudette's family in the background :) |
From experiencing all this, I can't wait for my own debut! (Even though it doesn't happen in 5 years) :D
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