After the ceremony I got to experience another important aspect of the Bat Mitzvah tradition-the party afterwards. I was very curious to observe a celebration for a teenager, her friends and her family, and see how the party was created and adjusted to please the guests. In attendance were people of all ages- grandparents, parents, young adults, teens, kids, toddlers and babies- comprising of my cousin’s family, friends and her parents friends.
The space set up and decorations were as interesting as the social aspect. The reception was held in an adjoining room to the temple. The corridor entering the reception room was set up as a photo and scrapbook station. One side of the corridor, a computer was set up opened to the Photo Booth program. You could take your picture and it would print out on a small printer. Then you could take the photo to the other side of the corridor where a table was set up with scrapbook pages, scrap paper, scissors, glue stickers, stamps, and drawing materials. Each person or family was invited to make a page to go in a scrapbook to celebrate my cousin’s special day.
The reception room had very high ceilings with many picture windows showing the trees outside. The room set up was divided into an adult section and kid section with a dance floor in the middle. Both sides had tables, buffets and bars. The adult side had round tables with flower arrangements, while the kid section had long tables with large flowers sculptures made by my uncle with swimming noodles and umbrellas. The adult side’s buffet had salad, risotto, beef and fish. The kid’s side had a burger truck parked outside where they could get burgers and fries. Later there was a general dessert table. It was interesting that there was different food for the age groups. Either they could not figure out food that would please everyone, or wanted to keep the two sides distinctive. It was also interesting to see the macho men who went out to the burger truck instead of eating the adult food.
The DJ was playing mostly current pop music the teens would like. He also had games the teens and kids could play on the dance floor. I loved observing the dancing. The teens were great about getting out there, mostly in girl groups and boy groups, but some intermixing. Certain songs spurred great interaction, like Thriller and Love Shack. Some songs got the adults to dance among the kids and teens too. It had a great energy.
The kids/teens seemed well rehearsed in how to behave at a party, most of them had been to a Bar or Bat Mitzvah almost every weekend that year. They were enjoying each other and having fun, while in the presence of their families. The whole party had a vibe of fun, confident and wholesome. I was struck by the simplicity of it all. Teens are at the age where they are aware of their growing interest in the opposite sex, in being independent of their parents for the first time. What better way to teach them how to interact with their peers in a social situation, than to attend a series of supervised parties where they can be guided? The Bat Mitzvah showed me a cultural tradition I felt I had missed out on, where growing adolescence independence is guided, ensuring the teens behave with responsibility.
