Introduction: 

          Hispanic families, drawing upon an ancient indigenous custom, celebrate the fifteenth birthday of a child.  The young person is called quinceañera if a girl; quinceañero if a boy.  It is the recognition of the journey that a young person makes in the family, moving toward a rightful place in the community.  It lifts up the dignity of the young as they grow in “wisdom, age and grace”. 

The Purpose:

           The celebration is held to give thanks to God, to honor a young person at age fifteen, and to honor the parents who brought them into the world through God’s help.

          Celebrating Quince Años offers an opportunity to the Hispanic family to reflect on the way their Catholic faith is lived and affirm that particular family.  It is also a time to evangelize the young people, the girl/boy celebrating the quinceañera/o and all the young girls and boys who accompany them.  This draws the whole family closer to the sacramental and liturgical life of the church. 

          The Hispanic family needs to be allowed to celebrate its beautiful traditions.  Through these cultural traditions, their life of faith is truly lived and celebrated.

Celebrations of Quince Años:

          There are four options of celebrating Quince Años.

1)       A very simple ceremony involving the girl/boy, her/his parents and two padrinos; perhaps the padrinos (godparents) of Baptism or separate padrinos.

2)       A parish gathers all who will celebrate quince años and has one celebration.  Only parents/padrinos of Baptism are involved in the ceremony.

3)       A more elaborate ceremony involving the girl/boy, the parents and fourteen other girls/boys.

4)       A ceremony involving the girl/boy, their parents, padrinos (either of Baptism or new ones), and fourteen couples. 

Note:  The girl/boy should not have a companion during the ceremony.  The girl is to wear a simple dress, no veil.   The boy should wear dark dress pants and a white shirt. 

Reasons for Celebrating the Quince Años Tradition

1)       The quince años tradition is rooted in the history, traditions and celebrations of our ancestors with Hispanic and indigenous origins. 

2)       It is time to join the family in thanking God for the gift of life of youth in our community.

3)      It is a time to recognize, affirm, support and challenge the youth.

4)      It is a time to share our Catholic faith with the family, the youth and the entire community.

5)      It is a time to witness together to the presence of Jesus among us.

6)      It is a time to challenge ourselves and our youth to live and to share our Christian values
         of love, forgiveness, unity, mercy, justice and peace.

7)        It is a family tradition.

8)      It is a time to encourage the youth to be active in the life of the Church and of the
         community where they live and to which they belong.