OFF TOPIC - pierced ears

I don`t know about an `acceptable age` , here in Israel . Many people came here with atradition to make it to very young kids , and they do it just as their GM and mothers did it ,,, in a very young age, Schools ask now that girls have small close to ear rings and no rings that can get stuck to some thing. Than Again you see Whole groups who do it in their teens and or Twenries , and again whole groups who nevber do it ,,,, all is very personal , but i have Never ever heard it being called a transistional rite , and that was the factor that interested me ... mirjam

I remember when "John Boy Walton"(his name escapes me at the moment) and his wife had triplet girls. They had their ears pierced at birth and each girl wore a different gem - saphire, diamond and ruby. That way they would know which baby was which before they were old enough to really show major differences.

I never thought of that before but wouldn't it be a concern to think you might be calling one baby by another one's name and never really know! Moni ---- Posted via Pronews.com - Premium Corporate Usenet News Provider ----

I think you can do both. For my family, the piercing of our ears - 3 generations so far, had more to do with the fact that we like pretty jewelry for our own personal enjoyment. It had nothing to do with fitting in, reaching a certain age, etc., but something we each chose to do at different ages in our lives.

My youngest works for a non profit group that assists people with disabilities and her husband is a youth director for their church. They began involving their 18 month old daughter in charitable work from birth - she has been to more walkathon and fund raisers than you can imagine.

I also support many charities and my mother was a nurse. My older daughter is a teacher as well as the principal of the Hebrew school at her temple where either she or her husband will probably become the president of the temple next year.

So my point is that just enjoying jewelry, makeup, pretty clothes doesn't eliminate the understanding that you must give back to the world, especially if you have the funds, time and desire to do so. You can enjoy material things with the understanding that you are fortunate and that makes it possible for you to help others. It seems to work with our girls and their husbands. Moni ---- Posted via Pronews.com - Premium Corporate Usenet News Provider ----

Absolutely. What is the moral difference in using jewelry to adorn one's self versus, say, embroidery? Both take time, energy, and money that *could* be spent on someone else ;-)

Best wishes, Ericka

I got my ears pierced at 14/15, obviously not a big deal since I can't remember exactly. The funny thing is, I remember it as being my moms' idea, but she has ever since been vehemently against piercings of any kind. Then I waited untill I was 21 and at college, and got two more holes in each ear, which I'm very happy with, although I tend not to wear earrings a lot. I just like to know that I can. The only bad experience I've had was when I was an au-pair working in America, and got several piercings done in the cartilage of one ear. I didn't do them all at the same time, and thought I had left enough time for one to heal before doing the next. Anyways, I don't know what caused it, although I suspect that the studs to choose from had been mixed up, and I accidentally picked one that wasn't suitable for that part of the ear, but I ended up with bloodpoisoning. Found myself in the ER very early on a Saturday morning, and before I really knew what was happening I was hooked up to an IV. Kinda freeked my mom out, and cost me quite a bit in meds and follow-up consultation. (Not so fun when I was going on vacation the week after and had been saving up money all year.) Two years later I found myself in England and got two piercings high up on the ear, one of which I have since managed to yank out. My sister wasn't allowed to get her ears pierced. Wonder if anything I did might have something to do with that? Lol! She waited untill she was 18, and then she just got them done when she was out one day with one of her friends.

Arnhild

Moni i absolutely agree that it is nice when young women adorn themselves just to have fun, my wonderment was when somebody called that act "a transistional rite" ,,,,, I see that with your daughters you will be able to watch all kinds of ceremonies in your family ,, mirjam

In this country a century or so ago, young men used to wear short pants and young ladies short dresses and their hair down in braids until they reached a certain age, and then it was a rite of passage to "grow up" and be allowed to wear long pants or to wear their hair up and wear long dresses. It is a recognition of a level of maturity/responsibility, not totally a beautifying thing.

When I was young, I was not allowed to wear makeup or hose until a certain age for the same reasons.

This has nothing to do with service to one's community. I always tried to teach my children from a very young age to give back to the people who gave. They can learn to do that before they start school, and to do that is better than waiting until a date when they are recognized as having adult privilege and responsibility.

I wonder how many people in Israel pierce their ears -- I do not believe that Orthodox Jews would do so as there is a contraindication in the Torah.

Maybe it's an issue of semantics.

I never thought of it as a rite of passage. Those seem more formal things such as graduations, getting a license to drive, religious ceremony recognizing first communions, confirmation or bar/bat mitzvah, etc.

You are right about my family!! We've been to events such as a kosher wine tasting at the temple with our Jewish daughter and husband and then other events at the Church of Christ with our younger daughter and husband. They are hoping to get some of the youth from each congregation to visit back and forth to show them the similarities and differences in their faiths.

I've learned a lot from all of this - I've crocheted a baptismal dress for my granddaughter and embroidered a Jewish house blessing for my Jewish kids. I embroidered holiday banners for all of my family and they each had the family name and removable decorations for each holiday. I did them with traditional holidays and then researched the Jewish holidays so I could make up the correct emblems to represent each holiday. Learning keeps you young - Moni ---- Posted via Pronews.com - Premium Corporate Usenet News Provider ----

No it is a Cultural and sociological perception , about the nature of "rites' ceremonies etc.... mirjam

Thank you Moni , for undestanding and agreeing with my point of View. Like you i have been subjected to many different kinds of ceremonies and i try to learn from all ... and understand more about Human nature , while keeping my own culture as my own. I use every opportunity to learn from people i meet to learn about their culture religion traditions etc,,,, as you say it keeps my mind allert !!!! mirjam

You would be surprised how many Orthodox ladies do pierce their ears, and i agree with you there might be a contradiction in the Torah ,,, But people have their own ideas ,, But i never counted ,,,, mirjam

My grandmother was an ultra Orthodox Jew and she had pierced ears and pierced my mother's ears when she was an infant.

Lucille

Good actor - but I don't think he ever escaped being "John Boy"

That doesn't mean the statement was "incorrect". My Dr. told me it was difficult to judge exactly where you should pierce a baby's ears. If a person is not experienced at piercing a baby's ears, then it will be difficult to do this properly. That doesn't means it's impossible and the earrings are always placed incorrectly -- just that it's difficult. I should imagine it would be difficult for someone experienced in piercing adult ears since baby ears are much smaller and they do grow along with the rest of the body. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

As far as I`m concerned that stipulation still makes sense!

Even when Richard was in the Royal Marines he still had to have our written permission to have a tattoo (for instance) until he was eighteen. (At least it was a sensible one - his blood group details!) - mind you all his troop had a Tasmanian Devil tattooed onto their ankles at the same time - a fact that they just omitted to mention!

Pat

Wow _doug- Now you're Sarah and you have a six year old daughter? you certainly change a lot, I mean on the other site you're a macho kind of guy and here you are female and have kids? Nothing personal or anything- Doug - but are you a frustrated actor?

Beyond that, what I said was that one can *use* it as a transitional rite. In the US, our children have very few coming-of-age rituals, and some would say that's problematic. Many families have found that setting up some rituals by investing some relatively simple acts (like ear piercing) with some meaning, responsibilities, and privileges is a way of marking out moments of transition in a child's life in such a way as to emphasize that with privileges come responsibilities.

Best wishes, Ericka