rite of passage

rite of passage

An event or activity often performed or experienced as part of passing from one stage of life to another. Bar Mitzvah celebrations are a rite of passage as Jewish boys become men. Getting lost while trying to find their classrooms is kind of a rite of passage for freshmen at this school.
See also: of, passage, rite
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

rite of passage

a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone's life, especially birth, initiation, marriage, and death.
See also: of, passage, rite
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • sweet sixteen
  • in all (one's) (born) days
  • in all my born days
  • in all one's born days
  • manpain
  • mixed feelings
  • 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
  • Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
  • mixed emotions
  • It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back
References in periodicals archive
Birth as an American rite of passage. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
Rite of Passage and Pat Smullen (right) win the Gold Cup from Age of Aquarius and Johnny Murtagh at Royal Ascot Picture:
[5] Although one could look at a number of characters as a site for rite of passage in Avatar, Jake Sully is clearly meant to be the point of entry into a vicarious mode of encounter for viewers of the film.
Liminality appears to be the operative force of the rite of passage, which brings about the existential transformation of the subjects, but which, if not contained within the ritual, is also inherently dangerous because of its asocial and subversive nature.
"This difference in generational interpretations demonstrates, in part, that First Communion succeeded as a rite of passage more from the children's, than from the adults', point of view," she writes.
For OBT and the Portland audience, the complete Swan Lake represents a rite of passage from a fundamentally pop culture repertoire only three years ago to a far more classical aesthetic since Stowell took over.
Her rite of passage is complete, having saved her best friend's life, faced her fears, and fully embraced her own identity.
It's a rite of passage for many expectant parents: showing off fuzzy images from the first ultrasound exam.
The young person would then receive a beautiful certificate, with elegant calligraphy and a shiny gold embossed stamp (suitable for framing) and the family would go out for a big dinner in a fancy restaurant to celebrate this important rite of passage. The government would provide a lovely corsage for the proud mother and grandmother.
In this issue, midwife Jan Verhaeghe tells us about the glory of the birth experience and how it can and should be a valuable rite of passage for women.
Young people are about to enter society, retired people are trying to decide what to do with their lives after finishing work." The pilgrimage has become a modern rite of passage. "People want to take a step away from their everyday existence and take a second look at their lives."
At Connecticut's Weston High School, in a small town where cars rule and pedestrians are in danger, the most important rite of passage is getting a driver's license.
Childhood continues to be a rite of passage. Some things don't change.
Van Gennep used the term to refer to those in mid-transition during a rite of passage. Neither child nor adult, the pubescent girl or boy is betwixt and between.
A girl's first diet has definitely become [an] addition to a girl's rite of passage into womanhood."