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Back in England, we had a prom in the last year of school, before we went to college/work.
I never went to mine, because I was ill. My sister went to hers though. It was as you described, only without the extortionate expenditure.
I think the most flashy entrance was in one of those disgusting pink limos that drunk girls normally go around in on hen nights, where one of them sticks her head out the sunroof and goes "WOOOHOOOO" like she's Vicki on Real Housewives or something.
My boyfriend's prom was apparently rather cool though. One couple went there in a fire engine! I'm glad the firemen had no real work to do that night, or the couple's evening would have been way different.
I'm fairly certain my sister didn't do any drinking of the alcohol or sexing of the boys, but hey, I never asked about that. :P
These days there are balls at the end of school in Germany. They did not have them when I finished. People usually dress up a bit, no tuxedos though, and a tie is not necessary. Everything is quite casual.
People don't need to come as couples. Parents are invited too and are supposed to come along.
So we attended our daughters' school balls as well. Alcohol was not an issue. They served beer and champagne. The party is not seen as an opprtunity to get sex either.
So yes, there are parties in Germany, but they are a lot more casual and relaxed. No tuxes, no degenerate limos, no sex, no getting drunk. Sounds almost boring, but it is not.
Also, here, we have the "viaje de egresados", wich is a trip that everyone takes together in last year of high school. Commonly is to Bariloche (some schools do it to Brasil), wich is a city in southern argentina surrounded by mountains and with snow, really pretty. In this trip you go dancing-clubbing 7 days a week and drink alcohol and normally lots of virginitis are lost in this trip, lol.
Also, here, we have the "viaje de egresados", wich is a trip that everyone takes together in last year of high school. Commonly is to Bariloche (some schools do it to Brasil), wich is a city in southern argentina surrounded by mountains and with snow, really pretty. In this trip you go dancing-clubbing 7 days a week and drink alcohol and normally lots of virginitis are lost in this trip, lol.
In Spain exactly the same. But the trip it called "viaje de fin de curso" and it's to Mallorca or Ibiza.
As an American who graduated HS in 1956, I was appalled by the description in this posting, and a similar one on proms in another forum. Good G*d Almighty, talk about a degenerate, indulgent, wasteful society....sounds like something the Russian nouveau riche would indulge in.
At our senior ball, the girls did dress up in formal gowns...more on the order of what bridesmaids wore at weddings, and those girls who had been bridesmaids or been in some Masonic Eastern Star events and already had these dresses wore them again. Some girls did have to buy their very first formal dress, but certainly at nothing hugely expensive.
Guys rented a tux. Kids drove in their own or parental cars. It was over at midnight, I think.
Some of us went to a nightclub in a city about forty miles away, and drank....but then anyone who drank on Sr. Ball night had already been drinking, the drinking age was 18. Ditto for loss of virginity, many couples who were "going steady" were already having sex. So glad to have been a teenager back then...everything teenagers do currently seems to be over the top in how organized it is, and how costly.
However, I live in Portugal now and just showed the OP to a friend here..........well, if you think my reaction is a bit extreme, be grateful you couldn't hear hers.
In short, she said there is no Jr. prom or Sr. ball tradition in the local high schools. On the other hand, the drinking age is low here, and teenagers have already been going to their own clubs downtown - being adult, putting on a show is something they are already used to in some respects, and they do not all graduate at the same time necessarily, even though they are in the same grade.
Interestingly my friend commented that while no Portuguese parent in town would ever consider throwing that kind of money around on dresses, limos, etc., many parents do give large extended family parties when a kid graduates (inviting their kid's best friends as well) and those with the money will have this dinner in a restaurant, while most families do it in their home.
I'm not quite certain of the indignation though. Traditional lavish parties are celebrated the world over, such as la ?quincanera?.
Prom is the second to last major event (Hopefully graduation being the last) in twelve years of schooling and considered the last grand party before moving on to the next chapter in life. For such a momentous occasion, a tux and limo rental seem like a somewhat insignificant expense, especially considering enduring eighteen years of "no".
Prom can be an awkward experience, such as finding a date and getting the tour of her dad's gun collection, but definitely one of the more memorable events in life. I enjoyed it.
I'm not quite certain of the indignation though. Traditional lavish parties are celebrated the world over, such as la ?quincanera?.
My personal comments were confined to U.S. h.s. proms, as that is where my experience is...and that is the subject of the OP.
Quote:
Prom is the second to last major event (Hopefully graduation being the last) in twelve years of schooling and considered the last grand party before moving on to the next chapter in life. For such a momentous occasion, a tux and limo rental seem like a somewhat insignificant expense, especially considering enduring eighteen years of "no".
The expense mentioned in this OP, and the thread in the other forum I referred to, are not insignificant.
If American high schoolers need that levelof reward for twelve years of school, then I guess school has turned into slave labor in the U.S....I don't know of any American teenagers who endure 18 years of no, in fact it seems most of them get yes a great deal of the time. Your mileage may vary, of course.
We decorated our gym with paper flowers we worked weeks to make....yeah, tacky, tacky, I suppose. But such a great few weeks together and then decorating the gym, and showing up in old jalopies, etc. How - what is the current expression? "old school," in this case literally.
But this is not the America of today, clearly...though, it is hard to reconcile this extravagance (for me) with the stories of the terrible suffering that Americans are enduring in the economic crisis as reflected in uncountable postings in C-D forums.
In the interests of goodwill, I'll tweak my "indignation" down to sadness and disgust, however.
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Yeah maybe that's part of the reason I didn't go...my sister's dress cost about $300 I think and that was modest. I just see it as a way for service providers and shops to cash in. Now I see hair dressers 'specialising' in school balls. All it is is an excuse to partay, why do you need so much money to do that anyway? The 'after-party' is no different or more special than any other high school party that is on every weekend.
Maybe it's just me, but I've also noticed that the prom/formal is becoming a bigger deal in Canada than it used to be (at least from the advertising/vibes I get). While we do have a grad formal/dance/ceremony at the end of high school, it seems like it's becoming more similar to the style portrayed in the American media, at least in my city (though I don't think the ceremonies are nearly as extravagant/luxurious).
I was going to the mall recently and noticing a lot more marketing towards "prom" (also usage of the term "prom" seems more common now) stuff at the stores at this time of year than before (in previous years, I didn't notice so much, even when I was in high school).
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