Sixteen years ago, my life became so much sweeter with the birth of our eldest granddaughter who celebrates her sixteenth birthday this week. The joy doubled when she was joined by her sister in 2014. All the recent birthday celebrations in our family made me think about the significance of turning sixteen in the USA and across the world.

One big difference in America is that you can legally drive a car. The details vary from state to state but given the USA’s love affair with and dependence on the automobile, the ability to drive is associated with a real feeling of freedom.

In the UK teenagers must wait until they are seventeen to begin this process although, back in the land of my birth, getting by without a car is a little easier as there are more public transportation options. In the rest of Europe eighteen is the most common legal age for beginning to learn to drive.

What else becomes legal at the age of sixteen?

The right to work means that many teenagers take on paid part-time work, often in food service, recreation and retail, usually around school commitments, although hazardous work is forbidden for another two years.

When it comes to leaving school, Georgia requires students to remain in school until age seventeen unless they graduate high school earlier or meet certain exceptions. In some states the school leaving age is as low as sixteen and in others as high as eighteen.

The school leaving age in the UK has been raised several times, from ten in 1880 to eighteen in 2015. When I left school in the 1980s, it was legal to leave school and go to work at sixteen although I chose to stay at school before heading to university.

Freedom to marry is allowed at eighteen years of age in most states of the USA but with parental consent, and sometimes court approval as well, it is possible to be wed at sixteen. To me sixteen seems to be a special age – between childhood and young adulthood – and seems way too early to commit to marriage. The legal minimum age to enter into a marriage in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was increased from sixteen to eighteen in 2023. However, over the Scottish border, incredibly people can marry as young as sixteen and do not even need parental consent.

My granddaughter will not be able to consume alcohol legally for another five years until she turns twenty-one, although in the land of my birth and most of Europe this drops to eighteen.

At sixteen, with parental consent, she could join the military here in the USA although this is not in her current life plan. Back in the UK she would have to wait another year before she could join up, even if her parents gave consent.

So, in addition to all the legal implications, sixteen is kind of a big deal in the USA compared to the generally much more low-key celebrations for the British. I was not aware of the tradition of the Sweet Sixteen ‘Coming of Age’ party until I moved to the USA.

The goal of celebrating a person’s entry into a different stage in their life became quite elaborate during the early 20th century.

At this party, a shoe ceremony was often undertaken where the birthday girl sat in a chair while a male relative approaches carrying a decorative pillow with high heels. The girl then switched her flat shoes or slippers for the new high heels to symbolize the transition to womanhood (and probable future development of bunions!). The tiara ceremony follows when a female relative places a tiara on the head of the birthday girl. Another popular tradition is the candle-lighting ceremony. The birthday girl or boy lights sixteen candles, sometimes dedicating each one to an important person in their life.

And don’t forget the Sweet Sixteen cake, often an elaborate creation reflecting the teenager’s personality, hobbies or favorite colors. This tradition of a Sweet Sixteen celebration is similar to the Latin American culture’s comingof- age celebration: the quinceañera, traditionally held when a girl turns fifteen rather than sixteen. However, these days, instead of having an elaborate party at sixteen, young people are more often choosing a special vacation or even a new car. My granddaughter chose to go to New York City for a long weekend with her parents and one of her closest friends. There is a lot more information at www. britannica. com I will say goodbye this week with a quote from the 1958 hit song by The Crests ‘16 Candles’.

Over the years, this song has hit the charts multiple times with covers by The Stray Cats, Michael Jackson, The Four Seasons, Donny Osmond and others: “Sixteen candles on your cake, one for every wish you’ll make.

It’s your birthday and you’re the star, for Sweet Sixteen is what you are!”

Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009.

She can be contacted at lesley@lesleyfrancispr. com or via her PR and marketing agency at www.lesleyfrancispr. com.