A Bar Mitzvah is a coming of age celebration for young men of the Jewish faith. The parties are hosted by the parents, grandparents and friends and usually end up being very large affairs, similar to weddings. A Bar Mitzvah is a very important milestone, and the Jewish community holds nothing back when celebrating them. Bar Mitzvahs are not a new practice, but the celebrations that follow have only been happening for a century or so.

When you begin planning for a Bar Mitzvah, start with the guest list. All the supplies and food you will need is determined by the size of the guest list. Then order or purchase invitations and send out at least 30 days ahead of time and ask for RSVP’s.

Decorations can be minimal or extravagant and include balloons, streamers and table centerpieces. A party supply store will have all of the tools needed to create your own design. They can also help when choosing what works best for you in your tastes and budget.

If you are renting a hall or having a large outdoor tent, you will need serving ware. Plates, cups, napkins and silverware can all be purchased in an array of colors to match all of your decorations. With having a large guest list, allow extra time for ordering since the party supply store may not have the correct number in stock

Food is usually provided by a caterer, but you can also plan your own menu. The budget is the only limiting factor when choosing food and/or alcohol choices. Special cakes for the children will be required for both the ceremony and the reception afterwards. A caterer can handle that, or a special bakery can fulfill your needs.

Gifts are given at Bar Mitzvah’s so be sure to purchase enough thank you cards to send afterwards. Enclose a picture of the celebrant from the day so they have a memory of them and their passage into adulthood.

The Bat Mitzvah is the celebration of a girl becoming a woman. This is usually set on or near her thirteenth birthday as it is for the boys, although the Bat Mitzvah is also held by some on the young girls twelfth birthday because girls tend to mature faster than boys. After she turns thirteen she is expected to be morally responsible for her actions as a young adult. It’s kind of like the spiritual ‘age of reason’ for Jewish children. Before the girl turns thirteen she may be taught about the synagogue and torah and will be encouraged to follow the Ten Commandments, but when she reaches that age she will be expected to follow the tenants set forth by the Ten Commandments. Bat Mitzvah means ‘daughter of the commandment.’

The Bat Mitzvah hasn’t been around for as long as the Bar Mitzvah has been for boys. It may have begun in the area around France and Italy about 200 hundred years ago, after the period when Bar Mitzvahs became popular for boys. Originally there was simply a special dinner for the girl on her twelfth birthday.

The Bat Mitzvah is also a symbol of the struggle that Jewish women went through during the early 1900’s to gain a greater voice in the Jewish synagogue. By 1922, the first Bat Mitzvah was held for a young woman in North America. This was a great achievement, however it wasn’t until the late 1950’s that girls began regularly becoming Bat Mitzvah inside the synagogue.

The Modern Bat Mitzvah can vary quite a bit from place to place. Girls are bound by the same traditions that boys are in their Bar Mitzvah’s, though the Bat Mitzvah will usually follow the same format. There may be synagogues where Bat Mitzvahs are held for several young women at once and a very large party is made of it.