When real religious rituals lose their force, pseudo-rituals will rise to take their place:
Inviting a date to the prom has never been easy. The sweaty palms, the stomach knotted by fear and anxiety. The nervous questions, muttered sotto voce, followed by equally breathless answers.
But that was then. Like many things prom-related, inviting a date to a prom has emerged as a serious game of one-upmanship in which only the creative survive. Just as mom's station wagon gave way to the limousine and, in turn, the stretch SUV – and just as homemade frocks have been replaced by gowns fit for a Hollywood starlet on a red carpet – prom invitations have gone deluxe.
In manners previously reserved for marriage proposals, teens place notes in fortune cookies, make videos, burn CDs – all to lure that special someone to dress up and dance. They plan their strategy for months, consulting friends for advice and support, enlisting aid from their teachers and classmates.
Link.
