Breaking of Trammels
A "Night of Broken Trammels" or a "Breaking of Trammels" is an informal Elovisian tradition where young people who have achieved the age of majority strike out on their own at sunset for a night of freedom as new-fledged adults, not returning home until sunrise at the earliest.
Execution
When a member of a given social group (a friend group, family, group of coworkers, etc.) comes of age, the rest of the group members who have also come of age take them out on the town for a night of revelry in their newfound freedoms. Whoever is acting in loco parentis for the celebrant is expected to kick them out of their home along with their friends at dusk and not allow them to return until sunrise the next day. Students and workers are excused from all responsibilities for the two days abridging this period of celebration, though soldiers may have to postpone the festivities until leave is granted. The celebration usually involves travelling to bars for drinks, gambling (Vyozha is a popular game), and entertainment of whatever sort the lucky celebrant is interested in.
The stunning hangovers which commonly arise from such carousing are said to be character-building, as this represents the fact that the celebrant both has the freedoms to do as they please as an adult and has a responsibility to accept the consequences of whatever they choose to do. Holdsmen tend to place emphasis on the enjoyment in their Breakings of Trammels, while citizens of the Commonwealth of C and Free Faces League emphasize the lesson that follows it.
Participants
A Night of Broken Trammels is generally celebrated only by members of one's own age cohort; the presence of parents or other guardians defeats the purpose of the celebration as a coming-of-age ritual wherein one demonstrates that they are prepared to take on the joys and responsibilites of adult life.
Observance
A Breaking of Trammels may be held at any time of year, though summer evenings are preferred for the comfortableness of the weather; there is no need for a Night of Broken Trammels to fall immediately after one's birthday, though it cannot happen before. Because the Breaking of Trammels arises from one attaining the age of 19, it most commonly occurs in the first year of one's time in college, vocational training, or military service. Savvy Elovisians will plan their celebration for periods when they will be on a break from their labors, while less savvy ones will plan one right in the middle of the week.
Related Ethnicities
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