Last week I was inducted into Sigma Delta Pi, the honors society for my major.
Inducted. Seriously inducted.
They told us the oath had been toned down some in the last few years. Apparently it used to include a pledge to all that is good and beautiful that is and comes from Spain. Something like that. As it currently stands, this is what I promised (no going back now). Strait from the rite, translated from Spanish.
To the members of the Hispanic society Sigma Delta Pi: I offer you my loyalty and cooperation in your Hispanophile activities and I assure you that I participate in this act with all sincerity and good will.
They told us lots more things about things that are brave and good, then they turned out the lights and we stood in a circle and lit the candles we were each given—with these words:
Come—so have gone many before you. Take this warmth and this light that symbolize hard work and wisdom. This light that you have received is the flame that we entrust to you—may it always burn this bright. This flame in your hands symbolizes the ideal of our society. It is the flame of all that is beautiful and noble…it is the spiritual light that lights each of us. Let us live, then, in the light, and scatter the shadows….
4 comments:
"Inducted. Seriously inducted."
This made me laugh a lot :) You have the best sense of humor.
But hey - what's wrong with a little ceremony?
Nothing. I actually liked the ceremony. Did that not come across? Maybe I need to revise.
Just that one line made me wonder if you are thinking, "Oh gracious, are they serious?" Because, honestly, I'd probably have such fleeting thoughts if it was me. Then again, I've never quite grasped the importance of a lot of ceremonies like this since I've never participated in one. Well, let me rephrase that: I understand the importance of ceremonies to groups of all sorts, but the proceedings themselves - the exact things that are said and done - baffle me just a bit. Where do they come from? What makes those precise actions and words special - why not something else?
I deleted my first post because I wanted to add that I don't look down upon ceremonies though - I just wonder where they come from. But perhaps that alone does make me a bit cynical, or at least question the reasoning behind it all.
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