Editing Menarche (section)

=== Celebratory ceremonies ===
[[File:140111_Azuki_Museum_Himeji_Hyogo_pref_Japan11bs.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sekihan]], a traditional Japanese dish of sticky rice steamed with azuki beans, was sometimes served after menarche.]]

Some cultures have observed rites of passage such as a party or other celebration, for a girl experiencing menarche, in the past and the present.<ref>Hartman, Holly. ''Girlwonder: Every Girl's Guide to the Fantastic Feats, Cool Qualities, and Remarkable Abilities of Women and Girls.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.</ref>

==== Past ====
In ancient Japan, when a [[women in Japan|Japanese girl]] had her first period, the family sometimes celebrated by eating red-colored rice and beans ''([[sekihan]])''. Although both blood and sekihan rice are red, this was not of symbolic significance. All rice in ancient Japan was red; it was also rare and precious. (At most other times, [[millet]] was eaten instead.) The celebration was kept a secret from extended family until the rice was served.<ref name="Girls almanac">{{cite book |vauthors=Siegel A |title=Information Please Girls' Almanac |year=1995 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-0395694589 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jjdI-5tfGOIC&q=Ulithi+tribe+kufar&pg=PA13 |access-date=2013-11-09}}</ref>

==== Present ====
In [[Hinduism in South India|South Indian Hindu]] communities, young women are given a special menarche ceremony called [[Ruthu Sadangu]]; at that time, they begin to wear two-piece [[saris]].<ref>{{cite book |vauthors = Chockalingam K |title=Census of India, 1971: A. General report |year=1973 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMsXAAAAMAAJ&q=Ruthu+Sadangu+menarche+india |access-date=2013-11-09}}</ref>

In [[Morocco]], the girl is thrown a celebration. All of her family members are invited and the girl is showered with money and gifts. [[Quinceañera]] in Latin America, is similar, except that the specific age of 15 marks the transition rather than menarche.

The [[Mescalero]] Apaches place high importance on their menarche ceremony and it is regarded as the most important ritual in their tribe. Each year, there is an eight-day event celebrating all of the girls who have menstruated in the past year. The days are split between feasting and private ceremonies reflecting on their new womanly status.<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Crawford O'Brien SJ |title=American Indian religious traditions: an Encyclopedia, Volume 2 |year=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SEopBoB8ch0C&pg=PA279 |isbn=9781576075173 |access-date=2013-11-09}}</ref>

In the [[United States]], public schools have a [[sex education]] program that teaches girls about menstruation and what to expect at the onset of menarche; this takes place between the fifth and eight grades. Like most of the modern industrialized world, menstruation is a private matter and a girl's menarche is not a community phenomenon.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Freidenfelds L |title=The Modern Period: Menstruation in Twentieth Century America |year=2009 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0801892455 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n58U9B9BqhQC |access-date=2013-11-09}}</ref>