What is the Ceremony of Twelve, and its importance in The Giver?

In Lois Lowry's The Giver, the children born in the same year celebrate together a ceremony each year marking the entrance into a new stage in their lives. The most important of these is the Ceremony of Twelve, which is the final ceremony of childhood. At this ceremony, the community's twelve-year-olds officially enter into adult life, at least in part. They are no longer considered children but must adapt to adult responsibilities.

Also at the Ceremony of Twelve, the young people receive the adult Assignments that they will fulfill for the rest of their lives. These are selected for them based on the authorities' assessment of their skills and abilities. At Jonas's Ceremony of Twelve, he watches as a girl named Madeline is assigned to be Fish Hatchery Attendant. Another girl receives the role of Birthmother. Jonas's friend Asher becomes Assistant Director of Recreation, which pleases him. Another friend, Fiona, is made Caretaker of the Old.

For each young person, the Chief Elder also gives a little speech recognizing that person's differences. This is rare in the community, for people are generally trained to conform to the group in all ways and to leave their differences out of the picture. But at the Ceremony of Twelve, each new adult is recognized, just this once, as the unique individual that he or she is.

Something quite strange happens at Jonas's Ceremony of Twelve. Jonas is number nineteen, the nineteenth child born that year, but as the Chief Elder recognizes each young person in turn, she skips over Jonas. Jonas is horrified and ashamed, thinking that he has done something wrong, but the Chief Elder returns to him at the end of the ceremony, for she has a very special role for him, a role that will change Jonas's life forever: the Receiver of Memory.

What is the Ceremony of Twelve, and its importance in The Giver?

The Ceremony of Twelve takes place each year in December; at this time the Elders select the position that each Twelve will hold in the community. Since this is the final ceremony, it represents a rite of passage into adulthood and is, therefore, the most important ceremony performed for members of the community.

No other ceremonies are performed after the Ceremony of Twelve. Also, this is the occasion on which differences are acknowledged. The Elder tells the soon-to-be Twelves:

"You Elevens have spent all your years till now learning to fit in, ....But, today we honor your differences. They have determined your futures. (Ch.7)

The new Twelves are called one-by-one according to their birth order; then they are given their Assignments, their roles in the community which they will perform for the rest of their lives. The Twelves are assigned roles in the community that the Elders have chosen for them, based upon their observations of each child. After this ceremony age is no longer important, and birthdays are no longer celebrated.

What is the symbolism of the Ceremony of Eleven in The Giver?

While Jonas feels that the Ceremony of Eleven is "not one of the more interesting ones"(46), it does seem to mark the end of prepubescence and the beginning of adolescence as well as an educational advancement.  

Elevens are given new clothing. The females get "different undergarments" (46), and the males get "longer trousers" (46). This reflects the changes that come in adolescence for females and males. It should also be noted that this seems to be the general period when the children begin to experience Stirrings, their first hint of sexual desire. In the story, Asher is already on medication for his Stirrings, and Jonas, almost twelve, has just experienced his own first Stirrings.  So, the Ceremony of Eleven does symbolize the beginnings of adolescence, even though the community has not been able to impose Sameness on the date on which this happens. 

The Elevens' clothing also comes with a special pocket to hold a calculator, which is presented during the ceremony. I think this symbolizes a kind of intellectual "coming of age" for the children, too. In many schools, children are not permitted to use calculators until they have mastered the basic operations of math, and being given a calculator suggests this mastery has been achieved and it is time to move on to higher math. 

Jonas' attitude toward the Ceremony of Eleven, that it was not particularly important, is largely based on his perspective as he approaches the Ceremony of Twelve, at which he and all the other children will receive their assignments for their life's work.  Nevertheless, the ceremony is important, representing a physiological and educational coming of age.

Why is the ceremony of twelve important in The Giver?

The Ceremony of Twelve is the annual ceremony that is held each December and marks the important transition from adolescence to adulthood in Jonas's highly structured community. During the Ceremony of Twelve, each adolescent in that age group is presented with their Assignment by the Chief Elder in front of the entire community. Jonas's community is founded on Sameness, and the Committee of Elders makes every significant decision in the community, including what occupation (Assignment) each citizen will have for the remainder of their adult life. After years of careful observation and analysis, the Committee of Elders chooses the ideal occupation for each Twelve and grants them their Assignment during the Ceremony of Twelve. It also the final ceremony that the adolescents participate in and one that Jonas is extremely anxious about at the beginning of the novel. Unlike the other adolescents in his age group, Jonas has no idea what Assignment he will be given. At the end of the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas discovers that he has been selected to be the community's next Receiver of Memory, which is a revered, enigmatic position in the community.

In The Giver, what is the most important aspect of the Ceremony of Twelve?

The Ceremony of Twelve is important because it is the one time in the community when differences are mentioned. 

Everything in Jonas’s community is about Sameness.  Everyone follows strict rules of behavior and has all of their choices made for them.  Individuality is discouraged.  The one time it is important is in determining what role citizens will play in the community.  For this, the community needs to take advantage of any individual traits that might have survived Sameness.

Everything in the community is designed to keep people from feeling uncomfortable.  Actually, the community is designed to prevent people from feeling at all.  This is what the dream telling and feeling telling rituals are about.  Any time someone has a feeling, the objective is to get rid of it right away.

The Ceremony of Twelve follows ten other ceremonies that promote conformity.  The only other one that doesn’t is the Ceremony of One.  Every child has a number from birth.  At the Ceremony of One they are also assigned a name.  It is one small part of individuality.

The Chief Elder explains why the Ceremony of Twelve is different.

Then the Chief Elder moved ahead in her speech. "This is the time," she began, looking directly at them, "when we acknowledge differences. You Elevens have spent all your years till now learning to fit in, to standardize your behavior, to curb any impulse that might set you apart from the group. (Ch. 7)

She notes that the ceremony honors their differences because they determine their futures.  The committee of elders carefully reviews these differences to assign jobs based on the traits that individuals possess.  It is the one time when it is okay to stand out from the group.

During the ceremony, the other community members do not really do more than sit and listen.  Everyone is expected to come to the ceremony, except the Receiver.  He comes on the day that Jonas is selected, to see Jonas’s part of the ceremony.  There are rituals that the citizens take part in during the ceremonies.  For example, the Ceremony of Loss and the Ceremony of Replacement happen then.  When a four year old dies, the family gets a replacement child during this ceremony.

Now, at this special Naming, the community performed the brief Murmur-of-Replacement Ceremony, repeating the name for the first time since the loss: softly and slowly at first, then faster and with greater volume, as the couple stood on the stage with the newchild sleeping in the mother's arms. (Ch. 6)

This takes place during the ceremony day.  The replacement child gets a name, and all of the other one year olds do too.

The Ceremony of Twelve is one of the main things that makes Jonas's community unique.  It is part of the dystopia, because it means that the community controls everyone's lives down to the last detail.  People can't choose their fates.  They are not even allowed to choose their professions.