What’s the Word: Graduating is a longtime tradition
Graduation is a major event in most people’s lives. Whether it be high school or university, or kindergarten for that matter, it usually marks a transition in one’s life, a passage to another level. An indication that one has reached a certain degree, (no pun intended … OK, I lied, pun intended), of education and learning.
Usually graduation comes with a elaborately lettered piece of paper called a diploma which represents all the disciplines one has mastered during his or her stay in the halls of knowledge, as well as the veritable panoply of perspicacious erudition that provides the scholar with the wherewithal to decipher the most confounding conundrum, spell words like antidisestablishmentarianism or explain the theory of relativity with deceptive ease. (OK, I’ve always wanted to use the word antidisestablishmentarianism in a sentence, and this was a shameless and patently contrived opportunity to do just that, but hey, I got to use the word. I do apologize however.)
Makes me curious where the word diploma comes from though, since receiving one is the ultimate end of most graduations, though in some ceremonies, kindergarten graduations for instance, graduates tend to use it to peer through like a telescope or bonk some other kid over the head.
Actually, the word diploma comes from the Greek: diploum “to double, fold over,” or from diplos “double.” Which is kind of funny to me, since many of the ones I’ve seen handed out are rolled up with a ribbon around them. Which makes sense, they wouldn’t make a very good pretend telescope otherwise. Of course some spoil-sport educational institutions now present them pressed flat in leather binders. No fun at all.
Another interesting thing about diplomas is the fact they used to be made of sheepskin, which is where the phrase “hang your sheepskin on the wall” came from. They were made of animal skins until about 100 years ago because paper was so hard to produce. Eventually they were made of parchment, though even that has changed somewhat in recent years.
And why do graduates dress in cap and gowns? Well, according to the History of Graduation Web site, the practice began in the 12th and 13th centuries when universities first began forming. These bastions of learning required that scholars with degrees wear gowns at all times. By the time of Henry the VIII in England, Oxford and Cambridge started using a standard form of academic dress and because America was founded by English immigrants in large part, the custom of wearing caps and gowns came with them and became a part of the graduation ceremony.
Another part of traditional graduations I find interesting is the music played while the graduates march across the stage to receive their diplomas. Most people know the piece is called “Pomp and Circumstance,” but most probably don’t know who the composer is. Sir Edward Elgar composed the tune and it was first performed on Oct. 19, 1901 in Liverpool. Elgar got some music education from his father, but is, for the most part, considered a self-taught composer. He also composed concertos for the violin and cello, but is best known for his five “Pomp and Circumstance” marches. This tradition probably comes from our British roots as well, though times change and not all institutions still use it today.
Well, that’s my graduation column for this year. Hope you liked it and learned something interesting, but more than anything else, I want to congratulate all the graduates in Warren County for their hard work and diligence.
(Charlie Johnson is news editor for the Standard and can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].)