Sixteen is the age in the US when teenagers can begin to drive. It's a special age. There's often a special celebration for a girl's 16th birthday—a big party which is called Sweet-16. It is like adults' wedding (婚礼) party.
Last month was Caroline's 16th birthday. About a month before her Sweet-16, the girl's family sent out invitations to the guests. Her parents bought a special and wonderful present for the birthday girl. A Sweet-16 present usually costs $40 to $60. This is about $20 more than the usual cost of a birthday present. All the girl guests wore beautiful dresses to attend the party.
The party was not held at Caroline's own house. The hostess rented a beautiful and grand hall for the event. They prepared delicious food, different tastes of cakes and a famous DJ. The party started at around 6 o'clock in the evening. The guests came and had some greetings with the hostess. Then the girl and her father had a special father-daughter dance. After that, guests danced for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Then there came the most important part of the Sweet-16 party, named the candle-lighting ceremony. Caroline stood behind 16 unlit candles and gave each candle to her friends, family and anyone that she felt was important in her life. A lot of crying and hugging went on at that time. Everybody was so moved at that moment.
Afterwards, people sat and ate with joy. Most guests left at around 11 o'clock that night. Caroline loved the party and felt very excited. She could not believe that she's an adult now.
