For a one time friendship ritual, many have probably heard of the act of becoming “blood brothers” or “blood sisters”. This has always been a popular ceremony to show the loyalty and dedication of friendships that will hopefully last forever. This is usually done by participants making small cuts on a finger, allowing a bit of blood to flow out and then each person pressing that part of their finger to the others. In this way, it has been thought that the blood will mix and then will make the friends into “blood brothers” or “blood sisters”. While this tradition has been around for a very long time, in today’s world if one wishes to do this, it is wise to be very careful. Diseases can be carried through one’s blood; HIV in particular. This must be considered. In addition, using a cutting instrument that is not sterilized can bring infection. There are other friendship rituals that can be preformed without the element of cutting.
Friends can each take a favorite piece of clothing and give it to the other. Friends can write a special ceremonial speech that shows dedication to the friendship. Friends may also buy matching items that will always be worn to show the friendship bond. Items can be identical pieces of jewelry, such as necklaces, rings or bracelets. In some circumstances, a friendship ritual has included all friends having matching tattoos put on their bodies. One must be very certain of this idea, as tattoos will be permanent. Even with laser techniques that are said to remove tattoos, these body artworks will usually be removed but will leave a certain amount of scarring. Some tattoos may be covered by others; however the second tattoo must usually be a bit larger and also be darker and denser.
One method of having a friendship ritual is to make a tradition that friends will participate in. This can be schedules to be once a week, once a month, or once a year, depending on what type of event will take place. Some friends will have a weekly poker night and set that one night aside each week to devote to spending time with their friend or friends without distractions from the rest of the world. Rituals can also be monthly, such as going to dine at a fabulous restaurant or visiting favorite hangout locations such as a museum or a park. A yearly friendship ritual may be something that is a bit more costly; however it can be wonderful for bonding. Some friends will go on vacation together each year. This can be done in many ways. Friends may decide to go away for the weekend or to take a vacation to a far away destination. A number of friends may decide that it is best to have one particular destination that is visited each year, while others will have a tradition of finding new and exciting vacation spots.
No matter which friendship ritual friends decide to have, it is important that all parties completely agree on the idea and if it is one that requires money, all parties must be able to afford the ritual. Leaving out a friend because of financial restraints will go against the very reason for having a friendship ritual.