What the Graduation Cord and Colours Signify
In any kind of graduation ceremony (such as a preschool graduation or a college graduation, there are many elements that you can take note of. One such thing would be the graduation cords. This is also known as the honour cord. The honour code is a piece of twisted cord that has fringe tassels at the end. You might have noticed that only a few or some graduates come to graduation with this honours code draped on their shoulders. This means they are part of honour societies, or they have garnered some sort of achievement awards for academic or non-academic reasons. Usually, these cords come in pairs that have a small knot at the center that will hold the whole thing together. This graduation cord is just but one of the many things one will find at a graduation.
Graduation “Thingamajigs”
The honours cord worn by some graduates are not the only graduation thingamajigs that you will see at a ceremony. You can also see the following, depending on the school that one graduates from: pendants, stoles, and sashes. Some graduates are required to wear it with a corresponding cap and gown, while some are supposed to wear hoods of sorts. Some do not have to wear neither caps nor hoods, just the emblem. Traditionally speaking, the graduation cord may be worn several pieces in one time.
This will depend on the amount of honours or achievements a graduate receives. There are different-colored cords, with the most popular choices being white, red, black, gold, silver, old gold, cardinal, brown, copper, light blue, navy blue, drab, purple, lilac, maroon, maize, forest, pink and orange. If you have several achievements, you may wear two or more of these colours combined for the occasion. Out of the different colours, the black honour cord seems to be the most recognized and respected of the lot.
Black: Pride and Respect
Spotting a graduate wearing a black honour cord automatically alerts you to the fact that that graduate is a walking smarty. He or she may be graduating with a degree from any of the following highly respected courses: labor relations, business education, commerce, accounting, business administration or commercial science. If a graduate is wearing a red honour cord, this symbolizes fire and heat. It is usually worn by graduates from disciplines such as divinity, canon law, journalism, conservation, public health, forestry, theology and music.
Silver holds a special place in a graduation ceremony. When one wears the silver cord, it symbolizes purity, virtue, innocence and brightness. It is usually associated with the moon, so it also means earthy and natural. Graduates who wear the silver cord come from any of the following disciplines: oratory, nephropathy, chiropractic, veterinary science or speech. Another colour of honours code worn by the graduates is the hunter green cord, which means the graduate has a degree in either business management, agricultural, physics or administration. Aside from these popularly sought-after colours, there are other cords that one will notice being worn.