1. Thailand
1.1. Diplomas are given out to students by members of the Royal family
1.1.1. No one is permitted entrance to the hall except the graduates
1.1.2. Students must bow to the Royal handing out the diplomas
1.2. They must be dressed in traditional gowns over their student uniforms
1.2.1. Women are allowed no hair decoration and must wear stockings with plain black shoes
1.2.2. Men are expected to have no facial hair, and their hairstyle is required to be short
2. Philippines
2.1. The processional includes the parents, who walk alongside the student
2.1.1. Having received their diploma, they are honored with a garland placed around their necks
3. Spain
3.1. The robes have a built-in cape similar to those worn by the Pope
3.1.1. They have lace cuffs and a round hat with a very large cuff
4. Japan
4.1. The students enter into a coordinated march and sing as they line up for diplomas
4.1.1. The school year begins in March and the lower grades return to school immediately after the short ceremony
4.2. They wear their school uniforms
4.2.1. Dark blazers and slacks with a white shirt and red tie for the men
4.2.2. Dark blazers, a plaid skirt, white shirt and red tie, along with dark knee socks and black shoes for the 0women
4.3. At Japan’s Kanazawa College of Art, ceremonies look more like Halloween than a graduation
4.3.1. Students wear whatever they want, and their attire has become so outrageous that TV crews come in to film the ceremonies
5. China
5.1. Graduates have started a new trend of renting wedding gowns to wear to graduation
5.1.1. Traditional ceremonies usually don’t take place, and the students may set their own style of celebration without parents and relatives attending
6. South Africa
6.1. Commencement celebrations are very formal
6.1.1. The procession is made up of the entire faculty
6.1.1.1. The choir is usually present for a song or two and once the ceremony is complete, James Brown’s recording of I Feel Goodis played
7. Germany
7.1. Usually don’t have any ceremonies when they graduate and are more focused on taking the final exam
7.1.1. Exam called Abitur, which grants them entrance to apprenticeships and universities
8. Argentina
8.1. The ceremony is complete students have food
8.1.1. Sticky things like ketchup and syrup
9. Norwegian
9.1. Spend the last month of school at parties
9.1.1. They sometimes wear matching overalls and ride around in buses or vans decorated for contests such as “the best bus of the year” and “the best music setup” of the year
10. United States
10.1. Has many types of graduations, depending on the school attended
10.1.1. Formerly, only high school seniors and college graduates participated in these ceremonies, but a more recent trend adds ceremonies for kindergarten, elementary schools, and middle schools