Getting "Hooded" (at Graduation)

I've been asked, what does the white hood symbolize? For academic regalia in the United States, white is the color that represents the Humanities. Though receiving the actual degree certificate on paper confirms my attendence and completion of the work for a Master's in History at New York University, at the ceremony getting "hooded" is the only way the audience knows my degree has been conferred. Though a lot of paperwork and signatures went into figuring out if I had completed the requirements, the ceremony expresses this a bit more regally. I have no good pictures of being hooded because someone walked directly in front of me on stage when my aunt snapped the would-be illustrative photograph. My mom had the wrong setting on her camera, so all interior shots are too dark. And my eyes are closed in the shot taken by the official photographer, so we did not buy one for framing.

There would be no other reason for the ceremony if such a symbolic action did not occur. It is just one procedure marking this "rite of passage," much like when I stood before the judge and put the ring on my husband's finger and he did the same to mine. We have a piece of paper to confirm that we are married, but the ring-ing action also confirms it for the people in the room. The tax man and the future employer would not take these symbolic actions as proof that I am married or have a Master's. Only the legal or official documents will prove it true. As some people ask, what is marriage but a piece of paper, or what does that diploma really stand for? It is quite obvious that many gay couples live in unison without the paper, and the actions taken to mark the "rite of passage" become symbolic and meaningful in their own way. And I could have just as easily skipped the graduation ceremony, or changed our vows to eliminate the ring part, not had a reception or invited anyone to the ceremony so that all I have left are the papers to prove it. But what kind of fun would that be?

Proof: it's whatever you put in the pudding. And there's symbolism in however you put "the whatever" there.