Nuns haircut

[Mary Marguerite]

I've been told that (in some orders) a postulant's hair, after it is cut, is put in a container (such as a plastic bag), labeled and stored on the off-chance that, should the person become a saint, the hair is part of the relic of that person.  Is this an actual practice?  (Was told by member of the order, so not an urban legend, unless the nun was joking.)

[Antigonos]

It would surprise me  a bit, as hair keeps growing.  In a large community, eventually, if all cuttings were kept, entire mattresses could be stuffed <g>

On a somewhat related topic, if your hair is 30 cm or longer, you can donate it to an organization which uses it to make wigs for those in chemotherapy.  My granddaughter [9] here in Jerusalem just donated her hair, which she'd especially let grow long for that purpose.

[Mary Marguerite]

As I understood it, the hair kept was just the first ceremonial cut, not additional haircuts, but you do make a good point. 

[JHFamily]

When my daughter became a novice a year ago, she first put it in two braids. They cut the braids off, wrapped them up, and gave them to her father and I. I know this is also true with the Poor Clare Collettines and the Benedictines of Mary, as well.  Personally, I don't know of any community that keeps the hair for themselves.

[GraceUk]

In A right to be Merry, the author describes the clothing. And says the hair is boxed up and tied with ribbons by the other novices and given to the new novices mother. Not sure how I feel about this.  Don't think I'd be keen.

[M. Therese]

On 7/26/2015 at 3:29 AM, LukeDominican said:

Hi! I'm new in this forum and english is not my native language, therefore excuse me for my mistakes!

I'd like to know if all the nuns have to cut their hair during investiture ceremony, or just cover them under the veil. And this traditional haircut is well accepted by the young novices? Or this sacrifice is not easy to accept by a girl with a vocation for the religious life?

I'm very interested on this topic because a relative of mine would enter a convent but she is very sad at the thought of having to cut his long hair! Is this normal or strange for an aspirant?

Each community is different. When I was in religious life I braided my long hair and wore it up underneath my veil. Most sisters I've met have short hair so as not to waste time with fixing one's hair especially first thing in the morning.
For nuns who wear more traditional garb where their hair and neck are covered it's more practical to have shorter hair for the sake of cleanliness.

[PaxCordisJesu]

Speaking of nuns' hair, I recently came across this beautiful video of an investiture ceremony. Not sure where it is, as it's all in Spanish/Portuguese/something-like-that. I think I counted 21 locks of hair cut off! Now that's my dream nun haircut. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKG230jzVfI

BTW, that first song is beautiful.

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by PaxCordisJesu