Main Piece:

What is the Girl Scout Closing Circle?

“At the end of the [girl scout] meeting, you stand with your hands crossed, you hold hands, you sing Taps once and them hum the tune until we’re done. Someone starts a squeeze, they squeeze the hand of the person next to them, and they stick their foot towards the center of the circle and make a wish. Then the next person’s hand gets squeezed and then they put their foot in and make a wish, and it goes all the way around the circle. And then you turn around and untwist your hands, and then the meeting’s over.” 

Context:

The informant is my mother. She was a Girl Scout during her childhood, and then she became a Girl Scout Troop Leader. This information was collected during a family zoom call where we were checking in with each other.

Analysis:

As a Girl Scout, I participated in the Girl Scout closing circle. It is a universal Girl Scout tradition, seeing as we would do it at the end of large Girl Scout events that included more than just our troop. The Closing Circle ends the meeting in a positive way. Holding hands unifies us as a Girl Scout community, and we through linking up we support each other and our wishes. The sticking out of the feet acts as a marker for how fast the process is moving, and is a visual signal to the troop leader for when to end the song. Taps is a traditional song that has been sung by Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and has its roots in US Army traditions.