Children attend an important coming-of-age ritual in their lives, called the first writing ceremony, in Xiamen, in Fujian province, on Aug 6. [Photo/fjsen.com]

A world record was broken in Xiamen -- the main venue in East China's Fujian province -- and other 77 locations across the world on Aug 6 when a total of 23,616 children were organized to perform the first writing ceremony.

The first writing ceremony, which is widely called the enlightenment ceremony, is a key moment for every student before they are admitted to school in China.

The ritual usually occurs in the local Confucius temple when students wear traditional costume and teachers place a red dot on every kid's forehead, representing the opening of wisdom's eye in Chinese traditional culture.

Verified on-site by the official staff of the World Record Certification Agency, the event has been confirmed as "the world's largest first writing ceremony (multiple venues)". 

Damir First (R), the chief certification officer of the World Record Certification Agency, presents a certificate to the organizer of the activity, on Aug 6. [Photo/fjsen.com]

A series of rituals were performed at the ceremony, including bowing to Confucius, beating drums to awaken children's minds, calligraphy writing and recitals of the classics.

One mother who accompanied her girl to the ceremony, was overjoyed. "The whole family is proud of her for participating," she said.

"It allowed her to experience the beauty of traditional culture and etiquette," the mom added.