Divorce Ceremony?

As I was watching the news this morning I was surprised to hear that divorce ceremonies are becoming popular in Japan. So when I got to school and tried to find something on it in the the Japanese newspaper I didn't really find anything but I ran across an article from 2008 on CNN.

If just discussing divorce in public seemed taboo a few years ago, the growing trend of divorce celebrations is helping lessen the stigma surrounding the end of marriage.

"Yes, it's sad and it's painful, but it's not failure," says Christine Gallagher, the owner of Los Angeles event company The Divorce Party Planner and the author of a book by the same name. "It's part of life, and yet it's the only major event for which we have no ritual.

Full article here.
Yes it may be the only major event for which we have no ritual, but do we need one? One of the commentators on the news today said basically, if they can get along well enough to throw a party, is there need for a divorce. I think the major difference with the celebrations here was that they may involve both parties. They mentioned a part of the ceremony where they take imitation wedding rings and the couple destroys them with a hammer. I think it might be something that is actually helpful but the most disturbing fact from the article was this, "A celebration communicates that divorce is OK -- life-affirming, even.". I so don't agree with that statement.