Custom, rite, ritual in traditional culture. The essence and terminological correlation of the concepts of “tradition”, “custom”, “rite”, “ritual” and “ceremony” Fashion and hobbies

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Unlike manners and etiquette, customs are inherent to the broad masses of people. A custom is a spontaneously formed, habitual, stereotypical way of behavior of people. Custom - traditionally established order of behavior. It is based on habit and refers to collective forms of action. Customs are mass patterns of actions approved by society that are recommended to be performed. Informal sanctions are applied to violators - disapproval, isolation, censure. The Slavs had such collective actions as the custom of giving birth to the first child in the parental home, the custom of feeding the father of the newborn at the christening dinner with a mixture of porridge, pepper, salt, vodka, and sometimes vinegar, the custom of “sealing the grave,” etc.

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M. Kupriyanova English etiquette

Most people associate the word “etiquette” with something like a white starched tablecloth, which is pulled out on holidays. Meanwhile, using the rules of etiquette every day, you get additional pleasure from communicating with others. A few words about specific rules of good manners. Who should go through the door first - a man or a woman? There are two legends about this. Our ancestors, to check whether the cave was inhabited, launched a woman first. If she returned, the husbands boldly took over the shelter; if not, they looked for another. In the Middle Ages, a woman walked in front of a man and thereby seemed to protect him - the cult of the Beautiful Lady was so strong that it was unthinkable to attack not only the woman, but also her companion. Today, a man should go ahead of a woman when he can protect her from possible danger, say, when entering a restaurant or an elevator. In other cases, he walks behind.

Approaching the door, a woman expects a man to open it. She can count on the same service when leaving the car. ^Which side should a man walk from a woman - to the right or to the left? Since he is obliged to hold you with his right, his strongest hand,

Hey, we need to move to the right. But there are two exceptions to this rule: if your companion is a military man and if you are moving along the street, then you need to choose the least dangerous or dirty side. Who greets whom first? French military regulations say that the most polite person greets first. But according to etiquette, a young man should greet an older man, a man should greet a woman. But the hand is offered to shake -

in reverse order: woman to man, elder to younger.

In general, a handshake is not a very desirable form of greeting for a woman. When she extends her hand, she often doesn’t know whether they will shake her fingers or kiss her. Therefore, it is better for a woman to offer her hand in a relaxed and vague way, so that the man has a choice. Adapted and abridged from: Moskovsky Komsomol member. 1994. April 7.

Tsivyan T.V. On some issues of constructing the language of etiquette // Proceedings on sign systems. "artu, 1965. T. 2. P. 144.

Custom regulates the behavior of group members, strengthens group cohesion, and introduces the individual to the social and cultural experience of the group. Examples of customs are New Year celebrations, weddings, visiting, etc. Compliance with customary norms is ensured by the strength of the group's public opinion.

A custom that is preserved and passed on from generation to generation is called tradition (from lat. traditional- transmission, legend). Tradition is everything that is inherited from predecessors. Tradition is represented by values, norms, patterns of behavior, ideas, social institutions, tastes, and views. Meetings of former classmates, fellow soldiers, and the raising of the national or ship’s flag can become traditional. Some traditions are performed in a casual setting, while others are performed in a festive, upbeat setting. They belong to the cultural heritage, are surrounded by honor and respect, and serve as a unifying principle.

Tradition is a method of reproduction, the process of transmission (transmission) from one generation to another of the basic content of culture - values and norms. Traditions preserve all that is most valuable in culture.

The mechanism of such transfer is:

♦ folklore, i.e. oral tradition;

♦ imitation, repetition of a pattern of behavior. Adequacy is achieved through repeated repetition of actions, and rituals play a great role in this.

In pre-industrial societies, most, and in pre-literate societies, the entire content of culture was transmitted through traditions.

The importance of traditions for the life of society is difficult to overestimate. They play a role similar to heredity in a living organism. And just as disturbances in the apparatus of heredity can lead to the death of an organism, so cultural destruction and loss can lead to the degradation of society.

Traditions do not allow the “connections of times” to disintegrate; they accumulate the cultural experience of previous generations and pass it on to their descendants, which allows them to build their lives not from scratch, but from the place where their ancestors left off. The interruption of a cultural tradition (as a result of natural disasters, wars) leads society to decline. The loss of traditions means the loss of socio-historical memory (public amnesia), as a result, the people cease to feel that they are subjects of history, just as a person who has lost his memory ceases to feel that he is a person. Such people (and society) are easy to manipulate, like a child.

Therefore, sometimes a cultural tradition is interrupted not only by force, but artificially. Some forces, in arrogant impatience, are trying to “drive the nag of history” by making a “great leap.” The main way of this is to break the connection between generations, pitting “progressive” children against “backward” fathers: the Hitler Youth in Germany, the Red Guards in China. The sad consequences of this are well known. In general, the desire to renounce the old world, to destroy everything to the ground, to throw Pushkin off the ship of modernity is a manifestation of extreme lack of culture, sociological illiteracy and national unconsciousness.

The implementation of sociocultural norms is often expressed in rites and rituals - a strictly defined sequence of symbolic actions embodying certain social ideas.

Rituals accompany the most important moments in a person’s life - birth (baptism, naming), growing up (initiation), creating a family (wedding, wedding), death (funeral service, burial, wake). The social meaning of the ritual is to promote better assimilation by the individual of group values and norms. The power of the ritual lies in its emotional and psychological impact. The aesthetic side of the ritual is aimed at this - music, songs, dances, expressive gestures, etc.

Often ritualism is associated only with religion. In fact, ceremonial (ritual) actions are common in all spheres of social reality: the military oath, initiation into students, opening of a monument, inauguration of the president, etc. Even in prison there are rituals. For example, the ritual of “registration”, i.e. welcoming a newcomer into the prison community; ritual of “lowering” - transfer to a low-status group, lower “caste”.

Rituals associated with birth, wedding, death are called family; agricultural and other rituals - calendar ones.

In medieval England there was such a custom. When an apprentice, engaged in unskilled dirty work, was transferred to master printers, who were engaged in clean, highly skilled work, the comrades finally arranged a wash in reverse. The young man was immersed in a vat of waste. It could have been yogurt stored in advance, into which colleagues spat, urinated, and did whatever came to mind for several days. Through the rite of passage, i.e. Literally everyone went through the rite of passage from one job to another. It survived in England until recent days, but in a purely symbolic form.

Many ancient rituals are associated with bread. Twinning is the sharing of a cake between named brothers, a wedding ceremony is the ritual of sharing bread between husband and wife. “Bread and salt” - this greeting is a symbol of cordiality and hospitality. In the religious rite of communion, believers “eat the flesh” of God in the form of bread.

Ceremony and ritual

They exist not only in the sphere of religion, as one might think. Symbolic actions permeate all areas of human culture.

Ceremony- a sequence of actions that have symbolic meaning and are dedicated to marking (celebrating) any events or dates. The function of these actions is to emphasize the special value of the events being celebrated for the society or group. A coronation is a prime example of a ceremony that is important to society.

Ritual- a highly stylized and carefully planned set of gestures and words, performed by persons specially selected and trained for this purpose. The ritual is endowed with symbolic meaning. It is intended to dramatize this event and evoke awe in those present. An example of a ritual is making a sacrifice to a pagan god.

Most rituals break down into their component parts and elements. Thus, an obligatory part of the aircraft takeoff ritual is waiting for the command “Takeoff is cleared.”

The farewell ritual includes the following: sit on the path, hug, cry, wish a safe journey, do not sweep the floor for three days, etc. The ritual of submitting a scientific dissertation is a complex set of elements.

The history of many rituals goes back to ancient times. For example, no one knows where and when the ritual of “fire dancing” first arose (only written mentions of it, made in the 1st century BC, remain). People can walk on fire and even dance barefoot on all continents. This is done, in particular, by the North American Indians of the Navajo tribe, the peasants of Sri Lanka and Muslims in India, the inhabitants of Landagas (Greece), the shamans of the Chinese Lolo tribe, and the Bulgarians. In Rus', people did not walk on hot coals, but during the celebration of the arrival of spring, young peasants jumped through the high flames of a large fire.

According to K. Lorenz, the ritual has a cultural origin and fulfills three Features: prohibition of fighting between group members; keeping them in a closed community; delimitation of this community from other groups. The ritual deters aggression and unites the group. The accumulation of aggression is all the more dangerous the better the members of a given group know each other, the more they understand and love each other. Sometimes we respond to minor gestures from our best friend, whether he coughs or blows his nose, as if we had been hit by a drunken hooligan. Human culture is entirely based on ritual. Non-ritualized actions such as picking, scratching, sneezing, spitting, etc. there is very little left in it. They are called uncivil actions.

The rigidity of traditional ritual and the persistence with which we adhere to it are necessary for society. But every person needs them too. After all, adherence to rituals and cultural patterns requires control on the part of our consciousness and will, and insistent control over our behavior further develops the sphere of morality and morality.

Manners and prohibitions

Morals are a type of custom. Manners- these are especially significant and highly respected customs for the group that have moral significance.

Mores reflect the moral values of society; violation of them is punished more severely than violation of traditions. From the word “mores” comes “morality” - ethical standards, spiritual principles that determine the most important aspects of the life of society. Latin moralis means "moral". Mores are customs that have moral significance. This category includes those forms of human behavior that exist in a given society and can be subjected to moral assessment. In ancient Rome, this concept meant “the most respected and sanctified customs.” In many societies, it is considered immoral to walk the streets naked (although it is allowed to do this at home), insult elders, beat a woman, offend the weak, mock the disabled, etc.

A special form of morals are special prohibitions, which are called taboo. This Polynesian word denotes a system of prohibitions on performing certain actions (using any objects, pronouncing words), the violation of which in primitive society was punishable by supernatural forces.

Taboo- an absolute prohibition imposed on any action, word, object. It regulated the most important aspects of human life: it ensured compliance with marriage norms, protected from dangers associated

in particular, with touching a corpse. Taboo(the process of imposing taboos) was widespread in archaic societies, but taboos have not disappeared in modern cultures.

Taboos served as the basis for many later social and religious norms. In modern society, certain aspects are subject to taboo: consanguineous relationships - the ban on incest (incest); food process - a ban on cannibalism, a ban on eating pork among Jews and Muslims. Desecration of graves or insulting feelings of patriotism are taboo. Taboo is the strongest type of social prohibition existing in human society, the violation of which is punished especially harshly.

Fashion and hobbies

A person learns traditions and customs regardless of his will and desires. There is no freedom of choice here. On the contrary, such elements of culture as tastes, hobbies and fashion indicate a person’s free choice.

Taste- an inclination or predilection for something, most often a feeling or understanding of the graceful. Taste in clothing shapes individual style,

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Prohibitions on food and drink

They exist in different religions. In Orthodoxy, the principle of Christian freedom is observed in matters of food intake. Christ freed people from the obligation to observe the requirements of the Mosaic Law, set out in the Old Testament, in food and drink.

And yet some prohibitions exist: you cannot eat strangled animals and blood (i.e. meat containing blood), for “blood is the soul.” You cannot indulge in excesses in food and drunkenness, for “drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Orthodox Christians have a special diet during fasting. God-obedient Jews eat kosher food, i.e. ritual, prepared according to special rules. It is divided into several categories - vegetable, fish and meat. However, fish food is not considered kosher if the fish does not have scales. Meat food is considered kosher if the animal has no wounds. Orthodox Jews do not eat meat with blood. In addition, Jews can only eat animals with cloven hooves and regurgitation. They do not eat meat food after dairy food for six hours, but they can eat dairy food after meat food, but after rinsing their mouth first. The most detailed rules regarding food are developed in Islam. In addition to direct prohibitions, there are also indirect ones, meaning censure or disapproval. Eating pork is absolutely prohibited. Such a ban existed in Ancient Egypt, among the Jews, and then among the early Christians. The reason is that pork spoils faster in hot climates and

There are more chances to be poisoned by this meat than by lamb or beef. Islam strictly prohibits the consumption of alcohol. Even being present at a drunken feast is considered a sin for a Muslim. The appearance of the ban on alcohol is not accidental. Drunkenness interfered with the fulfillment of religious orders. For a devout Muslim it is considered

It is a sin to miss at least one of the five obligatory daily prayers. It is condemned, although not prohibited, to eat mule meat. Historians explain this relaxation by the fact that the Turkic peoples, whose menu traditionally included horse meat, joined Islam. It is allowed to eat fish. Sharia - the Muslim code of laws and rules - separately stipulates which parts of the body of animals cannot be eaten: blood, genitals, uterus, tonsils, spinal cord, gall bladder, etc. Finally, the meat of even “edible” animals becomes forbidden if the animal is not slaughtered according to Sharia rules. Abridged by source: AiF. 1994. No. 9.

manner of dressing. Taste is individual, so it shows how much a person has deviated from generally accepted norms, average standards.

Enthusiasm- short-term emotional addiction. Each generation has its own hobbies: tight trousers, jazz music, wide ties, etc.

Fashion- a change in hobbies that have taken hold of large groups.

fashion also understood as the quickly passing popularity of something or someone. Usually these are some minor standards - in clothing, nutrition, behavior, etc. If a person’s taste can remain throughout his life, then hobbies are constantly changing. When hobbies take hold of the masses, they develop into fashion. A taste for twists, short skirts or flying saucers can be called both fashion and hobby. Unlike fads, fashion expresses social symbols. Having fashionable slacks is considered prestigious not because they are beautiful, but because slacks are a symbol of popular culture. Fashionable items are more expensive than ordinary clothes, and their purchase is regarded as success. Fashion trends are more characteristic of an urban environment, where a person’s status and prestige depend not so much on hard work or character, but on lifestyle, level of well-being, and manner of dressing.

If customs and mores are stable and long-term social norms, then fashion and hobbies are among the unstable and short-term patterns of behavior. Fashion - periodic changes in patterns of mass behavior: in clothing, musical tastes, architecture, art, speech behavior. Custom is oriented toward tradition, while fashion is oriented toward modernity, renewal, and innovation.

Fashion is not characteristic of primitive societies, but becomes common in complex, industrial societies. It could not be found in a caste society. In a class society, fashion was limited to a circle of aristocrats; in a class society, it subjugated the masses of people. The so-called mass, or flow, production, when standardized and cheap products are manufactured, is such because it satisfies

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Versailles fashion

From the middle XVII V. The French court of King Louis XIV became the trendsetter. This was the heyday of the absolute monarchy in France. Its manifestation in fashion was the fashion of the nobility and royalty, a continuation of Spanish fashion, adapted to the tastes of the French. Strict geometry was replaced by bright tones and colors, complex cut. From that time on, French taste and fashion conquered all of Europe and did not cease to dominate it for centuries. Baroque fashion introduced new materials and decorations; silk and lace replaced velvet. The clothes became very picturesque. The freely flowing dress embodied fantasy, and with it the desire for eccentricity and luxury. The nobles wore camisoles made of brocade and decorated with gold

ribbons, vests, tight knee-length trousers, silk stockings. Near 1640 wigs with curled curls appeared. The king was the trendsetter. Louis XIV loved extravagant clothes, wore shoes decorated with 40 cm wide ribbons. The king's favorites were allowed to wear a blue cloak with a red lining, embroidered with gold.

meets the needs of the broad mass of consumers. With mass production, mass art and its element, fashion, came to modern society.

Fashion has the ability to come quickly and disappear quickly. The cycle of changing people's tastes and preferences is very short - several years. Often, at a new stage, something that once existed returns. The cycle of returning the old lasts 20-30 years. For example, in the 1980s. among young people, torn jeans and scarves on the forehead were in fashion; This is how hippies dressed back in the 1960s. Twist, neck, tight trousers, sleeveless dresses, fire-in-the-jungle ties, walks near bodies of water and cultural conversations (about nature, weather, music, books) became fashionable among teenagers. The culture of the 1960s and 1970s has returned to everyday life, i.e. the clothes, manners, music and spirit of their parents' generation. Teenagers of the “new wave” began to be called fans of their parents’ childhood (hipsters).

Not all segments of human behavior are subject to fashion and hobbies. Religious activities, political activities, and family life are regulated to a greater extent by customs and traditions and to a lesser extent by fashion and hobbies.

Flavors determined by the climatic and geographical conditions in which the people live. Thus, among the landlocked Zulus and Mongols, fish has never been a fashionable delicacy, and in Oceania they rarely eat meat. The main product (mass fashion) here is fish, but the residents do not have enough protein and even eat insects.

However, with all the diversity of human tastes, there is one product that is consumed by all peoples - bread. Until the Middle Ages, most of the civilized world used unleavened flatbread as bread. It was only at the very beginning of the Middle Ages that flatbreads in Europe were replaced by bread made from fermented dough. Yeast appeared in Egypt 3.5 thousand years ago, but at first yeast bread was available only to a select few. The experience of his baking was borrowed from Egypt in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, where the baker was elevated above other artisans. When people mastered the technology of baking cheap bread, it became a fashionable product available to the general public.

Values

Culture, like society, rests on a value system. Values- socially approved and shared by most people ideas about what goodness, justice, patriotism, romantic love, friendship, etc. are. Values are not questioned; they serve as a standard and ideal for all people. If fidelity is considered a value, then deviation from it is condemned as betrayal. If cleanliness is a value, then sloppiness and uncleanliness are condemned as indecent behavior.

No society can survive without values. Individuals can choose whether to share these or other values. Some are committed to the values of collectivism, while others are committed to the values of individualism. For some, the highest value may be money, for others - moral integrity, for others - a political career. To describe what values people are guided by, sociologists introduced the term "value orientations". They describe individual attitudes or the choice of specific values as a norm of behavior.

So, values belong to the group or society, value orientations belong to the individual. Values are beliefs shared by many people about goals to strive for.

The honor and dignity of the family has been one of the most important values of the human community since ancient times. By showing concern for his family, a man thereby demonstrates his strength, courage, virtue and everything that is highly valued by others. He chose highly respected values to guide his behavior. They became his cultural norm, and the psychological attitude toward their observance became his value orientation. By studying the value orientations of modern Russians using a survey method, sociologists can find out: a) what specific values they prefer to be guided by at work and at home; b) how the social ideals behind private orientations are understood, correctly or incorrectly.

Even the simplest norms of behavior represent what is valued by a group or society. Cultural norms and values are closely interrelated. The difference between a norm and a value is expressed as follows:

♦ norms - rules of behavior;

♦ values - abstract concepts of what is good and evil, right and wrong, due and improper

The basis of the eastern culture of Japan and China is filial piety(Chinese: xiao). It includes such officially recognized duties as respect for parents, unquestioning obedience to them, and the duty to take care of one’s father and mother throughout one’s life. Compliance with this cultural standard alone has so restructured social relations in society that the Chinese people today are perhaps superior to all others in terms of parts of respect for elders.

Values have a common basis with norms. Even common habits of personal hygiene (washing your face, brushing your teeth, blowing your nose into a handkerchief, ironing your trousers) in a broad sense act as values and are translated by society into the language of regulations.

Prescriptions- is a prohibition or permission to do something, addressed to an individual or group and expressed in any form (oral or written, formal or informal).

Values is what justifies and gives meaning to norms. Human life is a value, and its protection is the norm. A child is a social value, the responsibility of parents to take care of him in every possible way is a social norm. Some norms are obvious, perceived at the level of common sense, and we implement them without thinking. Others require tension and serious moral choices. Giving your seat to older people and saying hello when meeting people you know seems obvious. However, staying with a sick mother or going to fight for the liberation of the Motherland (the hero of one of J.P. Sartre’s plays was faced with such a dilemma) is a choice between two fundamental moral values.

Thus, in a society, some values can come into conflict with others when both are equally recognized as inalienable norms of behavior. Not only norms of the same type come into conflict, but also different types, for example, religious and patriotic: a believer who sacredly observes the norm “thou shalt not kill” is asked to go to the front and kill enemies.

People have learned to resolve value conflicts (in whole or in part, real or illusory) in various ways. For example, the Orthodox

vie and Catholicism do not give hope of salvation to a person who has unjustly acquired wealth: “let no rich man enter the kingdom of God.” To atone for the sin of money-grubbing, Russian merchants donated huge amounts of money for the construction of churches and shelters for the poor. In Western Europe they found a more radical solution - Protestantism justified wealth. True, Protestantism only justifies what it has acquired through tireless personal labor. Therefore, the Protestant ethic has served humanity a great service, ultimately becoming a teaching not justifying wealth, but calling for diligent work.

Rice. 34. To atone for the sin of money-grubbing, Russian merchants donated huge amounts of money

for the construction of temples

Values are generally accepted beliefs about the goals to which a person should strive. They form the basis of moral principles. In Christian morality, the Ten Commandments include the preservation of human life (“thou shalt not kill”), marital fidelity (“thou shalt not commit adultery”), and respect for parents (“honor thy father and thy mother”).

Different cultures may give preference to different values (heroism on the battlefield, material enrichment, asceticism). Each society has the right to determine for itself what is a value and what is not. For example, the traditional values of American culture include personal success, activity and hard work, efficiency and usefulness, progress, things as a sign of well-being, and respect for science. Russian culture has always valued not individualism, but collectivism, which is sometimes respectfully called conciliarity, non-personal success, but the public good, not profit and utilitarianism, but compassion and mercy. At the same time, values such as hard work and respect for science are highly valued not only in American culture, but also in Russian. What other similarities and differences can you find? Ponder this.

Unlike manners and etiquette, customs are inherent to the broad masses of people.

Custom is a traditionally established order of behavior. It is based on habit and refers to collective forms of action.

Customs are socially approved mass patterns of action that are recommended to be followed. Informal sanctions are applied to violators - disapproval, isolation, censure.

If habits and customs are passed on from one generation to another, they become traditions.

Tradition is everything that is inherited from predecessors. Originally this word meant “tradition.” Tradition also includes values, norms, patterns of behavior, ideas, social institutions, tastes, and views.

Meetings of former classmates, fellow soldiers, and the raising of the national or ship’s flag can become traditional. Traditions belong to the cultural heritage, are surrounded by honor and respect, and serve as a unifying principle.

A type of tradition is a ritual. It characterizes not selective, but mass actions.

Rite is a set of actions established by custom or ritual. They express some religious ideas or everyday traditions. Rituals are not limited to one social group, but apply to all segments of the population.

Rituals accompany important moments of human life associated with birth (baptism, naming), wedding (matchmaking, bride price, engagement), entry into a new field of activity (military oath, initiation into pioneers, students, workers) or transition to another age (initiation), death (burial, funeral service, commemoration).

Ceremony and ritual

Ceremony is a sequence of actions that have symbolic meaning and are dedicated to marking (celebrating) any events or dates. The function of these actions is to emphasize the special value of the events being celebrated for the society or group. A coronation is a prime example of a ceremony important to society.

A ritual is a highly stylized and carefully planned set of gestures and words performed by people specially chosen and trained for this purpose. The ritual has symbolic meaning. It is intended to dramatize the event and evoke awe in the audience. Sacrificing a person to a pagan god is a vivid example of a ritual.

Most rituals break down into their component parts and elements. For example, an obligatory part of the aircraft takeoff ritual is waiting for the command “Takeoff is cleared.” Elements of the farewell ritual: sit “on the path”, hug, cry, wish a safe journey, do not sweep the floor for three days, etc. The complex composition of the elements includes the ritual of defending a scientific dissertation.

The ritual has a cultural origin and performs three functions: Kravchenko A.I. Culturology. - M., 2005. - P. 101.

a) prohibition of fighting between group members;

b) keeping them in a closed community;

c) delimiting this community from other groups.

The ritual deters aggression and unites the group. An example of a ritual is maintaining good behavior, etiquette in business relations, diplomatic reception and much more that we do not consider a ritual, although it is one. Human culture is entirely based on ritual.

The rigidity of traditional ritual and the persistence with which we adhere to it are necessary for society. But we also need them personally. After all, compliance with rituals and cultural norms requires control on the part of our consciousness and will, and close control over our behavior further develops and trains morality.

Every people inhabiting our planet does not appear out of nowhere. The roots of any nation in the world, the echoes of the past history make up a unique canvas into which the destinies of people are woven. Unique customs, established traditions and even the most incredible and exotic rituals make up the invisible, but purely individual cultural heritage of each nation. Customs and rituals are an integral part of life. Some of them came to us from religions, the other - from a huge variety of signs, traditions, beliefs and superstitions. Let's get acquainted with the essence and deep meaning of some traditions of the inhabitants of Russia.

Wedding: a touching sacrament

Paganism, as the first religion of the Slavs, gave us Maslenitsa, magnificent and Christmas fortune-telling. Traditionally, Russian weddings were played in autumn or winter, in the intervals between long fasts. Especially popular was the so-called "wedding party" - the period from Christmas to Maslenitsa.

On Forgiveness Sunday - the last day of the festivities - everyone asked for forgiveness from each other, freeing themselves from accumulated grievances, giving gifts to relatives. The culmination of the holiday is the burning of an effigy as a symbol of the ending long winter. “For a rich harvest,” the ashes were scattered over the fields. They burned bonfires from straw and unnecessary old things in order to get rid of everything superfluous. In the evening, pancakes were used to remember deceased relatives.

Christian Easter

Christianity has given us the wonderful holiday of Easter. The customs of the peoples of different countries in celebrating this day are varied. We will not dwell on Orthodox church rituals. They are majestic and beautiful. Let's look at traditional household customs. An example of the most common ritual actions in Russia is the baking of Easter cakes and the coloring of eggs, symbols of the immortal body of Christ, which are consecrated in churches. These rituals are so common that even atheists do not avoid them.

In the morning, after all-night vigils and religious processions around the churches, the celebration of the miraculous resurrection of Christ begins. People congratulate each other with the words “Christ is risen!”, receiving the answer “Truly he is risen!” and exchanging blessed Easter cakes and eggs. The name of this custom is Christening. These traditional rituals are so widespread that not only believers, but also atheists exchange Easter treats.

There are many rituals in the world. The customs, an example of which is given in the article, are the most common in Russia.

Custom- a traditionally established order of behavior. It is based on habit and refers to collective forms of action.

Customs are socially approved mass patterns of action that are recommended to be followed. If habits and customs are passed on from one generation to another, they become traditions.

Tradition- everything that is inherited from predecessors. Originally this word meant “tradition.” Tradition also includes values, norms, patterns of behavior, ideas, social institutions, tastes, and views. Meetings of former classmates, fellow soldiers, and the raising of the national or ship’s flag can become traditional. Some traditions are performed in everyday life, while others are performed in a festive, upbeat atmosphere. A type of tradition is a ritual. It characterizes not selective, but mass actions.

Ritual- a set of actions established by custom or ritual. They express some religious ideas or everyday traditions. Rituals are not limited to one social group, but apply to all segments of the population.

Ritual- a highly stylized and carefully planned set of gestures and words performed by people specially selected and trained for this purpose. The ritual has symbolic meaning. It is intended to dramatize the event and evoke awe in the audience. Sacrificing a person to a pagan god is a clear example of a ritual. Most rituals break down into their component parts and elements. For example, an obligatory part of the aircraft takeoff ritual is waiting for the command “Takeoff is cleared.” Elements of the farewell ritual: sit “on the path”, hug, cry, wish a safe journey, do not sweep the floor for three days, etc. The complex composition of the elements includes the ritual of defending a scientific dissertation. According to K. Lorenz, ritual has a cultural origin and performs three functions: a) prohibiting struggle between group members, b) keeping them in a closed community and c) delimiting this community from other groups. The ritual deters aggression and unites the group.

Manners- especially protected, highly respected mass patterns of action by society. Mores reflect the moral values of society; their violation is punished more severely than violation of traditions. Mores are customs that have moral significance. This category includes those forms of human behavior that exist in a given society and can be subjected to moral assessment.

Taboo- an absolute prohibition imposed on any action, word, object. It regulated the most important aspects of human life: it ensured compliance with marriage norms, and protected against dangers associated, in particular, with touching a corpse.

Laws- norms or rules of conduct formalized by a parliamentary or government document, i.e., supported by the political authority of the state and requiring strict implementation. There are two types of laws. Normal right — in pre-industrial society: a set of unwritten rules of behavior sanctioned by the state. From customary law gradually arose formal, or legal, laws, enshrined in the Constitution - the main political law of the country. Breaking the laws carries criminal penalties, the most severe of which is the death penalty.

What is the difference between norm, law and custom?? Let's consider their relationship using the example of China. A norm is a moral prescription of how one should act. Custom is a common practice, typical, mass actions, something that happens as usual. For example, the Confucian norm in China condemns widow remarriage. But this norm did not become a custom or widespread practice, and remarriages of widows happened very often.

According to Chinese law, a husband had the right to remarry in the event of his wife's death. It recorded the custom and itself encouraged such practice as a mass one, that is, as something common and widespread. On the contrary, the wife's remarriage did not correspond to Confucian norms of maintaining chastity.

We see that people’s desire to brightly, beautifully, solemnly and memorablely celebrate the key events of their lives is determined by giving these events the forms of holidays and rituals. Events such as a wedding, the birth of a child, coming of age, etc. are turning points in people’s lives, changing their relationships with others, giving them new rights and making new demands. And it is quite understandable that people want to celebrate these events with solemn, memorable rituals that pass from generation to generation in a certain established, fixed form and express the inner meaning and content of this event.

Ritualism is an integral part of culture, reflecting the spiritual essence of the people, their worldview in various periods of historical development, a complex and diverse phenomenon that performs the functions of transferring to subsequent generations the experience accumulated in the struggle for existence, a unique human reaction to living conditions, a specific form of expression of people's aspirations and aspirations.

The historical change of social formations, living conditions, needs and relationships of people also influences the development of holidays and rituals. As a result of changes in reality, ritual goes through a long and complex path of evolution. Some rituals die out, which conflict with the worldview of people, others are transformed, in which new content is put into previous forms, and, finally, new rituals are born that meet the needs and requirements of the new era.

What does the concept of “rite” consist of? What is its essence? Why at all times, starting with the primitive communal system, people celebrated the most outstanding events of their lives with solemn ritual actions?

The term “rite” comes from the verb “to rite”, “to rite” - to decorate. The ritual is a kind of break in everyday life, a bright spot against the background of everyday life. It has the amazing property of influencing a person’s emotional world and at the same time inducing in everyone present a similar emotional state, which contributes to the affirmation in the consciousness of the basic idea for the sake of which it is performed.

The first elements of ritual arose long before the advent of the Christian religion from the needs of people, in solemnly joyful and solemnly sorrowful moments of life, to gather together and express the feelings that gripped them in a certain way. This is the socio-psychological nature of ritual.

Each ritual has its own content, but it is always a conditional action, the purpose of which is to express specific ideas and certain social ideas in symbolic form. Rituals reflect the diverse connections and relationships of rooks in society. “This is a symbolic and aesthetic expression (and manifestation) of the collective ties of society, the collective essence of man, ties that not only connect a person with his contemporaries, but also unite him with his ancestors. The ritual is created as an expression of the spirit, habits, traditions, way of life of society,” it reflects the real life of a person, his connections and relationships with society, with the people around him.

Ritual is one of the ways of existing traditions.

In the complex of social phenomena, traditions manifest themselves as one of the forms of consolidation, preservation and transmission of certain social relations from one generation to another. Traditions, as firmly established, habitual ideas of people, are born in response to the demands of life and exist as long as they meet the needs of a particular group of people.

Tradition is a broader social phenomenon, a special form of consolidation of social relations, expressed in stable and most general actions and norms of social behavior passed on from generation to generation. The content of a tradition is determined by the social relations that gave rise to them, and therefore traditions are a product of certain historical conditions.

Traditions are one of the powerful means of influencing a person. The development of society goes from the past to the present, from the present to the future, therefore, in society, on the one hand, there are always traditions in which the experience of past generations is concentrated, on the other hand, new traditions are born that concentrate the experience of today, corresponding to a new worldview.

Changes in living conditions, needs and relationships of people also have an impact on the development of holidays and rituals. As a result of changes in reality, ritual goes through a long and complex path of evolution, is modified, and changes.

There is much in common between traditions, customs and rituals: they all represent forms of transmission to new generations of social experience accumulated by society, and this transmission occurs in a vivid figurative form with the help of conditionally symbolic actions.

Traditions cover a wider range of phenomena than holidays and rituals. They are found in all spheres of social life and manifest themselves as one of the forms of consolidation, preservation and transmission of certain social relations from one generation to another.

Thus, we will focus on the following definitions of the main concepts used.

Tradition - a social phenomenon that reflects historically established customs, order, norms of behavior passed down from generation to generation, a special form of social relations, expressed in common actions and preserved by the power of public opinion.

Custom – a narrower concept compared to tradition. This is a firmly established rule in a particular social environment that regulates the behavior of people in public life. The implementation of the custom is not ensured by the state. It is maintained through its repeated repetition and application over a long period of time.

Holiday - a solemn form of commemorating various events of personal or public life, based on the beliefs and customs of the people, a day free from work and everyday everyday worries.

Ritual - a social phenomenon, which is a set of conventionally symbolic actions established among the people, expressing a certain magical meaning associated with the celebrated events of personal or public life; This is a kind of collective act, which is strictly determined by tradition, as well as the external side of a person’s religious life and beliefs.

Ritual - the order of the ritual, the sequence of conditionally symbolic actions expressing the main idea of the holiday, the external manifestation of a person’s beliefs.