Traditions and customs evolve from people’s experiences and their evaluations. Admittedly, numerous events affect development of traditions and beliefs.
However, joy is also one of the most important factors affecting development of people’s rituals and traditions. It is noteworthy that the vast majority of rituals are associated with positive emotions or aimed at becoming at peace with oneself or others. People strive for joy in their lives and rituals as well as beliefs are often seen as tools to achieve this goal. It is possible to consider some traditions to trace the impact of joy in their creation.
One of the most suggestive illustrations is development of traditions of Russian-Jewish community in New York. Clearly, those people did not follow all the major traditions, but, so-to-speak, picked some rituals and ignored others. Admittedly, this selective approach was historically conditioned as Jewish people did not have an opportunity to preserve all their rituals in the Soviet Union due to the existent political doctrine. The rituals Jewish people had were quite limited and were not held in public.
However, even after their arrival to the free country where religious beliefs were not pursued, Russian-Jewish people did not adopt all the rituals and traditions. There is a simple explanation to this. Russian-Jewish immigrants felt they were seen as not Jewish enough by the rest of the American Jewish community.
Therefore, following all the rituals would make them feel they were inferior all the time. Therefore, Russian-Jewish immigrants continued following their traditions which brought joy into their life. They followed traditions which made them feel connected to the rest of the community.
Another example of the role of joy is development of Romanian beliefs concerning pregnancy. It is possible to infer that pregnant women are protected against unpleasant experienced during the period of their pregnancy and first weeks after the delivery. It is possible to trace a specific trend. It is believed that pregnant women should eat whatever they want and everyone should try to give a pregnant woman everything she might want.
Clearly, eating different foods can bring a lot of joy. Besides, such negative experiences as participation in funeral processions are excluded from a pregnant woman’s life. It is possible to state that Romanians try to make a pregnant woman’s life a bed of roses. For centuries, people have regarded pregnancy as a sacred state and have tried to bring more joys into pregnant women’s lives.
It is possible to consider a modern example of choosing joyful rituals. The tradition of holding proms is quite recent. This is why it can be possible to trace the reasons affecting development of this tradition. Young people have grand events where they find themselves in the spotlight. They are wearing posh clothes and they are admired by the rest of people (younger students, parents, teachers, etc.). They can feel special and important.
More so, proms are now associated with red carpets and events from celebrities’ lives. Young people associate themselves with film stars and this brings a lot of joy in their lives. There were attempts to get rid of this tradition but students as well as their parents were against. The ritual brings joy in their lives and they do not want to stop the tradition.
Therefore, it is possible to state that in the majority of cases rituals bringing joy exist for centuries. This is human’s nature. People strive for joy and tend to develop corresponding rituals. If they find some traditions lacking joy, these traditions are seen outdated and forgotten. At the same time, rituals which are joyful are still present in people’s lives. Moreover, people keep developing joyful rituals.
It is also necessary to note that rituals reflect major trends which exist in the society. Thus, people pay a lot of attention to celebrities and their life. At present, media have created certain culture. People want to feel like celebrities at least once or twice in their lives. Hence, they have created rituals which could help them make their dreams come true. Proms are illustrations of such rituals. Young people pretend they are celebrities and this tradition is very strong in the contemporary society due to people’s desire to be like stars.
Remarkably, the tradition of holding proms is changing due to significant changes which have been taking place in the 21st century. At present, every participant of a prom can be a creator of a film. Basically, young people turn into actors and actresses who have high chances to be famous (or notorious) worldwide due to the development of technology. Hence, traditions are transforming along with the world and the society.
Of course, it is necessary to note that religious beliefs have deeper roots and people do not alter them (or this alternation happens occasionally). However, it is possible to state that religious traditions and rituals are also associated with pleasure and joy. Each religious ritual has certain significance and meaning.
Children are baptized, young couples are wedded. These rituals bring the joy of fulfillment. People feel they are a part of something bigger and they also feel connected. Religious beliefs unite people. Rituals can be regarded as manifestation of certain religious doctrine.
Notably, religious rituals are also associated with certain transition. Hence, people are eager to put certain milestones (which are marked by rituals) throughout their lives. These milestones also give certain feeling of accomplishment. People can clearly see their achievements or their failures.
Admittedly, a wedded couple feels joy as they create a new family and the ceremony is the milestone which marks the creation of the new entity. Baptizing their children, parents feel joy as they make their child connected to their world. This is also another milestone of adults’ success as having a child (or children) is one of the most important accomplishments in the human’s life. Therefore, it is apparent that rituals and traditions incorporate joy. Moreover, joy sometimes becomes one of the primary factors affecting creation of new rituals.
To sum up, it is possible to note that numerous factors affect development of traditions but joy is also a constituent part of every ritual or tradition. People strive for joy in their lives and rituals are often tools to achieve this goal. Some rituals make people’s life more joyful. Other traditions and beliefs bring the joy of accomplishment to people’s lives.
It is also important to note that rituals often reflect trends which existed at the time of their creation. Recent traditions reveal peculiarities of the contemporary society. Admittedly, people will continue developing new tradition which will help them get joy in the constantly changing world.