The Importance Of Family Rituals

The home is central to Judaism as it is the setting in which a husband

Every Culture has a set of rituals that they partake in, that are often constructed over a long period of time. Simple Actions, and special moments contain so much meaning and make everlasting memories. All rituals despite the locations they originate from, or the location they are carried out in contain the same components, they are repetitive, symbolic, remind a certain group of people about their values and beliefs, and these rituals commemorate a significant moment. For example christians commemorate the birth of christ by attending mass, and many other cultures celebrate this moment in many different ways that have in depth symbolic meaning. In the book “Guests of the Sheik” by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea rituals play a major role. Fernea’s husband Bob is an anthropologist studying the occupants of a small village named El Nahra and their culture. Fernea has documented her experiences, and adventures, and her perspective of the many rituals that the townspeople participate in such as, Ramadan, Muharram, weddings, and pilgrimages. In Muslim culture pilgrimages are immensely important and can even lead to an elevated status. Such as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Fernea is able to participate in a pilgrimage to Karbala with a couple of the towns women she had befriended. The Pilgrimage to Karbala is a symbolic, and cultural ritual in the aspect that it is reenacted every year, and is full of symbolic meaning, commemorates an important occasion and reminds a culture about their

“The Magic of a Family Meal” by Nancy Gibbs is an enlightening article that convinces the audience that enjoying the company of family during meal time benefits all members emotionally, spiritually, and health wise. Gibbs main point states, “This [the family meal] is where the tribe comes to transmit wisdom, embed expectations, confess, conspire, forgive, repair” (209). Families gathering for meals have the unique opportunity to become closer and favorably impact one another. This thesis enhances the tone overall. The tone of this essay is construed as encouraging and positive. Gibbs’ attitude is

Traditions are common part of culture and religion in the world today; almost everyone has a tradition that they follow. The traditions you practice can be new and only just have started with your generation or the generation before yours. The traditions could also have been old, spanning many generations before your generation and your parents’ generation. Some traditions could be small and last for a few generations; an example of this would be like a yearly family cookout. One would invite their families to their house or local park to have fun and eat. It could be something small

Abigail Hill wrote a paper on the influence her mother, Juanita Ray Hill, had on their family and the family rituals that she implemented. By analyzing the Hill family rituals, I have been able to also analyze the rituals I want for my future family. Creating a good home environment is essential to individual and family development and growth. Some of the family rituals from the Hill family I want to include in my family and some others I do not want to include. I want a home environment that of teamwork, responsibility, love of God, and appreciation for nature. The best way to promote these family values is to have rituals that teach and promote them.

With the cultural differences, it is hard to understand why the Nacirema make these rituals a huge importance. Ethnocentrism plays a role, and is very present because it is very easy to judge one group’s behaviours and beliefs from the perspective of our own. It may be because it is something that we are not accustomed to or may find odd and unethical. If we were to put ourselves in their shoes, it is certain the cultures around the world may find our own “rituals and traditions” to be odd as well.

Through my interactions with my extended family over the course of this project, it has become evident that there are specific traditions and values that each side of my family holds dear. Despite my premonition that interviewing my family would be a rather simple and straightforward endeavor, getting the information that I was hoping to find from my family has been anything but easy. Both sides of my family certainly have some common values and traditions between them; however, each side has its own distinct folklore and values that have been instilled over several generations. These traditional family values have come to be one of the most notable differences between the two halves

Just like Mama and Maggie, my family and I understand how important it is to maintain our ancestors’ way of life. Being of an old southern family, I have many morals and traditions that have been instilled in my brain. One large example of this is my religion. My grandmother grew up in church, my mother grew up in church, and I grew up in church. All though I do not go as much as my grandmother did when she was my age, I still know my core beliefs. Another value important to my great-grandmother is that everyone should wear an undershirt through the winter. I can still remember begging to take it off when I was little, and my mother would say, “Your Mawmaw Dot says you have to.” Although I didn’t like it, I am sure that I will insist that my children do the same. It might seem minuscule, but cooking is another value that my family continues to observe today. My grandmother even uses the same utensils as her grandmother once did. Using special recipes and canning are things that generations to come will continue to follow. Holiday and birthday parties are my favorite tradition of all. Before my cousins and I were born, every event was held at my great grandparents’ home. My great grandmother lived for parties. She even had ceramic name tags for all the family members that she would use to place everyone at the table for dinner. The entire family would come together for every holiday and birthday. Once my generation came along, the parties moved to my aunts’ home, where they continue to this day. I love having such a tight knit family, and I contribute this to our large gatherings at least twice a month. Continuing with family traditions, like Mama and Maggie in Everyday Use, is one of the best ways to be reminded of my

I perceived that coming of age rituals is either affiliated with their religion, or culture, or both. Some of the morals and values that teach young people are strength, maintain a certain image, discipline, and obtaining norms. I am astonished by the different types of rituals, such as

People are so set in their ways sometimes that there is no way of showing them that they do not have to partake in these rituals. That life will go on without hesitation, the only impact rituals have are on the people who perform them. Jackson’s short story gives an insight on what rituals tend to be like, and how there is no hesitation in anyone’s mind on whether

First we will examine family values and how it has changed over generations. There was a time in past generations where on Sunday after Church, families gathered at one location to appreciate a large home cooked meal together. During this special family gathering, the women conversed while preparing

In the essay, “Who will Light the Incense When Mother’s Gone?” by Andrew Lam, the theme is recognized to be one of the key elements. The theme of this essay is the mother’s fear of her children leaving behind the sense of their ancestors. This theme commonly occurs with children of immigrant parents because after being raised in America they neglect the fact where they originally came from. The theme of this story is keeping up traditions. Lam’s mother displays the theme love by following and committed to explain her children the values and culture. Lam’s mother keeps up the traditions of her native nation because she does not want to forget something that is precious to her. The writer starts out asking, “Who will light the incense when mother’s gone?” at his mother’s 70th birthday party (Lam, par. 1). For Lam, he has already forgotten most of his past

After reading the article, I think rituals have some basic structures of meaning, and there are number of ways to show that rituals are meaningful. In the following thesis I choose Hinduism as an example to show how rituals are meaningful, how it relates to the living context of the Indian people, how the Indians enact the Hindu rituals, and so on.

For instance, the Shabbat is a great example of a ritual that has been kept by adherents from the very early times till today. The Shabbat is also known as the Sabbath and is vital for Jews to keep holy due to the fourth mitzvot “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8) given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Therefore, since it is part of the Decalogue that was given to Moses on through God himself, it is extremely important for Jewish adherents to continuously uphold this covenant and in order to maintain the reciprocal relationship with God, as he freed them from slavery. In addition, Jews also undergo the ritual of Brit Milah as a sign of the covenant that has been formed with God, in the Torah. Brit Milah is often performed on males only (however some cultures may perform it on females as well) on the child’s eighth day of life (Rich, 2011). Brit Milah is essentially a physical indication of adherents upholding covenant and drawing themselves closer to God, if under any circumstances a man does not undergo the practice of Brit Milah on his son, the son must undergo this ritual as an adult, otherwise the individual experiences what is known as spiritual isolation or withdrawal (Rich, 2011). Not only that, but also in the olden times, it was a necessity that the Jews were to pray a small prayer prior to each meal they consumed; the prayer translates to “Blessed are you O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth” (Awaad, 2014). This ritual has been practiced for several generations and passed down, till this day the Jewish adherents recite this prayer. Occasionally, this prayer may be replaced with a song (Jewish Worship, 2015). Reformed Jews may recite these prayers in Hebrew as they generally obtain prayer books in Hebrew, allowing all Jews to bind together feel connected to God as, the covenant itself was delivered by God in

When understanding the many beliefs that cultures have, helps grasp an understanding the healing practices a family may have. In today’s society, “religious practices are usually rooted in culture” (Giger and Davidhizas, 2008). Typically each culture has a set of beliefs that they use to explain their health and manners that prevent or treat illnesses and diseases. When a family member is ill, a culture uses rituals to get rid of the disease.