Sports clubs and music vereins, guilds and universities, children's groups, teen cliques and gangs have created and still create their very own customs and rituals: at anniversaries, at initiation and graduation exercises, at rock concerts...

Customs and traditions unite, build community. They provide identity. At the occasion of state visits, the national anthems played and the flags raised honor the respective national identities.

Customs and traditions provide assurance and an answer to the question "What am I going to do at that occasion?" They provide a framework, a set of signs and symbols, rules and roles, and appropriate dress. Oftentimes customs provide the proper wording for a given occasion, eagerly expected by the celebrants.

The stepping stones in the passage of life: birth and death, confirmation and wedding, all have their traditional customs; granted some can be pretty grotesque--at fraternities, for example. Significant occasions make us grateful for the rich storehouse of customs and traditions.

In the course of the year this storehouse offers a colorful variety of highlights, from Epiphany, Karneval, Groundhog Day and Easter, to the 4th of July, Homecoming (Game), Oktoberfest, Thanksgiving, Advent, St. Nikolaus, Christmas and New Year's Eve. Their festive or fun character gives us a lift from the workaday routine.

The scientific-technological acceleration in the 19th and 20th centuries brought about the transition from a predominantly rural-agricultural to an urban-industrial, even post-industrial, society. This has resulted in a loss of the meaning of many customs and traditions that were at home in the pre-industrial world. Even if they are nurtured folkloristically for a while, less and less people will remember the true meaning and importance such customs and traditions had in earlier times.

Especially younger people tend to have difficulties finding true meaning in their secular and religious heritage. This happens often precisely because of the association with the term "tradition" and the tendency of customs and traditions over time to turn into meaningless and rigid prescriptions. This is not necessarily all bad. After all, many a custom has ossified and is better relegated to history. However, there must also be room for renewal and the rise of new customs and traditions that capture and pass on the hopes and joys of today's world.

One thing is certain: Without this treasure-trove of customs and traditions our life would be more prosaic and, indeed, impoverished. The May dance and the Advent wreath, the roast goose at St. Martin's, the Christmas tree, Karneval and colored Easter eggs... they awaken our spirits, they are medicine against gray monotony, and food for hungry souls who are searching for the secrets and meaning of their existence.

Credits: Projekt Databroadcast Schulfernsehen, "Ländliche Feste/Zusatztext 2." (München: Bayerischer Rundfunk, 1997)

Translated with some adaptations by Eberhard Reichmann,
Max Kade German-American Center, IUPU Indianapolis.

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