Human life consists of ritual actions that we perform out of habit - without thinking about their true meaning. New year and birthday celebration, wish good morning and nights, rules of conduct - where did all this come from and what is it for? Who said that a black cat brings bad luck, and a free seat in transport must be given up to the elderly? Of course, the presence a large number signs and rituals associated with the presence of traditions and customs. How do these concepts differ, or do they refer to the same habits?
Traditions is a complex of ritual actions, which includes rituals, daily actions, rules of behavior in society, passed down from generation to generation over a long period of time. The main difference of this phenomenon is its generality and universality, territorial (national) binding. Traditions belong to no one, they can either be respected or ignored.
customs is an action that is rooted in the public mind and repeated over and over again. They also include the rules that have been formed in a certain field of activity (sports, politics, economics). A custom can be legal, religious, cultural and, in certain cases, mandatory. Public sanctions (reprimand, ostracism, coercion) are provided for refusal to perform.
Thus, custom and tradition are practically equivalent concepts, and highlighting the differences between them depends on the interpretation of the definitions. However, upon closer analysis, some features can be noticed. So, traditions are deep customs that have been formed over several generations and become part of the culture. At the same time, this in no way concerns the scope of concepts. Customs are broader, as they cover a large part of human life. Traditions can be both professional and family, which depends on the way of life regarding small group of people.
Both customs and traditions are supported and approved by the broad masses of society. This is a kind of outlet, where each person can feel a connection with their ancestors, unity with loved ones. Thus, the tradition of welcoming guests with bread and salt demonstrates the hospitality of the people. The custom is to sit before a long journey, it helps to collect your thoughts and relax a bit.
It is worth noting that folk habits seriously impede the development of society and in critical situation can be not only useless, but also harmful. Deep traditions testify to the culture of the people, their long life and development. Customs demonstrate respect for the ancestors, the heritage that they passed on to their descendants.
Findings site
- The scope of the concept. Custom is a broader phenomenon than tradition. It is very easy to trace concrete examples. Customs can be folk, tribal, territorial, and traditions - family, personal, professional.
- Level. If a custom is just a habit that repeats automatically, then a tradition is a direction of activity, more complex and multifaceted.
- Rooted in consciousness. The custom, as a rule, is less long-lasting than the tradition. This is due to the depth of assimilation of this habit. Passing from generation to generation, a custom becomes a tradition.
- Orientation. The observance of traditions is more aimed at informing the masses. A custom is, first of all, an active action that pursues a specific goal, initially a practical one.
Custom- a rule of conduct that has developed as a result of its actual application for a long time; the main form of regulation of behavior in a pre-state society in terms of tribal relations. Observance of customs was ensured by measures public influence(execution, expulsion from the clan, deprivation of fire and water, etc.) or approval of the measures applied to the offender, his relatives or members of the clan (blood feud). The sanctioning of a custom by the state was carried out in the process of judicial or administrative activity, when the custom served as the basis for resolving the dispute, also by including the custom in legislative acts, which were codes of customary law, in the days of the slave and feudal state.
Custom(Latin usus, consuetido; English custom) - firmly established in a certain area social life rule governing the behavior of participants in the respective public relations. A custom is created in a specific public environment(ethnic or social group, among persons of a certain profession, etc.) and is observed in this environment due to its prescription and repeated use over a long period of time. In a pre-class society, custom was the only norm that regulated the relationship of people; the effectiveness of the custom was reinforced by measures of coercion or encouragement approved by members of the relevant social environment.
In a broader sense, custom can be called a feature of life, repeated constantly, periodically or with known cases, consciously or unconsciously (out of habit, etc.), by a group of persons or by one person, as something inevitable or necessary. In this sense, we can talk about the customs of tribes and peoples, individual people- about the customs of estates, classes, sexes, societies, professions; about the customs of religious, military, legal, commercial, industrial, sanitary, etc., according to the categories into which life and life are divided.
In a narrower sense, custom differs from law and ritual and means such features folk life, which, formed in more remote times, pass from generation to generation, and often continue to exist when consciousness of their original meaning is lost. Custom guides people, to one degree or another, at all levels of culture. We meet him as among savages and in civilized societies. At the lower stages of culture, custom is the regulator of life, moderating the arbitrariness of individuals in the interests of the community. In many cases, it is clear that the custom arose for the benefit of society. For example, in uncivilized countries it is generally considered laudable and sometimes even necessary to show hospitality to all who pass by. Among some Australian tribes, custom forbade young hunters to use the best parts game that was provided to the elderly. This was done for the common good, because experienced old men, incapable of hunting, could be useful to the tribe as advisers.
customs that have moral character are called morals. In morals one can find an expression of the psychology of any social group. In influencing the lives of people, societies, traditions are close to customs, i.e. established ways of human behavior social groups passed down from generation to generation. Support for traditions is justified by their usefulness to society.
It should be noted that with the change in living conditions and the emergence of new concepts, old customs gradually decline, are modified or replaced by new ones. With the development of law, custom gradually lost its significance as a regulator. public life human. Nevertheless, the people often continue to adhere to various customs, finding in them the covenant of wise antiquity and a manifestation of national identity.
1.2 The essence of traditions and customs, their social functions
There is not a single nation in the world that does not have its own traditions and customs that pass on its experience, knowledge and achievements to new generations. Traditions, customs and rituals play important role in the reproduction of culture and all spheres of spiritual life, in the implementation of the centuries-old efforts of successive generations to make life richer, more beautiful, more meaningful, in ensuring the continuity of the new and the old, in the harmonious development of society and the individual. They exist and are supported by the masses in all spheres of public life: labor, socio-political, family and domestic, socio-cultural, etc. According to the characteristics of various forms and types of social relations, national, revolutionary, international, patriotic, religious, socio-cultural, family and household, etc. There are special traditions in the school, student, scientific, creative, rural and urban environment, etc.
Traditions are firmly established, inherited from previous generations and supported by the power of public opinion, forms of people's behavior and their relationships, or principles by which human culture develops (for example, realistic traditions in literature and art). When we are talking about the family and household sphere, the word “custom” is more often used, which is the oldest form of storage and transmission from generation to generation of standard actions and behavior of people in certain typical circumstances and specific situations.
"The custom is generally accepted norm behavior, unofficially "legitimized" by the power of mass habits, traditions and public opinion (although the very fact of mandatory this custom may not be realized by people) and spontaneously reproduced by the actions of many people.
Traditions and customs have certain similarities. It is based, firstly, on the fulfillment of the same role in the life of society; secondly, they have the same features and characteristics (stability, normativity, connection with public opinion, moral standards, social habits, standards of behavior, etc.); thirdly, they are equally widespread. Through a system of traditions and customs, new generations of society inherit the relations developed in it and all social experience, down to the most specific actions and actions. The inheritance of social experience with its critical reflection allows society to follow the path of social development at a lower cost. Contributing to this, customs and traditions are themselves reproduced, and some of them die off, while others appear or gradually change.
Traditions and customs, being included in the moral system, as well as in the system of social psychology, perform the function of a social regulator. The assimilation of traditions and customs contributes to the formation of social necessary qualities, habits and skills social activities and behaviour. Traditions and customs also perform cognitive and educational functions. Without the fulfillment of these functions, they would largely lose their social meaning. Traditions and customs converge, as they perform functions similar in their social orientation. However, this does not yet indicate their absolute similarity. Just their difference is revealed in the fact that they perform their functions in society in different ways and in different ways. different form.
The content of custom is a rule of conduct, a detailed prescription of an act in specific situation, and the content of tradition is the general norm, the principle of behavior. “Custom rigidly fixes an action or prohibition of some action, the implementation of a strictly regulated action is the goal of custom. Tradition has no rigid connection with a specific action in a specific situation.
Through customs people acquire necessary knowledge, behavioral skills, experience associated with the immediate environment, and through traditions, to the greatest extent, familiarization with the social experience of mankind (international, revolutionary traditions, etc.) occurs.
The nature of the educational impact on people of customs and traditions is also different. Based on the assimilation of customs and following them, simple habits, stereotypical behavioral skills are formed, and following traditions contributes to the formation of not only complex habits, but also complex social feelings (patriotic, international, etc.).
The difference between customs and traditions does not at all indicate the superiority of one over the other. For example, the educational impact of customs is very great in the sense that people, following them, gradually instill in themselves certain spiritual traits and qualities, are brought up imperceptibly, naturally and simply. Therefore, truthfulness as a moral personality trait in children is formed much earlier than the content of the concept of "truth", and it is under the influence of customs, in particular family and household ones.
The main pattern of the formation of customs and traditions is the conditionality of their economic development, a certain level and nature of production. The influence of socio-economic relations is also great on such a type of traditions and customs as family and household ones.
It is very important to take into account the peculiarities of family and household traditions and customs. Changes in everyday life are slower than in the economy, in the system of education and social upbringing, and also in some other spheres of public life. The conservatism of family and domestic relations is due to the intimacy, specificity, relative independence and isolation of the family. Here, sometimes, the long-term, very deep influence of religion, nationalistic psychology, difficulties and contradictions in the development of individual consciousness is also evident. It is in the family and household sphere that we most often encounter relapses of the old, who have lost both economic and ideological basis customs and traditions. After all, there are cases when, after the solemn registration of marriage, the newlyweds secretly get married somewhere else in the church. Baptism of newborns, consecration of a new house, etc. are performed in the same way. And the reason for this is not only the vitality of old customs and rituals, but also insufficiently active organizational and educational work.
Old family and household traditions, customs and rituals are by no means so bad and harmful that they should be completely eradicated. Many of them have enduring moral and aesthetic significance.
These traditions were formed under the influence of economic necessity, they were the most effective means of educating diligence, not to mention the impact on physical development and hardening of children. And respect for the results of labor, and the concept of duty, and many others moral qualities formed in the younger generation directly. True, in the family life itself, there were previously much more objects for the application of the feasible labor of children.
But under the influence of the growth of material well-being, the development of technology in everyday life, these objects decreased, and the tradition itself began to fade. And the consequences were not long in coming; there was a clear trend towards a decrease in industriousness among children.
Some other family and household traditions and customs, despite significant social change in our life, it is necessary to preserve and improve, because they largely express the national ideal of those human qualities, the formation and presence of which predetermines family happiness, a favorable family microclimate and, in general, human well-being. Thus, the traditional friendship of families, as if related at the birth of children, the friendship of families of leading workers, etc., is of great importance.
an integral part of the socialist aesthetic culture is the revival of some folk holidays(Russian Maslenitsa, Tatar Sabantuy - “plow holiday”, etc.). However, it is hardly possible to consider as useful those changes in folk customs and rituals that pervert their essence and reduce their aesthetic value.
In the Central Asian republics, there is a revival of the shameful custom of the past - the hated kalym - the ransom for the bride. lavish weddings, ruinous funeral rites cannot be issued for folk customs and rituals, just as it is impossible to turn beautiful folk customs into a petty-bourgeois cult. Some customs and traditions become so harmful that it is necessary to include force in the fight against them. state power. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly distinguish between traditions, rituals and customs, including revived ones that carry positive moral and aesthetic values, and those that not only do not contain anything socially useful, but also harm the development of socialist culture.
Folk traditions, rituals and customs, including traditional festivities, should serve as a means of developing aesthetic culture, collective entertainment and recreation, and improving socialist life. At the same time, we should not forget that, in addition to holidays, there are weekdays, and in them, good work and family traditions are the most important element of aesthetic culture. It is not for nothing that work and family life are so inseparable in the minds of the working people; it is not without reason that they are so widely reflected in folk proverbs and sayings, in epics, folk songs and fairy tales, representing in the aggregate ideological content folk traditions and customs. In everything folk art, which is the most important element of aesthetic culture, glorifies family friendship, respect for parents, love of work, and condemns laziness, parasitism, gluttony, dishonesty, wastefulness and others. human vices originating from the desire to live a prosperous life without making any work for this. And this is quite natural, because labor has always been, is and will be the basis folk image life.
Labor traditions Soviet people differ from its other traditions, because during the years of socialist construction the nature of labor in general, family and household in particular, has changed dramatically. An integral feature of the former way of life, especially in rural areas, was the inevitable participation of children in common family labor (maintenance of the dwelling, caring for animals, cultivating the land, etc.). The family way of life assumed the obligatory labor participation of children, because there were much more labor cases both in nature and in volume in the family than at present. Now the family way of life has changed, and very significantly. And it is no coincidence that idle children often grow up in a hard-working, honest family. And one of the reasons for this is a certain extinction of the age-old tradition named above. The tradition of the progeny of professional work is also fading away: earlier, children acquired professional skills and abilities most often from their parents, working next to them. Now this function is almost completely performed by the system of state vocational training.
But does this mean that labor traditions are disappearing in the Soviet family way of life? Far from it. Another thing is that in former times they were formed under the influence of material difficulties. family life, and at present they must be formed in every family in order to organize the labor education of children. In those families where due importance is attached to this important task, it is a good tradition to distribute the permanent labor duties among all members of the family within the reasonable and fair limits.
Today, the succession of work culture does not consist in the transfer of narrowly professional skills and abilities or, as was often the case in the past, the secrets of the profession of fathers and grandfathers, but in instilling deep respect for work and its results, in the formation of a healthy desire to be useful people, society, skills and habits of organization, self-discipline, efficiency and composure.
If traditions and habits are organically soldered in the life of people, then the former should be established, and the latter should be trained with the help of the elders in the family, those who have more life experience and moral authority than others. There can be many such small and large traditions, supported in each family in its own way, but subordinate to a common principle.
A good family tradition to maintain a general interest in the cares and successes of each family member is a constant exchange of opinions on labor and social affairs, impressions of what they saw, heard, about important events. It is very important to form a healthy public opinion in the family. This should also be a tradition.
Ritual decoration of family events, Soviet holidays and other important social events plays a very important role in comprehensive development personality, in ensuring the effectiveness of education, etc.
The specificity of the rite, as well as the ritual, consists, first of all, in a symbolic, sometimes strictly defined character. In any tradition (especially in customs) there is their ritual, ritual side. A wedding as a tradition and custom in its meaning, the content, perhaps, is not much different in different countries Oh. But the ritual design of this event has significant differences among different peoples.
Rite like component custom, this or that traditional activity subordinates the behavior and actions of people to a single emotional mood, creates such a moral and aesthetic background, against which reason and feeling, rational and emotional motives and actions of people merge, are directed into a single channel. The rite is characterized by an impressive, bright form that has an aesthetic and psychological impact. Many ceremonies, their aesthetic design include all the main types of art.
One of the features of the rite is that, despite the difference in roles in a particular ritual ritual, all its participants are internally active, experiencing the same feelings.
Rites in a special way perform important social functions: mass communication, educational, social and normative function of social inheritance. The rite is special way transmission of ideas, social norms, values and feelings to new generations. This transmission is carried out through direct personal contacts.
The social nature of the rite determined its collectivist character. At the same time, people satisfy the need for collective experiences, participation and public evaluation of events that are important to them. The rite not only forms, but also deepens the feelings of people, enriches their emotional world, which in our era is an era scientific and technological revolution with its social consequences - especially important. Solemn symbolic acts form in each of their performers a sense of belonging to a team, society. If we take into account that for the most part rites are performed at the key moments in the life of a person, family, team, people, state, society, it becomes clear how great they are. educational value.
characteristic feature ritual is its conservatism, resistance to external influences, stereotyping of people's actions. In this his social force and weakness. Serving the community for a number of years historical eras, it very effectively ensures continuity in the development of human culture. But during social revolutions the conservative power of rites plays an antisocial role that is difficult to overcome, becomes an obstacle on the way social progress. Therefore, in communist construction, in the development and improvement of a new way of life special meaning has both a struggle against the old ritualism, and the creation of a new one, corresponding to new forms of life and life, communication and social development of ritualism.
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IN modern world a person often encounters different situations with some unwritten code of conduct. This situation is often referred to as custom. However, the term itself is quite ambiguous and complex.
The emergence of customs
So what is a custom? The customs of the peoples of different countries of the world played an extremely important role in the development of everything human society. They arose even in the "pre-written period". Then they were the main regulator of the life of the community. At that time, people were not always aware of the rational connection of their actions with the results, therefore, in order to survive, they needed to learn the correct algorithm of actions. In the future, this algorithm was transformed, due to which certain norms of behavior appeared, which have come down to our time. Such ancient customs exist in every country. They are honored, respected and observed.
Developing the Significance of Customs
As society developed and writing appeared, customs retained their regulatory functions. For many centuries, there was complete equality between written law and the so-called "customary law", which was laid down by the traditions of the ancestors and transmitted orally. This "customary law" could complement the written texts of laws, but it could also contradict them. Therefore, very often the established custom easily became a source for supplementing written legislation. So Russian customs formed the basis for writing a medieval collection of laws called "Russian Truth".
The Importance of Customs in Modern Life
Today, customs still play an important role in modern society. ancient customs preserved in Everyday life people are absolutely different types and areas of activity. For example, wearing folk costumes or celebrating traditional holidays.
Even in the realm of politics, customs can be found. So in some countries, in the event of certain circumstances, political figure is obliged to leave his post, even if this is not indicated in the legislation. It was the customs that formed the modern order in society and relations between people.
What is a custom? These are rules of conduct that have been entrenched in the minds of the people thanks to repeated repetitions. What customs are, where they come from and where they disappear, read about all this below.
What is custom
As mentioned above, the rules of conduct that have become norms for people through repeated repetition. This includes customs that are performed on holidays, as well as those that turn into a daily routine. Basically, people follow them out of habit, not really thinking about the meaning of actions. Every society has its own customs. Some of them are regulated by the state, while others are observed within the same family. How long does it take for a habit to become a habit? At least a few years, at least 3-4.
How is tradition different from custom?
Concepts are best learned by comparison. We already know what a custom is, but now let's talk about tradition. What it is? Traditions are a complex of various actions that are passed down from generation to generation in order to preserve and develop culture. And here scale plays a role. The tradition can be considered as a local phenomenon, but still more often it is created and maintained on a national scale. No one forces people to observe established traditions, this is a voluntary matter.
Now let's look at the differences. Tradition is much broader than customs, since it most often has a larger territorial scope. People perform various rituals, sets of actions, often without thinking about hidden meaning that their ancestors laid down in them. But such traditions are supported by the state, as it considers them an integral part of culture. But folk customs often change under the influence of time, government, the way of human thinking. But most people don't see big difference in these terms.
How do habits arise?
Man is a complex being. And to better understand what customs are, you need to know how people create them. Initially, such rituals, or repetitive actions, were performed by man in order to survive. It was a kind of reaction to discomfort. People started the custom of killing a mammoth once a week so as not to go hungry. The girls sewed clothes from the skins of animals once a month so as not to die from the cold. There were many such small local customs in any society, and they still exist today. True, our contemporaries do not have to survive, so the rituals are not aimed at the biological needs of a person, but at creating spiritual comfort. If you think about it, many of the unconscious rituals that are instituted in our society have no logical basis under them. These customs are common among superstitious people. Why do students eat lucky tickets from the bus before the test?
Why do people, returning home, if they forget something, always look in the mirror? There were once explanations for these customs, but today they cannot be found. Life is too changeable. Every person has the ability to create own customs. How? Before an important event, he may develop the habit of walking for an hour on the street in order to clear his head, or introduce summing up the results of the day into his evening ritual.
How habits disappear
Time goes by, everything changes. Human life is very fickle. Today one job, tomorrow another, today one love, and tomorrow you can meet a new one. That is why habits have to be changed. An example of such changes is the disappearance of witnesses at weddings.
Previously, these people played the same important role as the bride and groom. But over time, the custom of inviting witnesses lost its relevance. Today, newlyweds do fine without them, which means there is no need to appoint friends to this role.
Another example is baptismal divination. The girls used to do this every year. Today, this custom has fallen out of favor. Young ladies do not want to spend time in a dark bath in the company of candles and mirrors. They have more fun things to do. It turns out that customs know how to die due to a change in public interests.
- vital;
- lifestyle;
- imposed from outside;
- rituals and ceremonies.
Why do we need customs
Today there is an American globalization of all countries. Most of goods and services that we are accustomed to consume every day - this is not a product of our culture. Customs and customs must be known and observed in order not to lose one's roots and nationality. After all, Russia is a country with its own original culture, speech and art. Of course, it is necessary to modernize the country by updating customs and traditions, but this does not mean that it is necessary to borrow them from other countries. Why is it so bad to borrow a foreign culture, because before it was the norm of life and when one country was captured by another, culture was imposed against the will of citizens. But today it seems terrible, because, forgetting their history, people restructure their thinking. And as a result, such an option may turn out when one person will rule the society, imposing the only possible way of life on everyone. It is worth reading at least one dystopia to understand how bad it will be to live in this situation.
Examples of customs
Today there are many rituals that people perform automatically, without even thinking about their essence. The sources of custom are folk traditions transmitted in writing or by word of mouth. There are many examples.
When meeting on the street, men take off their gloves for a handshake. It seems to be a sign of courtesy and attention, but this custom has long roots. Previously, men took off their gloves to show that they did not hide weapons there, and as a result, their intentions are pure.
Another example of a custom is Maslenitsa. More precisely, the rituals associated with this holiday. For example, burning a scarecrow. This custom also has long roots going back to ancient times. Burning scarecrows, people see off winter and welcome spring.
Jumping over a fire counts as another Russian custom. True, in Lately few people do it. But before this fun was popular. The guy and the girl jumped over the fire, holding hands. If they did not disengage their hands and successfully overcame an obstacle, it was believed that their living together will be long and happy. But if young people moved away from each other during the jump, this meant that they were not destined to be together.
unusual customs
It doesn’t seem strange to us Russians to burn an effigy for Maslenitsa or decorate a Christmas tree for New Year. But for Thais, it’s completely normal to lower boats down the river, in which people put flowers, light candles and light incense. It all happens at the beginning of November on the day dedicated to the spirits of water.
The norms of customs are determined by the society in which we live. And in other countries things are the same. In Turkey, for example, there is a custom: before a man takes a second wife, he must give his first darling jewelry worth 10 thousand dollars. This is to prove to the woman that her husband - wealthy man and will be able to feed both her and the second woman.
In Kenya, there is a custom according to which the young spouse must do all the work of the wife for a month. It is believed that after this acquired experience, he will not reproach a woman all her life for doing nothing while doing housework.
