Purpose of Rituals and Festivals in European Life

In the times when people did not have movie theaters or video games, people needed to rely on other forms of entertainment. In European history, rituals and festivals have played an essential role in people's lives serving as a means of celebration and enjoyment. But at a closer look, these simplistic festivities were more complex than drunkards singing along to random songs. In addition to a means of celebration to relieve built up stress and tension from the long working hours and monotonous day-to-day life, social gatherings also often served as punishment. Public punishments were often used to impose social controls. Meanwhile, public gatherings and cultural customs were also used for political protest. Rituals and festivals in European history played a key role in stress relief, social control, and political protest.

The European lifestyle and standard of living was not very high. The conditions were harsh and the working hours were long. Peasants experienced the poverty life and struggled to survive. Often, all members of the family would take up tedious jobs to support the family. And because of the rigid-ness of society, there was little social mobility and improvement of lives. Where one is born, is usually where one stays. Such conditions often caused stress and tensions to build up as the year progressed. When Carnival came around, everyone was eager to celebrate and let out the stifled tensions, as Lassels, the French traveler, noted. Carnival was one of the most well-known traditions in European life. It is the period of celebration just before Lent, which is a forty-day period of fasting and penance before Easter. During Carnival, there would be much drinking and dancing, as is typical of any celebration. The main purpose of Carnival was to allow the people to vent their frustrations and dissatisfaction about life.

Another popular ritual was the midsummer night celebration. People often gathered a common place and genders often switched clothing. By completely changing all social norms for a night, it gave the people an opportunity to relax and enjoy each others company. After a long day of hard work, it was certainly desirable to just have a good time dancing and telling jokes. Bourne's description of the midsummer night truly shows the beneficial aspects of ritual celebration and festivities. It was an opportunity for people to tell jokes and comment on each others faults in a humorous way, but not invoking offense. The mood was certainly cozy and comfortable, which added to the social gathering's appeal. Celebrations such as Carnival and the midsummer night allowed people to temporarily escape from their lives and experience a utopia, a perfect world away from all of the hard work and suffering that pervaded the lives of many Europeans.

However, some people lost sight of the true meaning of these celebrations and were often so enchanted by the moment (or perhaps the alcohol), that disorder often occurred. Rusow, a Lutheran pastor, described much of the saint's day feast festival to have "disorder, whoring, fighting, killing and dreadful idolatry." Yet, the event was also "marked by flames of joy over the whole country." He captures an essential aspect of these celebrations, the disorder and chaos that often ensues. Of course, it is also pertinent to acknowledge that Rusow is a pastor and would be somewhat biased towards the rejoicing and celebration. But though his view may be slightly slanted, there is little doubt that events such as Carnival or other social gatherings led to disorder and fighting.

The English writer, John Taylor, wrote about the negative aspects of the celebrations and clearly depicted the chaos. Some people took the events to another extreme, with violence and vandalism. The vices of the celebrations certainly show through. Furthermore, in Brueghel the Elder's painting, Battle Between Carnival and Lent, it shows a clash between a man with a keg and a nun. The man would certainly be symbolic of the Carnival celebration while the nun would represent the religious period of Lent. The revelry blinded some people's perception Lent and often showed a greater disregard of the religion. The lack of respect for the religious period and over-celebration is certainly one of the negative aspects of Carnival.

Rituals such as charivari, which is also called "riding the stang," Punishments for offenses and crimes were often public and embarrassing. This method would impose a lasting impression on the offender. Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell mentioned a women forced to "ride stang" after abusing the other sex. Basically "riding stang" meant that she would ride a horse with her face towards the tail and be paraded across town. Such hostile environments made the punishment highly effective because it often had a lasting effect. The Russian official report mentioned a lady who was ill after suffering such a public display of punishment. The lady was sentenced to walk the streets with the basket of berries hung around her neck. The entire commune came out to punish her; this shows the high involvement of the people in community matters. The report portrays the commune's reaction as unanimously pro-punishment, but because it is an official report, there is the possibility that it is biased. Of course, the punishment was not limited to women. One such stang song was "Old Abram Higback had been beating his good woman... collar him and take him to the out-house, and shove him in...then take his skin to the tanners." The purpose of the stang and other public punishments is embarrassment. It makes a strong impression on the offender as well as the rest of the community. It shows the rest of the people what will happen to them if they commit a similar crime. This allowed society to impose controls on the people.

In addition to relieving stress and punishing offenders, rituals and customs were also a means of political protest and education. The report from the police inspector in Toulouse, France showed that certain celebrations often had a number of goals and purposes. A royalist widower remarried and began receiving raucous visits night after night. These were attempts of the community to protest against something they did not believe in. However, it was soon discovered that there was more of a political aspect. The troublemakers wanted to keep the disorder going until King Louis Philippe's birthday. Then there were even shouts of "LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC." These shouts portray the people's attempts to use rituals to create disorder and protest against injustice. On the other hand, rituals can also be used in another positive way, political education. Brother Giovanni di Carlo described the custom of all the sons of high officials switching roles with their fathers. In a way, the inversion of roles disrupts their monotonous life and adds a healthy change. However, it is more important to note the educational aspects. It gives their sons a chance to experience the feeling of being notable and powerful. Either way, customs are necessary.

People in Europe often socialize by telling stories, singing, or talking. Women get together to sew and spin while men would hang out in the tavern. Large events such as Carnival would allow for the whole community to join in the celebration and let go of all the tension built up over the year. Acrobats and freak shows entertained people and gave them a good hearty laugh, while other rituals were a means of punishment. Even the disorder created by raucous revelry can have political purposes and goals. Rituals and festivals played an essential role in European life; their removal would greatly disrupt the European way of life.

Works Referenced:

Western Civilization: A History of European Society. Steven Hause and William Maltby. 2004.