Verified Document

Myth, Ritual, Language The Relationships Essay

The Christmas tradition, be it the length of time of its evolution or the desire by each subsequent culture to make it an accepted reality, is not so open and obviously evolving, unless one really looks at it, as Hutton has done. Lastly, after looking at Hutton's representation of the historical underpinnings of the various aspect of the myth, ritual and language of Christmas one might look at how it continues to evolve in the present. The present meaning, modern day, with its myth, ritual and language surrounded by pomp, circumstance and especially the gift giving (and receiving) part surrounding what most people and especially Christians believe Christmas to really be in their history. I might add here, that there is a modern trend among Christians to take Christmas back to its historical underpinning, or the believed historical underpinnings of the holiday. What is interesting about this is that when they go back to Christmas' roots they are not going back to where Hutton goes, but to the myth, ritual and language surrounding the nativity story, the very story which we here have discussed to be an amalgamation of historical creation. Regardless of this situation which would seem to some an interesting irony the sense that Christmas is now sort of static is also present, as the media representation of it is somewhat stable.

When participating in major public ceremonies or events constructed on the ceremonial pattern, media institutions alter their regular structure and journalists abandon the usual procedures and the neutral attitude: they act in a manner similar to liturgical officials and present reality in a symbolic code that suggest the universe of religious references. (Coman, 2009, p. 3)

Then one could say to a large degree because in many ways the present...

Yet, Christmas is evolving, it is continually becoming more and more secularized, in the sense that it is becoming a modern representation of the consumer society in which most modern Christians reside or as a time for those who have more seek to aide those who have less, all modern media adaptations of Christmas as a cultural tradition. Christmas is therefore, like all other cultural artifacts created by each generation anew, through language, myth and ritual that better reflect the society we currently live in.
Resources

Coman, M. (2009). Media and Ritual: A Challenge for the Anthropological Thought. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-23. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.

Higgins, J., & McAllaster, C. (2004). If You Want Strategic Change, Don't Forget to Change Your Cultural Artifacts. Journal of Change Management, 4(1), 63-73. doi:10.1080/1469701032000154926.

Hutton, R. (1996) the Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Yeas in Britain. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Ibrahim, B. (2010). The appropriation of linguistic forms for better cognitive comprehension of the Nigerian pragmatic literature. Babel, 56(2), 119-128. doi:10.1075/babel.56.2.02ibr.

Senn, C. (2002). Journeying as Religious Education: The Shaman, the Hero, the Pilgrim, and the Labyrinth Walker. Religious Education, 97(2), 124-140. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Venbrux, E. (2009). Social Life and the Dreamtime: Clues to Creation Myths as Rhetorical Devices in Tiwi Mortuary Ritual. Religion & the Arts,…

Sources used in this document:
references. (Coman, 2009, p. 3)

Then one could say to a large degree because in many ways the present accepted myth, ritual and language are accepted as not only historically accurate but fundamentally immutable the media tends to represent it as it is. Yet, Christmas is evolving, it is continually becoming more and more secularized, in the sense that it is becoming a modern representation of the consumer society in which most modern Christians reside or as a time for those who have more seek to aide those who have less, all modern media adaptations of Christmas as a cultural tradition. Christmas is therefore, like all other cultural artifacts created by each generation anew, through language, myth and ritual that better reflect the society we currently live in.

Resources

Coman, M. (2009). Media and Ritual: A Challenge for the Anthropological Thought. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-23. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.

Higgins, J., & McAllaster, C. (2004). If You Want Strategic Change, Don't Forget to Change Your Cultural Artifacts. Journal of Change Management, 4(1), 63-73. doi:10.1080/1469701032000154926.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Language and Religion
Words: 705 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Paper

Language and Religion I visited the Anglican Church in my community, who congregates every Sunday at 10am. To gain access, I telephoned the Secretary of the church, who explained to me that services were open to any members of the public. She indicated that I would be most welcome and she sounded very friendly as well. She invited me to also speak to the Reverend and gave me his number. I

Rituals Following Victor Turner, Who
Words: 3001 Length: 10 Document Type: Thesis

These include factors such as the secularization and diversification of religious belief and practice; social and geographical mobility; the growth of both consumerism and environment. Christian Rituals and Evil Christianity has always had its rituals by which to confront and overcome evil. Its story is the biblical story of the unending struggle of God against chaos and sin, a story whose decisive chapter was the life and death and resurrection of

Ritual and Sacred Scripture in
Words: 2454 Length: 9 Document Type: Term Paper

Indeed, it is as if the U.S. Congress or president were to decide what constituted Christian doctrine and scripture, and everyone went along at the peril of their lives, according to Bidstrup. The result of the Bible's origins as selected parts of whole bodies of scripture, written by at least a hundred and fifty different people in dozens of different places at different times, many centuries apart, and for different reasons,

Ritual Knowledge Is Transmitted in
Words: 1973 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Furthermore, under most circumstances, these variations in Muslim belief do not have a negative impact on how Muslims interact; instead, they manage to live peacefully side-by-side in most settings. This may have to do with the idea that all Muslims believe that the Quran (Qur'an, Koran) is the holy text for Muslims. They believe that the Quran reflects the word of God. "For Muslims, the text of the Koran

Egyptian Mythology Most of the People Would
Words: 3642 Length: 11 Document Type: Essay

Egyptian Mythology Most of the people would define a myth as a story. But this is not the correct meaning of a myth. The debate over the accurate meaning of myth has been going through since last 2000 years. The most generally accepted definition of a myth is that, myths are stories regarding the gods. They are sacred stories and they give an explanation about the way the world is. They

Creation Narrative Analysis of Genesis Myth or History or Myth and...
Words: 15782 Length: 50 Document Type: Term Paper

Creation Myth Analysis Case Study of the History of Biblical Creation Narratives What Is Myth? What Is History? Manetho Josephus Jeroboam Is Genesis 1:1-2:4 Myth? Is Genesis 1:1-2:4 History? Is Genesis 1:1-2:4 Both Myth and History? An Analysis of the Biblical Creation Narrative of Genesis 1:1-25 and Egypt's Possible Influence on the Historical Record God created the world in just six days, and rested on the seventh, but scholars have not rested at all over the millennia in their investigation of

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now