I think we make rituals out of everything such celebrating holidays with family, shaking hands with friends and strangers. Inauguration of President, graduations, the Independence Day, New Years, the Olympics opening ceremonies are examples of rituals in our society. Religion has ritual. Those rituals are procedures for conducting religious ceremonies. Family rituals are activities involving most or all members of the family which occur episodically. Those behaviors have a symbolic meaning for family members.
We can see rituals remain an important and enduring aspect of our daily life. Society has both retained traditional rituals and accepted new ones. However, a ritual that is right for me might not be for my neighbors. The most common rituals around the world are often celebrations, which include such things as the birth of a baby, weddings and marriages, and then death.
Now that I think about it, common greetings such as shaking hands are indeed rituals. Greetings are so natural to me, that I overlooked them as being rituals. Great analysis!
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