Holidays - the Mirror of Society, The Social and Cultural Contexts of Present-Day Holidays in the Slovak Republic
Holidays - the Mirror of Society, The Social and Cultural Contexts of Present-Day Holidays in the Slovak Republic

Summary/Abstract: After 2010, the study of present-day holidays established itself as an original tool for the study of society in Slovak ethnology. In the first stage, the research team of the Institute of Ethnology SAS focused on the empirical research of the specific contexts of the term holiday in Slovakia and mapped the range of situations which are designated by people as holidays today. The term holiday means the interruption of the daily routine, a moment commemorated on a cyclical basis or a period accompanied by normative or ritual acts and with an ascribed symbolic meaning.Our research showed that apart from identification, ritual and spiritual functions which are important for individuals or communities, as commonly studied by ethnology, holidays also fulfil a number of practical functions at present. After the discovery of the manifold overlaps of this phenomenon with the on-going social processes, the focus of ethnology has shifted to society as such and on its reflection in the mirror of holidays. Through an analysis of empirical materials from the observation and ethnographic description of the events in the public space during holidays, the study of the holiday legislation, the activities of various institutions,the production of printed and electronic media, business and advertising, which create the current content and the ways of celebrating holidays, it was possible to obtain a basis for a specific testimony about the present-day social processes in the Slovak Republic. In this context, this study is dedicated to the following relations:holidays and politics, holidays and economy, and holidays and citizens.

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