Celebrations (part I)

The arrival of the holiday season makes us all think about the big topics, about how they relate to our lives and our families.  This is an aspect of life that has not changed for hundreds of years.  That is not to say that the holidays are the same.  These have certainly come and gone.  Some have even evolved over the centuries or been incorporated into other celebrations.  What is unchanging is that we take the time to celebrate certain days of the year which hold significance for us in one way or another. 
    The celebration of seasonal change and natural events seems to exist in all cultures.  Some peoples venerate full moons or the equinoxes.  The coming of Spring is a joyful time in any area that has a harsh winter.  The harvest is also a time to celebrate the ending of one's labors and the season's bounty.  Seasonal migrations of animal groups may also be the cause for a holiday (whether they are arriving, the village has had a good take, or the are departing and leaving us free of fear).  The celebration of nature marks both an appreciation of the vastness of nature and the celebrants joy in the knowledge that they have survived another year in the face of that power.  These are often observed with a community-wide tradition. 
      Significant event in history are memorialized annually by various cultures.  These types of events may take many forms.  Birthdays and wedding anniversaries are smaller scale and traditionally family centered, while the date of a country's founding may be celebrated by the entire nation.  Heroes may be remembered on the day of their birth or on the anniversary of a significant event in their life.  The date on which a war ended is also remembered fondly by those who suffered under the fear of that time.  How these events are observed can vary wildly from culture to culture and family to family.
    Many times, the cause of celebration is of a spiritual nature.  In medieval Europe, Saints' days were often celebrated by those who were named after these figures (sometimes in place of their own birthdays).  Significant events in the life of ones faith are often celebrated, whether they be with silent meditation or with drunken orgies.  These occasions may also be related to births or deaths, miracles or milestones.  Holidays religious in nature often have the highest level of restriction, in regards to observation, with codified dress and ritual.  Some religions keep their observance private within the walls of their halls of worship, while others take to the streets and share their celebrations with the world. 
    These celebrations were not simply excuses to blow off work for the day.  Civic celebrations are opportunities for the growth of community ties and for the upper classes to demonstrate their power and largess with parades, feasts and other forms of pageantry.  Religious festivals tie together the religious community through working and celebrating together for the common goal of practicing their religion.  Family holidays emphasize the importance of the the family unit and encourages this support network.  In the medieval world, long before the invention of the weekend, holidays came frequently, serving as a release from the toil of the everyday and as a method to bind together communities.