Ritual has been an integral part of human life in every civilization and every historical era, and the rituals of all cultures have common characteristics.

In this lesson, students will identify characteristics of traditional and modern rituals found in different cultures. Through reading stories about rituals, students will identify some of their characteristics. Finally, students will apply their understanding to rituals which occur on familiar holidays.

Geography, social studies

Standard 10: "The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics"

Two hours

• Computer with Internet access

Students will

• list characteristics of rituals;
• identify examples of these characteristics in the rituals of various cultures and traditions; and
• identify examples of rituals in modern American life.

Some consider rituals to be archaic or quaint traditional cultural events which are no longer meaningfully present in modern experience. On the contrary, rituals remain an important and enduring aspect of our daily life. Modern society has both retained traditional rituals and accepted new ones. In this lesson, students will explore some traditional rituals and their modern counterparts.

Ask students what they think of when they hear the word "ritual." Accept all responses. Ask if anyone has attended a ritual. Again, accept all responses. Then, explain that they will be examining rituals that occur on holidays.

Choose one or more of the following books to read to your class:

Lights for Gita by Rachna Gilmore
Night Lights: A Sukkot Story by Barbara Diamond Goldin
Ramadan by Suhaib Hamid Ghazi
The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie de Paola

Alternatively, you can have the students watch the BrainPOP Video Winter Holidays, which reflects on the traditions and rituals of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas.

After you have read the story or stories, ask the students the following:

• What is a ritual?
• Do you think the event described in this story was a ritual?
• What do these rituals have in common?

Then, explain that there are many characteristics that rituals share, and that they will be exploring several of those today. Be sure to emphasize that not all rituals contain each of these characteristics, nor are these the only characteristics rituals share, but that they are common themes.

Many rituals contain:

• Ceremony (or pageantry)
• Religious devotion (prayer, expressions of faith, etc.)
• Arts (music, visual arts, dance)

Discuss with the class how each of these characteristics was reflected in the stories you read together or in the video.

Then, tell the students that not all rituals occur on holidays and that you will be describing a ritual that happens in Mongolia in the spring when camels are born: the Weeping Camel ritual. Teachers can learn about the ritual through the following articles and websites:

National Geographic: The Story of the Weeping Camel
National Geographic News: Weeping Camel—A Real Mongolian Tear-Jerker

If you have access to the film, you can show the segment which depicts the Weeping Camel ritual. (Note that the film is rated PG and should be previewed by the teacher prior to showing the film in the classroom.)

Finally, have students describe how the three characteristics of ritual are reflected in the Story of the Weeping Camel.

Ask students to list as many modern rituals as possible, such as marriages, funerals, and birthday parties. Then, in groups of four, have students discuss the answer to this question: Is Thanksgiving dinner a ritual? Then, reconvene as a class for students to share their ideas.

Have students write a story about "The Rituals of (a holiday)." If your students need help thinking of a holiday, offer the following possibilities to them:

• Valentine's Day
• Easter
• Kwanzaa
• The Fourth of July
• Memorial Day
• Halloween
• New Year's Eve
• Hanukkah

Remind them to focus on the three characteristics that many rituals reflect.

Have students watch The Story of the Weeping Camel to find at least four instances of ritual in the film. For example:

• The grandmother's early morning ritual of sprinkling milk in the four directions
• The adorning and anointing of the first-born calf
• The sacrifice of food during the whole-village ritual
• The ritual of the weeping camel

Note that the film is rated PG and should be previewed by the teacher prior to showing in the classroom. You may wish to show only portions of the film as it contains some mature content (characters smoking, a camel giving birth, a child being bathed, etc.).

BrainPOP: "Winter Holidays"
National Geographic Kids Magazine: Endangered Cultures
National Geographic News: Weeping CamelA Real Mongolian Tear-Jerker
National Geographic: The Story of the Weeping Camel