Brightly colored costumes, festive music, parades, whirling dancers, unusual foods. For most of us, ethnic festivals may be our first introduction to the traditions of a cultural group that is new to us. For the celebrants, however, these traditions are valuable exactly because they are familiar and deeply meaningful. They are the complex threads of shared history, values and aesthetics that weave together a community.
Other ways of participating in community are less visible to others. They are woven into the tapestry of daily life in community places rather than public spaces. Houses of worship provide a sacred setting for rituals that express shared belief and worldview. Stores and restaurants provide important material and social resources for the folklife of the group. Schools, parks and clubs are settings for learning traditional arts, languages, crafts and sports.
Sometimes communities experience profound disruption. War, genocide, economic collapse and environmental devastation may force groups to relocate to places where they must reconstruct their culture, often without the resources to which they are accustomed. They may use new resources to adapt their folk arts while still maintaining a sense of continuity with the past and with a particular place.
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