Rituals are an evident and fundamental part of every culture. Before learning about the importance of rituals in class last week, I primarily thought of them as the traditions that my family shares, usually during the holidays. Granted, hanging stockings and decorating a Christmas tree are in fact rituals, but I never realized that the everyday actions we partake in fall under this category as well. In fact, these everyday rituals might even play a more important and influential role in shaping our culture than we originally realize. The text describes the function of rituals as, “repeated patterns of human action… that function to shape and define our identities” (111). These repeated patterns of action don’t just apply to the yearly Christmas festivities that my family shares, but even the subtler, repeated actions that we hold every day. In class, we discussed how rituals can consist of eating breakfast every morning, or even saying grace before a meal. This got me thinking about what some of the everyday rituals that my family partakes in could be. One of the best examples I could think of involves a bagel shop in my hometown of Lake Forest, California. This bagel shop, known as Bagels and Brew, is probably the most visited restaurant in all of Lake Forest. I don’t think I’ve ever stepped foot in that shop without it being packed or without seeing at least ten people I know. My family and I would go to Bagels and Brew every Saturday morning to eat breakfast with the other locals to talk about pretty much anything and everything. Not only did this become our Saturday morning ritual, but it even became a ritual for the other locals as well. This ritual of attending Bagels and Brew for a home-town, Saturday breakfast-morning type of feeling added to the culture of Lake Forest as a whole. After the Fourth of July 5k, all of the runners would head to Bagels and Brew to get a free bagel and cup of coffee. Every Sunday before soccer games, my family would stop for some scrambled eggs and orange juice. Through our ritual of going to Bagels and Brew on a weekly basis, we added to the culture of what Bagels and Brew stands for; A fairly priced and kid friendly place to get some good food before taking on the day. Not only has my family contributed to this establishment, but the people of Lake Forest as well have created a culture that surrounds and will always surround that tiny shop down the street.

            I think studying rituals is a lot more important than people might originally think. Our entire lives consist of rituals and they, in a way, govern our actions. If an individual is so used to doing things in a certain way, chances are, they will continue to act in that manner later on. I know from personal experience, and in the example I just previously wrote about, that the rituals I partake in effect the way I act. For the rest of my life, I will go to Bagels and Brew every time I visit home because that’s simply “what we do.” Henes suggests that, “The need for ritual is a basic human instinct, as real, as urgent and as raw as our need for food, shelter, and love” (2013). She writes how rituals are present in all aspects of our lives whether we are aware of it or not, and how people often use rituals as a way to connect with the bigger, universal forces at play (Henes). We need to recognize the rituals that shape our lives in order to understand how exactly our cultures are created.

            In conclusion, I feel that rituals are ever present within our lives. They shape the way we act and think, and I truly believe that they are more influential than we might originally assume. Even though the ritual of going to Bagels and Brew might not seem as obvious or as special as decorating a Christmas tree, it is still a factor that has shaped my life and will continue to effect the way I view the culture of my hometown in Lake Forest, California.  

Fassett, D. L. & Warren, J.T. (2015). Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction. London:

Sage Publications.

Henes, D. (2013). Why We Need Rituals in Our Lives. Retrieved from huffingtonpost.com.