HOLIDAY RESEARCH

ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ ПРАЗДНИКОВ

Дарья Букланова Максимовна

студент, факультет иностранных языков и регионоведения, Московский государственный университет имени М.В. Ломоносова,

РФ, г. Москва

ABSTRACT

The importance of holidays for society cannot be overestimated. They create opportunities for sustainable economic, social, and cultural development of regions, preservation and transfer of existing heritage to future generations, therefore it is extremely important to support and study festive culture. This article aims to analyze how holidays have been studied, what methodology was used, and which scientists made the greatest contribution to the study of them.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Значение праздников для общества невозможно переоценить. Они создают возможности для устойчивого экономического, социального и культурного развития регионов, сохранения и передачи существующего наследия будущим поколениям, поэтому крайне важно поддерживать и изучать праздничную культуру. Цель данной статьи – проанализировать, как происходило исследование праздников, какая использовалась методология и какие учёные внесли наибольший вклад в их изучение.

Keywords: holiday, research, methodology.

Ключевые слова: праздник, исследование, методология.

The study of holidays is known for its interdisciplinary nature, and therefore the methods of studying them are quite diverse. There are three main areas of festival research that follow from the definition of a holiday: the first is based on the opposition of a holiday and everyday life, the second is related to anthropology and sociology, and the third is connected with the concept of identifying a holiday with a game.

Such prominent scientists as M.M. Bakhtin, V.I. Ilyin, F.Muret, and M. Foucault used the first methodological approach in their research. They viewed the holiday in contrast to everyday life. They considered the holiday in contrast to everyday life, highlighting the uniqueness of the celebration, its dissimilarity from the usual order of everyday life. The holiday allows people to temporarily get out of the ordinary flow of life and share joy with others. However, there are researchers who criticize this approach. For example, the German culturologist J. Assmann believed that the juxtaposition of the holiday and everyday life cannot exist, since there is only one order – sacred and festive, bringing a focus to everyday life. The main purpose of the holiday is to divide time into phases of work and rest, ordering it, and not contrasting the festivities of everyday life: "By introducing structure and rhythm over time, holidays organize time as a whole, and only in this orderly time can everyday life take its place" [1, p. 61].

In sociological and anthropological studies, the holiday is associated with the alternation of two phases: work and rest. K. Żygulski noted that the holiday is one of the socio-cultural institutions, "which protects, promotes, and renews the values of culture around which society organizes its conscious life" [2, p. 72, 73]. The sociologist considers the holiday to be an independent structure that uses the game only as a secondary, insignificant element. When considering the holiday as a social institution, scientists note its important role in reflecting the values of society, the contradictions and traditions that arise in it, through which people can trace the attitude of society to its own past. The philosopher A.I. Pigalev combined the first and second approaches in the study of holidays, noting the juxtaposition of everyday life and their social significance [3].

A.V. Benifand, H.-G. Gadamer, J. Huizinga made a great contribution to the development of the game concept. The Dutch historian J. Huizinga considered the game the primary and most important function of the holiday. When studying this approach, the researchers turned to history and noted that the primitive celebration has always been identified with play and entertainment. Thus, the Soviet and Russian philosopher A.F. Eremeev, when considering the essence of the holiday at the early stages of culture, revealed that before it always arose spontaneously, developing into mass entertainment, and had an improvisational character [4, p. 187]. However, it has undergone changes over time, since each epoch left its traces on the holidays, and now they have a clear structure with the presence of generally accepted rituals, which are peculiar rules of behavior at the festival. Scientists who adhere to this approach identify the game with a holiday, but some researchers refute this comparison. For instance, K. Żygulski expressed disagreement with the position of J. Huizinga: "First of all, the game, at least, does not always mean cutting off from everyday life; in a person's childhood and youth, play, fun is part of their life, the most natural part. Spatial and temporal constraints are also not specific to the game as an activity" [2, p. 105]. However, these restrictions are typical for the holiday. Therefore, according to the scientist, the game is part of the holiday, they are interrelated, but the game culture and holiday culture cannot be identified with each other.

Thus, all three methodological approaches to the study of the holiday allow to analyze its essence more deeply, identify the features characteristic of it, as well as determine the significance of holidays for society and their purpose. Research on this topic has not lost its relevance so far.

Reference:

1. J. Assmann. Cultural memory. Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination. Languages of Slavic culture, 2004.
2. K. Żygulski. Holidays culture: Holidays old and new. Sociologist’s reflections. Progress, 1985.
3. A. I. Pigalev. Cultural studies of the twentieth century. Encyclopedia.
4. A. F. Eremeev. Primitive culture: origin, features, structure: A course of lectures. Book 2. Mordovian University Press, 1997.