Definitions of Ritual – Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through the study of the past, controlled and naturalistic observation of the present and disciplined scientific experimentation and modeling.
It attempts to accomplish legitimate, objective conclusions through rigorous formulations and observation. Generally, behavior science deals primarily with human action and often seeks to generalize about human behavior as it relates to society.
Ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, and objects, performed in a sequestered place, and performed according to set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized but not defined by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, and performance.
Rituals are a feature of all known human societies. They include not only the worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also rites of passage, atonement and purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages and funerals, school “rush” traditions and graduations, club meetings, sporting events, Halloween parties, veterans parades, Christmas shopping and more.
Many activities that are ostensibly performed for concrete purposes, such as jury trials, execution of criminals, and scientific symposia, are loaded with purely symbolic actions prescribed by regulations or tradition, and thus partly ritualistic in nature. Even common actions like hand- shaking and saying “hello” may be termed rituals.
Definitions of Ritual
A ritual is a formalized mode of behavior in which the members of a group or community regularly engage. Religion represents one of the main contexts in which rituals are practiced, but the scope of ritual behavior extends well beyond religion. Most groups have ritual practices of some kind.
Ritual factors in Bangladesh:
Traditional Festivals
Pahela Baishakh
- Pahela Baishakh is the first day of the Bengali calendar,
- Many of the traditional festivities in Bangladesh revolve around the Bengali Year, the most important of them being the Bengali New Year celebrations,
Pahela Falgoon
- Another traditional day (though not a national holiday) is Pahela Falgoon, the first day of spring, which is observed across the country through traditional festivities and colourful programmes.
Religious Holidays and Festivals
Muslim Holidays
- Eid-ul-Fitr: This marks the celebration at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
- Eid-ul-Azha: Festival of sacrifice.
Hindu Holidays
- Janmastami: Celebration of the birth of Rama.
- Durgapuja
Buddhist Holidays
- Buddho Purnima: Buddhists commemorate the birth and enlightenment of Buddha
Christian Holidays
- Christmas: Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christan
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