The Happiness of the Family.
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Christoph Wulf
Abstract
This German-Japanese ethnographic study shows how important happiness and a satisfying life are for people, as well as how important the family is in this context. In an ethnographic study we examined the Christmas rituals of three families in Germany and the New Year rituals of three families in Japan. The goal of our study was to find out how family members create their well-being and happiness in rituals. In their mise-en-scène and staging of the happiness language and imagination, corporeality and performativity, mimetic processes, rituals, and gestures play an important role. We discovered and also analyzed transcultural elements of family happiness: the sacred foundation of the family, the importance of the communal meal, the role of the exchange of gifts, the function of narratives and memories, and the importance of time for each other to create togetherness.
© 2013 Akademie Verlag GmbH, Markgrafenstr. 12-14, 10969 Berlin.
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Introduction: Well-being in Ritual Practices
- The Price of Ritual
- Can Happiness be Created in Rituals?
- Fast Food and Fun.
- Die Organisation von Wohlbefinden in japanischen Kindergärten
- Rite of Redemption.
- Ritual and Well-being in the Contemporary Shikoku- Pilgrimage: The “Spectrum of the Sacred”
- The Auspiciousness of the Performative Body – Ritual Dancing in Folk-Religious Festivals in Japan
- Folk Performing Arts, Community Life, and Well-being: Why shishimai Matters in Toyama, Japan
- Bullfighting, Self-Enhancement, and Well-Being in Rural Japan
- Whose Festival is it?
- Shinjo Matsuri: Community Revitalization through the Construction and Circulation of Decorated Floats
- Rituelle Modulation, Liminalität und die nembutsu-Praxis im ländlichen Japan
- The Happiness of the Family.
- Wisdom on the Pursuit of Happiness in Daily Life.
- Transnational Ecstasy and Japanese Ganbarism: Cultural Patterns in the Pedagogy of Outward Bound Japan
- From Fighting to Joy in Kendo
- The “Performance” of Kyōgen.
- Well-being and Risk-taking Behavior.
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Introduction: Well-being in Ritual Practices
- The Price of Ritual
- Can Happiness be Created in Rituals?
- Fast Food and Fun.
- Die Organisation von Wohlbefinden in japanischen Kindergärten
- Rite of Redemption.
- Ritual and Well-being in the Contemporary Shikoku- Pilgrimage: The “Spectrum of the Sacred”
- The Auspiciousness of the Performative Body – Ritual Dancing in Folk-Religious Festivals in Japan
- Folk Performing Arts, Community Life, and Well-being: Why shishimai Matters in Toyama, Japan
- Bullfighting, Self-Enhancement, and Well-Being in Rural Japan
- Whose Festival is it?
- Shinjo Matsuri: Community Revitalization through the Construction and Circulation of Decorated Floats
- Rituelle Modulation, Liminalität und die nembutsu-Praxis im ländlichen Japan
- The Happiness of the Family.
- Wisdom on the Pursuit of Happiness in Daily Life.
- Transnational Ecstasy and Japanese Ganbarism: Cultural Patterns in the Pedagogy of Outward Bound Japan
- From Fighting to Joy in Kendo
- The “Performance” of Kyōgen.
- Well-being and Risk-taking Behavior.
