Prostitution of traditions

Josu

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Bilbao, Basque Country
So, we are in Xmas time.
I consider myself as agnostic, but here in basque country 24th/25th december are traditionally free days as basques have historically been fervently catholic.

We have a christmas character called Olentzero, a matey charcoal burner, who in last years(say last 30-40 years), comes to towns the 24th december at night bringing presents for kids.
Originally Olentzero was not a character, it was a season, winter season, which has strongly related to charcoal burners who went to towns in order to sell the charcoal. If charcoal was able to endure all night providing light and warm, we used to belive that this was going to be a good year. Those charcoal burners use to move either mounted in donkey or in a cart
In some towns a puppet was made, an Olentzero puppet and was burned while people sang some tradicional and folklore chants
Last decades it became a kind of santa or the spaniard's three wise men, and started to bring presents.
I was able to accept this changes, because when I was born Olentzero was allready bringing presents.

The last changes I have realised are that we have started to create a kind of ride through the town. Yesterday (yes, yesterday 23th), Olentzero came to Bilbao ridding a gigantic wood horse (such as in Troy), surrounded by elves (we have elves in basque mithology, but nothing to do with Olentzero, it is like putting Heracles and Midas in same story), whith impoluted clothing (remember we are talking about a charcoal burner) and throwing sweets. In order to achieve the sexual equality, now he is marching with his girlfriend, Maridomingi,a name that appears in one traditional song. In this song we ask maridomingi to use her best clothes because Olentzero is back in town. Just this.

So, I have been thinking about how traditions are changed for the sake of the consumerism, and my question is, is any tradition being prostituted in your country in the same way?
 
Traditions have always been manipulated by various entities for their own purposes. Why are the machinations of modern business organizations treated like something profoundly different?
 
I think this is generally how traditions form and alter over time - people with influence try to push something on the pleebs, and it either succeeds or it doesn't. These days if you've got $, you've got power, so consumerism reigns supreme and shapes our lives and our traditions whether we like it or not.

So, I have been thinking about how traditions are changed for the sake of the consumerism, and my question is, is any tradition being prostituted in your country in the same way?

The one example I can think of is De Beers convincing all of North America (and the rest of the western world?) that you need to buy a diamond when you want to marry someone - and that diamonds are precious and need to be expensive. Most girls around these parts eat that crap up like bacon... and most of the guys just go with it, cause.. tradition.

Fortunately there is a bit blowback, and I've seen more and more women speak out against diamonds, but for the most part the tradition seems here to stay.
 
The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghost moon sails among the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver on the border

On my wall the colours of the maps are running
From Africa the winds they talk of changes coming
The torches flare up in the night
The hand that sets the farms alight
Has spread the word to those who're waiting on the border

In the village where I grew up
Nothing seems the same
Still you never see the change from day to day
And no-one notices the customs slip away

Late last night the rain was knocking at my window
I moved across the darkened room and in the lampglow
I thought I saw down in the street
The spirit of the century
Telling us that we're all standing on the border

In the islands where I grew up
Nothing seems the same
It's just the patterns that remain
An empty shell
But there's a strangeness in the air you feel too well

The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghost moon sails among the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver on the border

On the border
On the border
On the border
 
America is too young to have many traditions, and what few it does were long ago commercialized to the point of being without culture. Even our best example, Thanksgiving, now largely revolves around stupid sports. Native Americans, and maybe the Amish and some others, may have largely escaped this, but that's about it.

Sucks.
 
Traditions in and of themselves have no value. And should be put down like a rabid dog most of the time. Any tradition should be able to stand on it's own merits, and not exist 'because we've always done it that way'.
 
What does this have to do with sex work
 
The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghost moon sails among the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver on the border

I figured out it comes from this:


Link to video.

I haven't figured out what it has to do with traditions, though.
 
You'd be surprised, if you started researching random traditions for how they came to be...

The way I see it, most tradition originally were founded by serendipidity, though were later subject to conscious change. For instance, the Christian influence to the Germanic Yule Tide, which was to become Xmas.
 
I figured out it comes from this:


Link to video.

I haven't figured out what it has to do with traditions, though.

More about the loss of tradition

In the village where I grew up
Nothing seems the same
Still you never see the change from day to day
And no-one notices the customs slip away

In the islands where I grew up
Nothing seems the same
It's just the patterns that remain
An empty shell
But there's a strangeness in the air you feel too well

I think its about the Spanish Civil War, the live version on his best of compilation has some nice guitar work.
 
The celebration of Christmas in the U.S. has undergone great change.

In revolutionary times, it was illegal to "celebrate" Christmas, which was reserved for praying and holy reflection.

The idea of Santa Clause being a fat guy with a white beard in a red suit driving a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer comes from the poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," first published in 1823.

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria popularized Christmas trees and Christmas cards in the 1840, and from the UK, these traditions spread to the U.S.
 
The traditions of prostitution are much more interesting.
 
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