European Rituals DBQ

             Traditional European life was characterized by cycles of celebrations (festivals) such as charivari. These festivals took place in various time during the year (some not having a definite date), and their purpose in European society was varied. Although festivals are thought primarily as entertainment and a means to relieve stress, these festivals also led economic and political action, but only as the cost of the established order in society. During these festivals the everyday laws did not necessarily apply, and the festivals seem to have been more or less a differentworld? altogether. The festivals that characterized European social life did much more than just entertain the crowds.
             There is no doubt that one major aspect of the festivals in Europe was its purpose in relieving the ordinary people of their stress accumulated from their droning of life. John Taylor describes how the youths armed themselves with various tools and proceeded to damage and destroy the town they lived in (document 4). It could be assumed that they did this in order to relieve themselves of the stress that has mounted on them through the countless hours of contained labor. R. Lassels, a French traveler, explains that the festival activity served as a?vent to their spirit which have been stifled for a whole year?? (Document 5), thus further emphasizing the fact that the festivals helped to released the strained emotions within the townspeople. This account is most likely to be reliable because this is a French traveler in an Italian town, which makes him an outsider and his opinion more likely to be objective. Henry Bourne describes the equality he sees during the festivities, and how the townspeople were allowed to act in whatever way they pleased and were forgiven for offending each other (document 6). This does describe a way in which people were able to release themselves from their everyday restraints, but Henry Bourne is far from being a reliable s...

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