Rite & Ritual and their Importance in the Lives of Men

Of the many things lost in today's world, the ideas of rites and rituals necessary for progression into adulthood are among our saddest losses. In many cultures today, those not fully modernized, they still possess certain rites of passage and rituals for life events. It used to be the case that every culture in the world had these, and that they were necessary for life.

We do still have a few rites and rituals in the form of marriage and graduation, but for the most part that is it. Graduating school is a rite of passage, marriage is a ritual that (to we faithful) symbolizes the uniting of two persons into one. But beyond that, we lack what used to be considered necessary in a culture. One moment you are a boy, and now you're a man, not because you did anything or anything changed, but because someone said so. Yesterday a girl, now a woman, but what change was there? To her, practically nothing changed. There was no ceremony, no moment she could point to as the point she now became a woman.

Now why is this important? If we got rid of these things, they must not have been necessary in the first place, right? There are many issues that arise when rite and ritual are done away with, one being that we as humans crave these things, and if we rid ourselves of them then we try to fill it with something else. But, to put it simply, because the linked article below will speak more on the importance of these things, a man becomes more of a man when he receives the rite, and participates in the rituals. Rite and ritual do not give him more power, they do not alter his state of being, but they are a sign to himself and to others of his role and his purpose.

So, if you would please, read the below article which speaks on the rite of initiation into manhood, and watch the video regarding a yearly ritual in Spain. Watch and read, then come ready to discuss at the bonfire, and bring ideas of rite and ritual of your own if you wish.

https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/advice/coming-of-age-the-importance-of-male-rites-of-passage/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-EzhFOI5XU

An article written for the Smoke&Flame Men's Bonfire night, by Ethan Hall