Customs and Traits
Reed and Cyn are trying to figure out how to combine their cultures to make the ceremony reflective of both of their families.
A custom is a frequently repeated act that becomes characteristic of the culture of the people performing the act. A wedding ceremony is an example of a custom. While this custom may seem typical for couples who wish to wed, the custom of a wedding ceremony is not part of the process of joining and starting a family.
Customs vary widely from culture to culture and can include anything from food preparation to religious ceremonies or how people get up or go to bed. As long as it is a commonly repeated act that represents the culture, it is a custom.
Customs can sometimes overlap with a culture trait, which is a characteristic of a group of people. For example, in Cyn's culture, arranged marriages are common. In other words, it's common for parents and other older family members to decide who a person will marry. This is a characteristic of her culture, so it is a culture trait.
So what's the difference between a custom and a culture trait? As we mentioned, they can overlap somewhat. But a custom always includes some kind of act, whereas a culture trait may be an act, or it may be an idea or concept, or it may be a material object, like an item of clothing.
In Cyn's culture, as we've seen, arranged marriages are a culture trait. But there are other marriage-related culture traits in her culture, too. For example, it's considered normal for people to get married in their early 20s. It's also normal for married couples to have children, and it's very rare for people to get divorced.
A collection of culture traits is called a culture complex. Together, arranged marriages, marriage in the early 20s, having babies, and avoiding divorce are part of the culture complex of Cyn's culture.
A culture complex is often related to religion, since religious culture traits are often grouped together into a whole. For example, someone who is Catholic might engage in confession, communion, worship services or Mass, and other culture traits associated with Catholicism. Together, these make up the culture complex of Catholicism.
Culture Hearth
So, customs and culture traits involve things that are characteristic of a particular culture. And a culture complex is a collection of culture traits. But how does a culture develop and spread?
A culture hearth is the center of a culture. It is where a culture develops and is the most concentrated area of a culture. Think of it like the heart of a culture. It's called a culture hearth because the hearth is traditionally the center of the home, the place from which food comes and at which family gathers.
Reed, for example, is Irish American. His family has a lot of traditions from the 'old country' that they follow. For him, the culture hearth is Ireland. Mecca is another good example of a culture hearth. For followers of Islam, Mecca is important because it is the center of the Islamic faith and the place where their culture developed.
Outside of a culture hearth, there are still members of the culture, but they are less concentrated and the culture itself is not as strong. For example, May Day is a popular holiday in Ireland, but Reed's family in America doesn't celebrate it. They are not in the culture hearth, and therefore, the culture is not as strong as it is in Ireland.
Lesson Summary
Culture is the collection of beliefs and traditions of a people. Culture is often defined in terms of what people do. A repeated act that becomes characteristic of a group of people is a custom, while anything that is characteristic of a group of people is a culture trait. A collection of culture traits is known as a culture complex. Finally, most cultures have a culture hearth, or center of the culture where the traditions develop. A culture hearth is the most concentrated area of a culture.
Learning Outcomes
This culture lesson should teach you how to:
- Explain what makes up a culture
- Consider how customs and traits impact culture
- Describe how culture develops and spreads
