Lab 035: You Know the Vibes
On Saturday, November 7th, multiple decision desks called the results of the United States’ 2020 Presidential Election. Like clockwork, our timelines and feeds filled with videos of people honking horns, erupting in cheer, hugging strangers (mostly with masks on), and dancing in the streets. While we love a good celebration as much as the next set of friends, we began to wonder why this one felt so important? How did so many people decide banging on pots and pans & adding cowbell was the best next step after good news?
Sociology of Celebration
The bulk of this episode was based on a special issue of the Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology based on the Sociology of Celebration. The editors of this issue (Ismo Kantola @ University of Turku and Mihai Stelian Rusu @ Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu) shared a great framework, the coordinates of celebration, for exploring this topic! Check out the entire issue - all the articles are free to read and download.
We used Friendsgiving as our model to explore the coordinates of celebration!
How Friendsgiving Took Over MIllennial Culture by Ashley Fetters (The Atlantic)
What to Do on Thanksgiving If You Can’t Go Home by Richard Lawson (The Wire)
Coordinates of celebration
Temporality
This coordinate is all about time, as celebrations breaks up the monotony of the day to day.
We borrow from Greek mythology with a brief discussion of Kronos vs Kairos.
Even though it’s not mentioned in the episode, it feels right to share some news about part of the brain that could be responsible for establishing temporal context around memories. It might explain why it’s been so hard to keep up with time when reflecting on the past few months of isolation/reduced social activity!
Spatiality
Where are you celebrating? We talked about places we linked to various celebrations - Times Square NYC for New Year’s Eve and New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Then we zoomed in on a more personal note, remembering where our family holidays were celebrated.
We could really resolve that even more… Did anyone else eat at a separate kids’ table? I remember moving on up to the adult table and I was VERY excited for that change!
Sociality
How do we interact at times of celebration? This is the festive spirit or holiday mood. Holidays have a way of encouraging actions outside social norms.
Have it both ways
Titi and I talked about our love for celebrations, and we even encourage more of them! But we’d like you to find the celebrations in the small moments of life rather than manufacturing them for the ‘Gram or because Pinterest told you to do it. Let’s increase frequency, not scale.
The Over-celebration of Life Events by Alia Wong (The Atlantic)
Why You Should Celebrate Everything by Polly Campbell (Psychology Today)
Feasting: The Archaeology and History of Celebrating Food (Thought Co)
sound off in the comments
We want to hear from you!
How do you celebrate?
Are you an over- or under- celebrator?
How will you celebrate this year while still keeping yourself and your loved-ones safe?
If you are gathering with people, please follow guidelines to reduce risk!
listen to the EPISODE
This lab is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, our site, or wherever else you listen to podcasts