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Rituals

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Response Paper #6 - Rituals According to Dictionary.com, the word ritual is defined as "an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite". One ritual that I perform every year is going to church early on Easter morning, for the sunrise service at 6am. In the Christian religion, it is believed that Jesus Christ was resurrected that morning and thus it is celebrated every year on the Sunday after Good Friday; the day that Christ was crucified on the cross. Many churches, like my own, hold an all-night vigil the night before with worship and prayer. On Easter, my aunt always comes over early in the morning and she, along with my mother and I, go to church. The service usually lasts about an hour. A ritual the church itself does is hand out a nail to each patron to remind us of the nails that were driven through Jesus' wrists as he was hung on the cross. After church service; my grandmother, uncle, aunt, parents, and myself meet at my house for an early dinner where we say a prayer beforehand to thank God for a good year. Every year it's the same thing, but just because it is monotonous does not mean it is a bad thing. Rituals are made to be that way; they are supposed to be done over and over - whether it be daily or yearly. Many of them have personal meaning. They don't always have to be religious. A lot of people have a yoga ritual every morning. In my opinion, rituals are done and made for self-gain. In a religious ritual, you are pleasing God and therefore pleasing yourself. For a personal ritual, such as yoga, you are helping your muscles stretch which makes you feel

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