Myths and Legends

In current usage, "mythology" generally refers to the collection of myths of a group of people. For example, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, mythology Celtic and mythology Hittite all describe the set of myths told among these cultures.

Mythology can also refer to the study of myths and mythologies.

Myth is a folkloric genre composed of stories that play a fundamental role in a society, such as founding tales or origin myths. Since the term is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, identifying a narrative as a myth can be very controversial.

Many followers of religions consider the stories of their own religions to be the truth and therefore oppose this characterization which they nevertheless consider suitable for the stories of other religions (which is quite contradictory in itself).

As such, some scholars label all religious narratives "myths" for practical reasons, such as to avoid disparaging a particular tradition because cultures interpret each other differently.

Other scholars avoid using this term altogether and instead use different terms like "sacred history", "holy history", or simply "history" to avoid giving pejorative connotations to any sacred narrative. We can also speak of folklore or written tradition. These texts as well as the legends are considered true stories of their distant, often fictionalized past.

In particular, the creation texts take place in a primordial time when the world had not reached its later form. Other texts explain how a society's customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. There is a complex relationship between the recitation of myths and the performance of rituals.

The main characters in mythology are usually non-humans, such as gods, demigods, and other supernatural figures. Others also include humans, animals, or combinations. Stories of ordinary humans, though often rulers of a certain type, are usually contained in legends. The site contains both types of text.

A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a story involving human actions, considered or perceived, both by the storyteller and the listeners, to have occurred in human history. Stories like this can demonstrate human values and possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude.

Many legendary texts operate in the realm of uncertainty, never being fully believed by participants, but also never being decisively doubted. Lhe Brothers Grimm defined the legend as “a historically grounded folk tale”. A byproduct of the 'concern for human beings' is the long list of legendary creatures, leaving no 'resolved doubt' that the legends are 'historically embedded'.

Folklore is the body of culture shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture, or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes.

They include material culture, ranging from traditional building styles to handmade toys common to the group. Folklore also includes customary traditions, actions for popular beliefs, forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas and weddings, folk dances and initiation rites.

Each of these, alone or in combination, is considered a folk artifact or traditional cultural expression. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next.

A festival is an event usually celebrated by a community and centered on a characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela or eid.

A festival constitutes typical cases of glocalization, as well as the high culture-low culture interrelation. Alongside religion and folklore, an important origin is agricultural. Food is such a vital resource that many festivals are associated with harvest time.

Religious commemoration and thanksgiving for good harvests are intertwined with events that take place in autumn, such as Halloween in the northern hemisphere and Easter in the south.

Festivals have long been important in human culture and are found in virtually every culture. The importance of festivals, until now, is found in the private and the public; secular and religious life. Companies greek and ancient Romans relied heavily on festivals, both communal and administrative.

The Saturnalia probably had an influence on Christmas and Carnival. Celebration of social occasions, religion and nature were common. Specific festivals have centuries-old histories, and festivals in general have developed over recent centuries – some traditional festivals in Ghana, for example, predate 15th-century European colonization.

Many festivals have religious origins and blend cultural and religious significance with traditional activities. The most important religious holidays such as Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha serve to mark the year. Others, like harvest festivals, celebrate the change of season.

Events of historical significance, such as significant military victories or other nation-building events, also provide the impetus for a festival. An early example is the festival established by the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses III celebrating his victory over the Libyans. In many countries, royal festivals commemorate dynastic events just as agricultural festivals concern harvests. Festivals are often commemorated every year.

There are many types of festivals around the world and most countries celebrate important events or traditions with traditional cultural events and activities. Most result in eating specially prepared food (showing the connection to "feasting") and bringing people together. Festivals are also strongly associated with national holidays. Lists of national festivals are published to facilitate participation.

Among many religions, a festival is a set of celebrations in honor of God or gods. A holiday and a festival are historically interchangeable. Most religions have holidays that recur every year and some, such as Passover, Easter and Eid al-Adha, are movable holidays, that is, those which are determined either by lunar cycles or agricultural, or by the calendar in force at the time.