Nobody spoke for a minute then Meg said in an altered tone, 'You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army.
The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly, 'We haven't got Father, and shall not have him for a long time.' She didn't say 'perhaps never,' but each silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was. 'We've got Father and Mother, and each other,' said Beth contentedly from her corner. 'I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all,' added little Amy, with an injured sniff. 'It's so dreadful to be poor!' sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress. Won't be Christmas without any presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. To pledge loyalty to constituted authorities or hierarchy of traditional rulers and chiefs in a Kingdom by performing defined rites to affirm their superiority and continuity in office. To give all the celebrants the opportunity to share a sense of belonging, oneness and identity in order to sustain their group cohesiveness. To employ the elders to play active roles in sharing stories/experiences among the people that can promote their sense of unity and solidify their sense of morality in the society. To address issues that could invigorate peoples’ commitment and continuous propagation of their traditions towards reintegrating them into the community. To use the events to organize the people and provide traditional forms of entertainment for them which is no longer enjoyed due to advent of modern entertainments. The impact of traditional festivals in Yorubaland particularly where it is tied to the culture of the people and the continuity of the society therefore is set to achieve the following goals: To celebrate a communal event that keeps the community in tune with its traditions To promote the cultural and local/national identity of the people To exhort specific characteristics of the community in forms of its religious beliefs or cultural assimilations as a mark of social advancement and commitment To commemorate a local or national holiday where indigenes at home and abroad can come together to identify with the community and also seek pleasure or rest from work To celebrate a specific seasonal or annual occurrence that justifies and promotes the communal identity of the people and distinguishes them from other communities.
More importantly, the ceremonial framework of the festivals held in the Yoruba palaces (Aafin) gives much needed continuity of rites of legitimacy and authority to the Oba (the King) over his subjects having being epitomized as a ‘sacred person who exists ontologically in heaven and on earth’ like an intercessor, a bridge builder and a divine agent between men and the divinity. Hence, the Yoruba ceremonial city with its celebration of communal festivals remains a ritual paradigm of the ordination of the society, whereby the required values and attitudes are inculcated in people for its continuity. In the Yorubaland, most festivals have been linked to the ceremonial city in giving rites of expression to the moral framework of their society and in defining their relations with the various existing groups and their members in the community.
Invariably a festival celebration gives the people, the desired opportunity to share a sense of belonging in forms of social, ethnic or religious oneness and identity in order to sustain their group cohesiveness. This is often achieved through the roles played by the elders in sharing stories and experience of the past among the various families to promote their sense of unity. The events of the celebration also dwell on cultural/ethnic issues that invigorate the ideas of commitment through the knowledge of the traditions among the people towards integrating them into the community life. During the events, the people are organized to provide entertainment that is of particular interest to the local community in ancient times before the advent of modern entertainments.
Festivals are often linked to celebration of farming seasons, religious and mystical occurrences and national identity of the people with a view to celebrate or commemorate the communal goals, the expression of divine providence and memorials for the dead. Festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or cultures, often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid.
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