Social

definition of customs

Customs are known as all those actions, practices and activities that are part of the tradition of a community or society and that are deeply related to its identity, its unique character and its history. The customs of one society are special and are rarely exactly repeated in another community, although the territorial proximity can cause some elements of the same to be shared.

Customs and traditions are always linked to the identity and feeling of belonging of the individuals that make up a community. Customs are forms, attitudes, values, actions and feelings that generally have their roots in time immemorial and that, in many cases, have no logical or rational explanation, but simply established themselves over time until they became almost irrevocable. All societies have their own system of customs, some of them being more evident than others.

Customs are also responsible for the creation of the various systems of law that govern societies. This is so because they are established around what the customs and traditions of a community consider valuable, ethical, moral and necessary. Thus, while in some societies incest is clearly prohibited, in others the prohibition is not so rigid, among many other examples. The laws that are established from the customs are known as customary laws and are generally laws and regulations that are implicitly established in the community, that is, everyone knows them and it is not necessary to put them in writing.

It can be added that the customs of a people are always unique and unrepeatable. However, nowadays, the globalization phenomenon means that many of the traditions and customs of some regions of the planet have disappeared or lost their strength in the face of customs imported from the centers of power, mainly Europe and the United States.

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