The decline of the holiday according to Vasile Băncilă

Throughout his life, Vasile Băncilă analyzed the phenomenon of holidays in depth. One of the aspects researched by the Romanian philosopher and sociologist was the decline in the way contemporary people celebrate. Modern celebrations have lost the meanings that in the past helped people maintain contact with sacredness (metaphysical meaning), renew their morality (moral meaning), and preserve organic ties with their social peers (social meaning). The degradation of holidays coincides with the de-peasantization of man: a departure from the traditional foundations of existence. Comparing his modern-contemporary holidays with the ideal of celebration he discovered, Băncilă reveals several features of how modern man spends his festive time. Contemporary pseudo-holidays have the following features: the loss of traditional meanings (including religious ones) and their replacement with the idea that the holiday is just a time for rest, for revitalizing physical strength, free time when you can accomplish what you have not been able to do because of the job, or the opportunity to “escape the hustle and bustle of the city” by going out into nature. Also, modern holidays are fewer in number, similar in the way they are celebrated (levelling the way of celebrating), predominantly individualistic in character, and used by political regimes as a distinctive sign.