Oddbean new post about login | logout I observe a decrease of cultural festivals & community here in Germany. I’m also not a fan of excessive drinking while listening to German folk music. My grandparents used to trade most things with their neighbors, they’re only selling eggs today. We were dancing and singing at our village festivals, now there is only a few people left, talking to each other. Grateful that my family still practices community. And here I am, dreaming about creating local festivals with a „new culture“ thats adjusting to the current Zeitgeist & hoping to connect - people with bitcoin - & - Nostriches with each other, - and they will build strong future communities. 💫
Why do you think that is? Less homogeneous society? Internet culture? Lack of youth involvement? Less religious? What’s driving it?
Screens. Too much time with screens.
Yeah I think @J is kind of right, although there are many reasons why we spend less time with many people to just enjoy our being together. For me, I ended up being a cave person, smoking instead of drinking, can’t stand the folk music. I like to spend time with more people but not with loud German music or beer & german food. I feel so different to the „adult“ people in my village, I often think of how to build connection again. I could just visit them and talk to them but their interests are far from mine (expect maybe gardening) this doesn’t feel easy for me. Also many of the people, who were organizing it, became older and some of them additionally don’t like each other (so won’t encourage each other) I know there are many people in my age that are bullish on continuing these festivals, but the „why“ isn’t as connected to them as with the previous generations, it’s often rooted in religion. (We celebrate the opening of our church every year) But the community thing with trading with your neighbors, its definitely decreasing. I personally have a hard time to connect with German culture! So I often think about creating my own German culture. And as for many things, we shouldn’t underestimate the power we personally have to influence the circumstances especially locally!!
That last point is worth exploring. Perhaps that’s how many other people feel and they’re all creating their own German culture? It’s certainly not as simple as phones, there’s trade, supermarkets, online shopping etc. I’m with you about the music. Most english folk music that gets played at festivals is awful but their is also some amazing traditional songs that when approached well are brilliant.
I’m not sure if people feel like they have the time and energy to create their own culture right but it may be a logical consequence in the future! Suddenly I really appreciate the neighbors that make the festivals happen, I really took it for granted my whole life. Oh really, you’re experiencing the same? Many of these approved songs are actually English here, but there are also a few German bangers haha. 😂 and the youth started to listen to a mix of folk music & electronic music 🤷🏼♀️:D
We have lots of young people starting live bands, now. Playing crossover styles.
One of the upsides of Covid is some kids were totally happy at home practicing! I work part time for a music charity and we have a great group right now, pretty advanced for their years!
I actually observe the opposite effect, in our local region. Our local festivals are increasingly both more-traditional and with more engineer/scientist/technologist overrepresentation. Same thing at church. It's increasingly really laptops-n-lederhosen because everyone else has sort of mentally checked-out. I see that on Nostr, too, really.
Actually, @franny , now that I think of it, I'm probably seeing the same effect. It's just that computer nerds, religious nerds, rural nerds, political nerds, dietary nerds, etc. have more incentive to meet up and organize. And, since nerds are a type of personality, rather than a particular topic, those nerds can occupy multiple nerd-spheres. I was actually thinking about this, yesterday, as we sat down with the CSU guys from our village and I noticed that the four tables they used to occupy are now two tables and everyone was our age or younger and most of them are engineers or into techy stuff as side-gigs or hobbies. And our daughters are all into vegan cooking, apparently. 😂 Nerds are taking over what is left of society, seems like.
I totally get what you were saying in the first note, there is a big amount of German youth that enjoys that kind of culture, but it feels like they enjoy the traditional music and the excessive drinking more than the roots of those festivals! And maybe the smaller villages suffer more from it. It’s so nerdy to refuse going there. :D I less care why it may be decreasing, I just want my own festivals that accept my cultural viewpoints. 👀 and those festivals will be rooted in our fight for freedom! Going into the direction of community instead of away 💜🏃♀️
I’m so glad we’re planning the konnektiv. It’s challenging to offer it for the whole DACH space in the beginning. But it really seems like many are craving serious and future oriented connection. Already dreaming of the first very local event. 💭🥰 just imagine…🥹✨🫂
It's going to be a hard start, but we just have to persist and build up a reputation. The #einundzwanzig guys started out talking to rooms with 3 attendees. 😂 They just kept talking and eventually they had more listeners. An online movement without meatspace is just vaporware.
Maybe my perspective is a little biased 😁👀 but the local festival from our neighbor village seemed smaller and less busy than last year 👀 or your area still rocks it :D
A lot of people are also just too old to go, now. The population of potential goers is essentially half the size as 10 years and they're all antisocial. Can barely get some of them to show up for work. There's an active, younger subset and that seems to also be the group with the most children. Maybe this is just evolution.
We still like to spend time together, maybe this will come back but in a different way, evolution. 💯
Well, evolution is genes-and-memes, right? It's not just about one person passing on their DNA, it's also about stronger cultures surviving and spreading. Since humans tend to be related to the people around them, this also results in your DNA spreading, even if you have no direct offspring. The two things are intertwined. Like, the focus on healthy, fresh food has pushed more people to move out of cities, where they have more living space and fewer distractions. Which causes their birth rate to rise. In the same way, being on Nostr is more human-friendly than being on legacy systems, and it's created a calmer, more sociable, high-trust environment that is leading to people meeting up in meat-space and dating and we even have our first engagement announcement. Creating a healthy, supportive, hopeful environment is the basis for human fecundity. People need a safe nest to put their eggs in.
Anybody seen that Dionysus anywhere? Maybe he's out in the forest, gathering strength for the party to come...
Ew. No. Keep that BS away from good times.
These are good times? Curious about your statement -- what is your personal interpretation of Dionysus?
Dionysus is a spiritual being (small g god) in rebellion against God. Not anything to have anything to do with. At all.
That helps me understand your comment. I've been studying Dionysus and other mythological figures from the lens of Carl Jung's psychological work on collective symbolism. From that point of view, those dramatic, cosmic, inter-deity conflicts might be seen as attempts to interpret the unconscious psychological phenomena within ourselves, or at play in collective society. Good times? Bad times? Definitely interesting times!
make your dreams come true! (and make this country cool again while you're at it!)
She's right, but this means that the 10%-25% of the population, that is still active, will determine everything. nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzq2tggt42akd7ttsxdrdqnljg4tq9y8z2lpv664rajv29ukkrfst7qqs98ch6eld3nr3et58qslr3f0x9362vctaa2s9xdecc59w96ekarvqjn7qgp
I don't drink much, but... I want to experience a real Oktoberfest. Good beer, good food, good polka, and pretty women running around in dirndles? Yes, please. I'd even were leiterhosen (I'm pretty sure I didn't spell that correctly.)
Yeah. But modern time Octoberfest might be a disappointment for you 😅 Too much of a tourist attraction for my taste. I'd rather go some local festival mentioned above.
Sure. But I'm not above cheesy tourist BS, either. 😁
Fair enough. For me it was simply too crowded.
You definitely should experience German culture!! The traditions, even if they’re not the same anymore, can be really enjoyable. Oktoberfest is too much of a bustle for me. Your fault when the brass music starts to sound annoying but I think the Lederhose would look great on you!😎🥨🍻
I think you underestimate how much I like polka... 😅 It's unlikely I'll ever be in Germany during Oktoberfest. It's fun to dream, though.
Now I can’t get this one song out of my head…. 🤣🤣🤣 If you ever come here we will celebrate our own Octoberfest!
Fr. We'll make sure to arrange a Nostrfest, when he comes. 😊
Nostroberfest?
that would be awesome! beer and tents and lederhosen and nostr! 🍻🇩🇪
Until then, check out our next German meetup ;) nostr:note169fcvhapxq8tcppafrshcj8p26qdhu0yr3ag6tn27x79n4rl2j8sun95qk
I've observed the same thing in the US—most of us don't have any cultural traditions, even family traditions. The unfortunate thing, as I see it, is we can't just create culture, nor can we merely return to traditional practices. Tradition that was not handed down can be artificially reinstated, but it loses something in the process. New traditions can be created but often they don't stick. I think we have to create occasions in which culture can arise, then hope it comes about naturally.
The young adult community at my church started what they call "Wojtyla nights," named after Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II), and they consist of sharing of food and presentation of performance of various kinds of art by members of the community. Last year, just before Christmas, my wife and I hosted a party with a formal toast, cocktail menu, and poetry readings. It's possible to create spaces for culture to develop, but it requires active and persistent effort, and buy-in from others.
Many people probably don’t know what it is like to have culture, maybe they’re celebrating their own but do not notice. The word culture has a big variety of meaning. We can’t just create culture, you say something. There has to be people around it, enjoying it, willing to continue. We were celebrating the opening of our church for the last 25 years, maybe it’s time for an update? Not necessarily without religion but the world today is different from where it was 25years ago. Maybe it’s time for a reunion. For myself, I’d like to celebrate nature better so I will build tradition over the years and hopefully it will adapt :) 💭🙏🏼🫂💚
Our church's Pfadfinder and Landjugend started woodland festivals, that you have to hike to with flashlights and torches. It kicks off with prayer and then a bonfire is lit and there's grilling and a potluck dinner, instrumental live music, and stuff. Really popular. They do one for Johannisfeuer and one for Advent.
The German philosophy Josef Pieper argued that true culture depends on—or is at least seeded by—religion. He says that culture is an affirmation of the goodness of the world and of life, and such an affirmation naturally expressed itself in thanksgiving. The act of giving thanks, of course, implies an object, namely, God. That said, while this religious connection is implicit, it is not always the focal point of each and every element of a culture. What is always necessary, however, is an attitude of wonder and receptivity to the gift that is our existence. That is why we typically associate culture with music, food, and poetry; they are all things we receive that cause us to stop and ponder the world as it is.
Are there enough young people in the area?
So for our village specifically, they’re still very young or already moved out. But in the neighbor village, which is bigger, they’re a bunch and still do traditions like bringing the festival tree from the forest and traditional dances! I appreciate that they still enjoy it!
I believe it has a lot to do with the times we live in. We are in a state of constant change and upheaval, striving to rediscover ourselves, to find direction, to understand who we are and what our purpose is. What still holds meaning, and what no longer does? For many, these are not easy times; it is challenging to find allies in one's own circle and to identify whom to trust. Few feel truly stable. No one knows for certain where the journey is leading, which makes it harder to foster a sense of belonging. It’s a byproduct of waking up…! And so, we are reaching out again, exploring new paths, getting to know each other, creating new connections, and learning to trust once more. Nostr is the perfect opportunity! Here, we all, no matter how different our beliefs, origins, languages, or cultures may be, find a common denominator. It’s a powerful connection—one that will create new communities and bring us together. I have faith that we are on the right path because, at our core, humans are meant to live in communities, to support one another, not to struggle alone. 💜 But we must be patient... and trust our instincts. Contribute where we can, where it feels right. Create from the heart, believe in our own energy... 💫 And, in time, the right people will come together, and a new form will emerge.
I'd love an (alcohol free, carnivore), non-cutthroat second hand shop type of festival with songs and dance and nice traditional outfits 🙂 I think the cultural decrease is probably something global though
Create your own festivals.. #growNostr nostr:nevent1qqs98ch6eld3nr3et58qslr3f0x9362vctaa2s9xdecc59w96ekarvqpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsygpfdppw4tkehedwqe5d5z07fz4vq5suftu9nt250kf3ghj6cdxp0cpsgqqqqqqsjke09h nostr:nevent1qqsdqnmjywt7n5t5z9zycnttm6lyg58ctmayxfjt7mql6frvyn679yspzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5hsygygv7ldj05fey7smzkf3vjy8324g7v7mwgeqdrfg6cjuql3xejy2qpsgqqqqqqsfdu29m