Introduction: Differentiation of Ritual Year(s) through Time and Space
Introduction: Differentiation of Ritual Year(s) through Time and Space

Summary/Abstract: The idea of this issue of Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore originated in a panel that we presented at the 11th congress of the Société Internationale d’Ethnologie et de Folklore (SIEF) held in Tartu, Estonia, in July 2013. During the panel meeting we focused on the differentiation of the ritual year and its various elements. After nearly ten years of research and conferences,1 we identified the ritual year as a general frame within which calendrical rituals, festivals, and other cultural performances take place and can easily be studied and interpreted. The idea of the ritual year has proved to be productive as it enables collaborative and interdisciplinary research with no historical or geographical limits. Not only folklorists and ethnologists, but also archaeologists, linguists, sociologists and political scientists can contribute something to the study of the ritual year because the idea of connecting nature and culture seems to be present in all societies throughout all eras of history.

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