The End of Ritual?

The writer Madeleine Bunting was eight years old when her godmother took her final vows as a nun. After sitting through the interminable church service, the little girl was baffled and very bored. She could not see the point of the long and tiresome ritual. However, this was to be the start of her own fascination with such tradition. In this series, Madeleine asks why ritual has been such a pervasive feature of human societies and whether the 21st century may see much of it disappear. Or, she wonders, are we witnessing the creation of new forms of ritual which are both personal and meaningful? This BBC Radio 3 series explores aspects of ritual, including public and private Christmas rituals, and asks what the Covid pandemic has taught us about their significance. The series producer is Kristine Pommert for CTVC.