You have selected Customs.
The importance of customs cannot be overstated nor overvalued as they have always been and remain the backbone of every society which has ever existed. Oh sure, they begin innocent enough but then! Given time, they begin to take on a life of their own. What began as simply tying a ribbon on the branch of a tree to mark from which ones all of the nuts have already been harvested transforms itself into a pilgrimage to a special tree in a special place to tie yet another ribbon onto a branch weighed down with ribbons, each tied reverently with the simple hope that the prayer uttered during it's placement might be heard. Prayers for good fortune, for health of a loved one, children, hope. Most importantly hope.
It is important to know what the various customs of a people are, but more important than that is why the customs exist in the first place. Not due to any misguided attempt to dial back time to a previous era, but to connect with the intention, the purpose. Just because you know why the ribbon was originally tied to the tree does not mean you cannot participate in the current custom, the tree that everyone ties their ribbons to fueled with hope or even sorrow is still connected to the people, an ancient custom of it's own. What it does mean though is that when picking nuts or fruit from another tree 'the one your family has picked from for generations perhaps', you now know it is okay to tie ribbons of love to this tree as well. You also gain the knowledge that it is okay to remove the ribbons from the branches when the celebration is complete and that doing so is not sacrilege but an act of love. A cleaning which allows the stresses and strains of the current to be lifted and set anew so that healing and growth might continue.
With a firm connection to the past we might clear a path to the future. We can connect not only with the past but with those for whom customs are continued. The true reason for any custom, love. The love of our family. The love of our friends. The love of a community built upon trust and connection. The love of a people. Her many tribes. This connection is exhibited and built through customs.
Why do we nod to each other rather than bow? What does it mean when we 'as Hyperboreans' kneel before another? Why do we step across a threshold rather than stepping upon it? Why do we wear shoes or boots indoors? Why do we do the thousand, thousand unconscious and unrealized things that we do each and every day without thought? Everything from looking into the eyes of another, to customs concerning burial or birth. These are the things that define a people.
So please, as you 'we hope with an excited air and a deep reverence' explore the customs we have described here, do so with a mind to both the past and the future. Take the time to see how our many customs both described and yet to be put forth play a role in our very, every day, lives.
The various customs explored below as is the custom of Hyperborean Radio are not organized in any particular way as one is clearly no more important than another, each branch bearing its own weight of nourishing fruit. And as usual we ask that you have patience as our Archives are continually growing, being limited as we are by our mortal flesh however it might be some time before your favorite custom is addressed, this is not due to any favoritism but merely time available to us.
We do however encourage our visitors to look into their own local customs as well, look beyond the surface, look beyond what you have merely been told, what is said. Truly look into the heart of why; why, did this custom begin. What does it mean now? What does it mean to you? What can it mean in the future... to those yet to come?
