Through rituals, groups of people coordinate activities and meanings. Family culture is made and maintained through ritual action and talk. The hectic conditions of modern life are having profound effects on our rituals. We need to understand if and how the traditional work of ritual is being carried out in modern family life. Whether we know it or not, our lives are full of all kinds of myths.
Myths are stories which are in some ways fictional and in some important ways true.
We tell stories to make sense of our lives. Story-telling is a key human resource for making sense of things. Some myths are shared only with family or friends. Others are the property of communities. Family cultures are often created by stories we tell our kids.