American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Religious celebrations provide an important setting in which communities express collective identity, maintain cultural memory, and negotiate changing social relationships. This study examines the transformation of festive practices, musical preferences, and patterns of participation associated with religious celebrations in an island community of the northeastern Aegean. The analysis focuses on changes occurring from the late nineteenth century to 2022 and on the social, economic, and cultural circumstances that have influenced these developments. The study draws on earlier ethnographic and historical research conducted by scholars at the University of the Aegean and incorporates field materials collected during doctoral research. A diachronic perspective is used to examine changes in forms of participation, musical performance, entertainment, and communal interaction. The findings indicate that festive practices have not simply disappeared under the influence of modernization; rather, they have been selectively adapted to changing circumstances. Economic mobility, shifting social relations, tourism, migration, technological developments, and digital media have contributed to the reorganization of festive life and musical taste. At the same time, elements of older traditions continue to provide continuity and meaning. The study therefore understands festive culture as an evolving social practice shaped by the continuous interaction between tradition, modernity, technology, and community life.

Keywords: Religious Celebrations; Festive Practices; Musical Traditions; Cultural Change; Social Transformation; Community Participation; Cultural Heritage; Modernization; Digital Media; Collective Identity; Ethnomusicology; Aegean Culture.