The Israel BBQ as national ritual: performing unofficial nationalism, or finding meaning in triviality

摘要: Concerned with how nationalist cultural codes are embedded in everyday life, studies of “nationalism-from-below” mistake meanings for the contents official messages. Rather than studying reception spectacles and symbols produced from above, article suggests looking at unofficial nationalism focusing on traditions customs—especially those related to ritual food—that common broad strata population but have almost no state involvement. Using anthropological history Israeli Independence Day as an exemplary case, people spend their country’s national day, examines failure design holiday’s popular traditions. Next it surveys development what has become mode celebrating day—the picnic cookout. In due course, this practice was ritualized iconized representing “Israeliness,” identity that is more ambivalent seamless images circulated above. I argue practices, because triviality, lie not symbolic they enact, rather synchronicity ritualizes iconizes a “way life,” forms solidarity, imbues performance meanings.