source: anp
The Oranges are becoming less and less popular. Nothing can be done regarding it, thinks Max Pam. ‘Our Royal Family is a bit like Ajax: the great times are over and almost nothing is possible anymore to bring the club back to its old level.’
One of my favorite books is The Invention of Tradition by Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. The two authors, sociologist and historian, show that you should take many venerable traditions with a grain of salt.
Most traditions are not as old as you might think. Take for example the Scottish kilt, the tartan dress under which the male scrotum is worn naked by the real diehards. Such a kilt is not a Scottish invention at all but an English invention – and not that old at all. This applies to many expressions that resemble traditions: the bowler hat, the fascist salute, or carbide shooting.
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