The Disappearance of Customs and Rituals in the Żywiec Region. Mass Culture and Globalization as Threats to the Local Tradition

This work contains reflections on the influence of mass culture and globalization on the disappearance of traditional cultural values ​​of Żywiec. The thesis was formulated, according to which mass culture and globalization pose a threat to local traditions, displacing them, causing them to transform and deprive them. The phenomenon of local culture was presented, analyzing its definition, meaning and sense for human civilization. The concept of tradition and its relationship with regional culture is presented. The study also includes a discussion of the phenomena of mass culture and globalization. Based on the available definitional approaches, their origin, essence and meaning were analyzed. The most important implications of their presence for particular areas of human civilization development are underlined. The influence which both phenomena exert on the cultural plane of human functioning is described. The original and specific regional culture of Żywiec Highlanders was presented. An assessment of its contemporary condition has been made, using specific examples of areas of culture and art. The influence of mass culture and globalization processes on Żywiec traditions was estimated, drawing synthetic conclusions from the considerations. The accepted thesis was confirmed in part, revealing also another, much more positive and optimistic kind of influence of mass culture and globalization on the elements of regional culture.