Dr. Steven J. Wolin, a clinical professor of psychiatry at George Washington University Medical School, cites that the power of ritual comes from heritage, tradition, and most of all something being emblazoned in your brain over time. And that family rituals protect the individual against a sense of loneliness and uncertainty in daily living as it transmits shared beliefs of the family group across generations.
Dr. William Doherty, director of the marriage and family therapy program at the University of Minnesota, has identified two kinds of rituals in our society. The first is the traditional secular and religious rituals surrounding holidays, weddings, or funerals, the second involve rituals a family or individual has created to celebrate their life. It is through participating in these rituals we enact values that build our identity as we connect to generations, past and future and it is through celebration we give meaning to our lives.