Invented Traditions

The central concept of the book, invented traditions are traditions that are created by powerful social groups to promote their interests and values. The traditions are often new. They are created in response to needs generated by rapid social change and supported by false beliefs about the past.

Rapid Social Change

There was a cluster of invented traditions in the late nineteenth century that were a response to the rapid social and economic change of those periods, according to many of the authors of the book, especially Hobsbawm.

The Romantic Movement

A nineteenth century cultural, artistic, and political movement that tried to recover what many felt like was the lost beauty of humanity and nature destroyed by the rise of capitalism.

British Royal Ceremony

British royal ceremony fluctuated in degree, organization, and importance according to social context between 1820 and 1970.

The Scottish Highland Tradition

The second chapter...