I have been thinking about people and their needs around some form of Pageantry, partly because I am thinking about my own love of it around various cultures which happen to be considered "New Age" by some or "Ancient mumbo jumbo" by others.

One can see myth and pageantry around Comicon, around Halloween, around Shakespeare Festivals, Lord of the Rings groupies, Trekkies, Sci Fi geeks, Christmas decorations, etc... People gather around around Storytelling Festivals around the country. One of the biggest ones is in Utah.

Religion so often has an element of pageantry to it, costumes (like in the temple, or even the 'suit' is a costume for the LDS church for many people). The garments are of course something that doesn't show outside, but it is another costume, an outfit with symbolic meaning for people based on a psychological infrastructure.

People have myths about their underwear and the brands and cut of it. Women's lingerie can be very theatrical as can men's underwear.

I think the point of living authentically is to consider the meaning of things in life and not to confuse them with reality.

Joseph Campbell said "Dreams are private myths, Myths are public dreams." As a society we have many myths. Film and TV are full of them. The concern is when a culture takes them and confuses them for reality.

Myths enrich so much of culture hence the love for Greek and Roman culture by so many in western society, and the evolving love for Eastern Myths.

For me, it helps to be able to have some element of Myth from both my ancestry and to examine even the true stories like the pioneers crossing the planes, to see how I have had them 'mythologized' in healthy or unhealthy ways in my psyche.

I would be curious to hear others new myths and new pageants?