The transformation of sociocultural celebration practices: the electronic greeting card as a polycode text

INTRODUCTION. Today, an electronic greeting card is an essential attribute of the socio-cultural practices of any holiday. Being a polycode text, an electronic postcard reflects society’s ideas about a particular holiday, captures the value meanings of society through benevolence and visual images, and forms a media image of the holiday. The purpose of the study is to consider the transformation of the socio–cultural practice of sending greeting cards using the example of the Russia Day holiday.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. The research material consisted of 110 postcards selected by continuous sampling on popular open access sites, and 49 postcards sent to the author by respondents on June 12, 2023. The work also uses materials from interviews with respondents. The main research methods are: description, hermeneutic analysis of text and image, semiotic analysis, comparison.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The considered postcards’ analysis shows the following trends: the dominance of the visual component over the verbal; the overcentralization of visual images; the construction of a timeless image of Russia through the semantic units of heterostereotypes that developed mainly in the Soviet era; the thematic component of the postcards are the folklore component, the Orthodox theme, symbols of statehood.
CONCLUSION. The analysis of electronic postcards for Russia Day makes it possible not only to trace the transformation of practice in the festive and ritual complex, but also to identify the prevailing attitude towards the holiday in society. The study can be continued using the example of other holidays in the Russian calendar.