Folk customs are an important source of information about the everyday life of ordinary people. They are no longer considered as pagan relics of prehistoric times, but as "ethological" codes of social groups closely connected with the society and economy. A certain length of time is still regarded as an essential requirement, but the former concept of uninterrupted continuity through centuries without change has already been abandoned.

Folk customs can aim at intimacy - family customs - or at a public audience - public customs. This document understandably presents public customs because as a rule only these are accessible to visitors. The latter should keep in mind that Austrian culture has been predominantly formed by Catholicism, which also left its traces on non-religious customs.