The custom had been in hibernation in world during the 1960s.
What is the meaning of the above sentence?
Thanks in advance!
Bears and certain other animals go into hibernation during the winter. It’s apparently a deep sleep. They live off their stored fat, and emerge in the springtime lean and hungry.
The word “hibernate” has been appropriated for other similar uses. I can put my laptop into hibernation, so that open programs remain open, but the computer uses little or no power until I wake it up. Writers talk of a ski resort that goes into hibernation during the summer when there is no snow, and recalls their employees from furlough when the weather again turns cold.
They are saying that some custom (probably meaning a cultural or religious practice, although custom has other meanings) wasn’t being practiced during that decade, but it has since become more popular.