Tradition

For other uses, see Tradition (disambiguation).
"Traditional" redirects here. For Traditional music, see Folk music.

Traditions, an 1895 bronze tympanum by Olin Levi Warner over the main entrance of the Thomas Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past.[1][2] A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes (like lawyers' wigs or military officers' spurs), but the idea has also been applied to social norms and behaviors such as greetings etc. Traditions can persist and evolve for thousands of years— the word tradition itself derives from the Latin word tradere literally meaning to transmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping. While it is reportedly assumed that traditions have an ancient history, many traditions have been invented on purpose, whether it be political or cultural, over short periods of time. Various academic disciplines also use the word in a variety of ways.

The phrase "according to tradition" or "by tradition" usually means that the information that follows is known only through oral tradition, and is not supported (and perhaps may be refuted) by physical documentation, artifacts, or other reliable evidence. "Tradition" refers to the quality or origin of the information being discussed. For example, "According to tradition, Homer was born on Chios, but many other locales have historically claimed him as theirs." This tradition may never be proven or disproved. In another example, "King Arthur, according to history, a true British king, has inspired many well loved stories." Whether they are documented fact or not does not decrease their value as cultural history and literature.[citation needed]

Traditions are subject of study in several academic fields of learning, especially in the humanities and social sciences, such as anthropology, archaeology, history, and sociology.

Traditional dress and arts, such as in this performance of Traditional Hindi Drama -- the performance of tradition through folklore, reinforces the stories and memory reinforces the concept of tradition, and its importance in local communities.

The conceptualization of tradition, as the notion of holding on to a previous time, is also found in political and philosophical discourse. For example, it is the basis of the political concept of traditionalism, and also strands of many world religions including traditional Catholicism. In artistic contexts, tradition is used to decide the correct display of an art form. For example, in the performance of traditional genres (such as traditional dance), adherence to guidelines dictating how an art form should be composed are given greater importance than the performer's own preferences. A host of factors can exacerbate the loss of tradition, including industrialization, globalization, and the assimilation or marginalization of specific cultural groups. In response to this, tradition-preservation attempts and initiatives have now been started in many countries around the world, focusing on aspects such as traditional languages. Tradition is usually contrasted with the goal of modernity and should be differentiated from customs, conventions, laws, norms, routines, rules and similar concepts.

  1. ^ Thomas A. Green (1997). Folklore: an encyclopedia of beliefs, customs, tales, music,or art. ABC-CLIO. p. 800. ISBN 978-0-87436-986-1.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shils2006-12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).