Tradition

Uncommon card · No. 145153

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. 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. 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 what follows is known only through oral...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Artist is Olin Levi Warner (1844–1896). Photographed 2007 by Carol Highsmith (1946–), who explicitly placed the photograph in the public domain., Public domain