TRaditions

A lot of aspects in society are built on a funny thing called ‘tradition’. For many things, tradition is the excuse for it existing.
 
“Why do we have a royal family?”. Tradition.
 
“Why do lawyers wear wigs?”. Tradition.
 
“Why do we cook the Christmas turkey on a beer can in the barbecue?”. Tradition – well, my family’s anyway.
 
The point is, tradition leads society and how we act. The word ‘tradition’ is defined as “the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on this way”. Like the belief that you aren’t doing Christmas properly if you don’t have a tree. Or the custom of bowing or curtsying before royalty as a sign of respect. There’s no particular reason whatever people tell you; it’s just expected because of tradition.
 
Tradition is an important aspect of culture. It shapes different cultures to make them stand out against each other. For example, in China to show respect when you greet someone you bow or nod your head – the lower the bow, the more respect. In India, the traditional greeting is “namaste” which means “I bow to the divine in you”, usually paired with bringing your hands together in front of your chest.

​A lot of traditions are ingrained in the religion of the country. In the UK we celebrate Christmas every year, a tradition of the Christian faith that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In Niger, the Wodaabe tribe observe an annual mating ritual called Guérewol – men dress in elaborate ornamentation and traditional face paint and dance for marriageable women in the tribe.

Why do traditions matter? There’s no real reason for them existing. Someone just turned around one day and decided that we had to do something and that was passed down through generations until it became an assumed part of culture. But we still all observe them, no questions asked.
 
They matter because they are an integral part of being human. Traditions shape our society, our culture and our identity. Whether the tradition is widely observed, or just within your family or group of friends, traditions become a part of you, who you are and what you identify as.
 
For example, my friends from school and I have a movie night every Christmas at my mum’s house, and we all have to wear Christmas jumpers. We watch two or three films (sometimes there’s a theme involved) and then we play Cards Against Humanity. We’ve been doing this for six years now. It’s become a way for us to always see each other and it’s an instilled tradition within our group. When December comes around, the group chat is filled with people asking when the movie night is happening, what we’re going to watch, who’s sleeping over at whose and, in more recent years, who’s willing to drive so everyone else can get pissed. And there’s Secret Santa. It’s our big tradition and we love it.

​The best part of tradition is how we can change and adapt them. Christmas is a tradition, but each family has their own way of doing it, their own traditional Christmas. For my family, that’s various pastries for breakfast as we open our stocking presents, putting on our Christmas jumpers, eating a big Christmas lunch featuring a barbequed turkey followed by opening all of our presents. Then we sit around eating leftovers and chocolate watching whatever Christmas specials are playing (Doctor Who is a must). But it wasn’t always like that. Our traditions have changed as our family has grown.

​Traditions are so important to who we are, and we can change and adapt them as we grow and change ourselves. And that’s what makes them so integral to the human experience.