What is a Tradition - Essay Example

What is a Tradition? Traditions are borne out of our own personal experiences, either positive or negative. One tradition that we may be familiar with may not be so recognizable to others. It is up to us to uphold our traditions and keep them going so that we do not lose sight of our cultural backgrounds. Part of accomplishing this is to respect the traditions of others—no matter how strange or uncomfortable they may seem to us. Each tradition is unique to the certain individual who follows it.

Although this is so, in order for a tradition to be important, it must be deeply personable, highly memorable, and ideally shared with those who we love. Traditions are usually instilled in us from a very young age. These traditions may be in the form of a Christmas morning, a Thanksgiving dinner, or simply just a family tradition that is unique to that specific family. All these events connect with something inside of us that make us look back fondly on them when we are older. Traditions define who we are and help to form our likes and dislikes, personal preferences, and characteristics.

All of these traits are formed by the cultural traditions that we have been brought up in. The people who are closest to us generally shape our traditions because they have the greatest influence over our lives. The other thing about traditions is that they are highly memorable. This is because of the young age that we experience them and also because of the people who help to form them. These people are usually our family members because they are all that we have when we are young. Memorable traditions can be either good or bad; some traditions cause us to react negatively whenever we come across something similar in the future.

A negative experience of a tradition may cause us to shy away from it in the future. For example, going to church is a strong tradition in some families. If we had a bad experience of attending church when we were younger, then we are more likely to react negatively to the idea of attending church once we are adults. Finally, traditions are ideally shared with those who we love because it reaffirms the importance and significance of them. If we participate in traditions with our loved ones, then we are more likely to feel comfortable while doing them.

This will ultimately lead to the continuation of a tradition even once we are no longer with those who we love most. An example of this could be a yearly reunion between two older parents and their adult kids. Once the parents pass away, the remaining family members, the children in this instance, would most likely continue to meet regularly because the tradition would be natural to them. I feel that traditions are an important part of our upbringing because they help to form how we think about the world and also how we choose to act in it.

There is no tradition that is greater than another; each tradition has value to the person who believes and follows it. Even as this is the case, traditions have to be deeply personable, highly memorable, and shared with our loved ones for a particular tradition to remain important and relevant in our lives.