Every person at some time in his life has come across such concepts as tradition, custom or ritual. Their meaning is rooted deep in antiquity, and over time, their historical essence and value have changed a lot. Certain rituals are an integral attribute of people's lives, and we, without hesitation, follow the customs and traditions, hardly distinguishing one from the other. Our article will help you figure out what the difference is between them.
A custom is a way of behaving in a society based on habit, which is reproduced in a social group or society, and is logical for all members. The meaning of this word carries a religious, cultural and legal order, which may even be coercive. When we are talking about customs, it means the transmission from generation to generation of rites, rituals, holidays, rules of conduct at funerals or weddings.
If we are talking about the transfer of the foundations of behavior and the structure of society as such, then such a concept as tradition is implied. The difference between tradition and custom is considered to be its national binding: traditions include the generally accepted national clothes, but the attribute to this clothing, added by some group of society, will already bear the concept of custom. There are family, community, folk traditions which can have both positive and negative effects on a person.
Examples of customs and traditions
For clarity, I would like to give a few examples national customs and traditions:
- by the most famous custom is the celebration of the New Year and Birthday, and the tradition is to put up and decorate a Christmas tree on the New Year, and to give gifts on the birthday.
- The celebration of Great Easter is another old Christian custom. It is traditional for Easter to bake Easter cakes and paint eggs.
- In Thailand, according to custom, Loy Krathong is celebrated - the day of the water spirit that comes
- at full moon. The tradition of this holiday is to float boats with candles, flowers and coins on the river.
- In the United States, it is customary to celebrate Halloween. According to tradition, various physiognomies are cut out of a pumpkin on this day, and burning candles are placed inside the vegetable.
- An interesting tradition celebrating a name day in Denmark is to fly a flag on a window.
Advice
If you are planning a trip to Asian countries, remember that there is a custom to serve “besh barmak” on holidays. In order not to offend the hospitable hosts of the house, this dish is eaten only with hands, and its translation sounds exactly like “five fingers”.
Contrary to our traditional and generally accepted notions, in other countries there are many strange and illogical customs for our understanding. Contrary to the usual handshake that we are accustomed to exchanging at a meeting, the Japanese squat, it is customary for some natives to rub their noses, in the Zambezi they curtsy and clap their hands, and the Kenyans simply spit at the oncoming one. According to the tradition of politeness, it is customary for us to ask “how are you?”, the Chinese ask the question “have you eaten?”, the Irish express the wish “be cheerful”, in Zulu you will simply be told “I see you”.
What are traditions for?
The life of people, one way or another, is closely intertwined with traditions and customs. Celebration of a birthday or New Year, congratulations on the eighth of March - are these customs or habits? But what about a black cat or a bird knocking on the window? And who said that the elders need to give up their seat in transport? All of the above are customs and traditions. But how to understand where is the custom and where is the tradition? What are their main differences?
Definition of "traditions" and "customs"
Traditions are the knowledge that is passed down word of mouth, from generation to generation, this is the knowledge that will be relevant in any area of human life: life, society, culture, work, family, and so on. The main feature of the traditions lies in the universality and lack of attachment to the territory.
Customs are stereotypes about the rules and norms of human behavior in society however, they are relatively stable in society. They are also passed down from generation to generation. These include certain rules formed in a certain sphere of human life.
The main differences between tradition and custom
The volume of distribution in society of traditions and customs. Customs refer to something specific: a people, a tribe, a territory. Tradition, in turn, refers to family, profession, and so on.
For example, there is a tradition to celebrate New Year, this reflects the connection between the old and the new year. People have been seeing off for centuries old year and meet a new one. Nevertheless, the usual action for everyone - decorating the Christmas tree is already a custom. It is worth noting that the custom of decorating the Christmas tree and the house of each nation has its own characteristics.
Influence level. Custom in other words custom is a habit, people already automatically repeat it every day. And tradition is the direction of activity, more complex and multifaceted. For example, the custom is the position of a woman in the family, the attitude towards her and her duties at home. And the tradition can be attributed to the celebration of a birthday or a Saturday family trip to the park, theater, cinema, and so on.
Rooting in the human mind. Over time, the custom becomes a tradition. Its duration is shorter than tradition. And traditions go on for decades and centuries. The custom of respecting the elders in the family has become a tradition - respecting parents, taking care of them, visiting them, and so on.
Direction. The custom is aimed at practicality in the life of every person. And tradition, in turn, aims to inform people.
The custom is to keep household members well-groomed, and tradition informs people that they should be well-groomed and look after their appearance.
Main point. The customs and traditions themselves are very similar. We can say that tradition is a deep custom. But if you look in more detail, you can notice a certain difference. A white dress at a bride's wedding is a custom, and the celebration of this holiday is a tradition.
Impact on life. customs bind modern man with his ancestors, pursuing the customs of a person, reveals his respect for the previous generation. Traditions reflect the life of the people and their development. Through customs, people learn, acquire skills and experience, and with the help of tradition, a person joins society.
For example, in the family there is a tradition to cook a turkey for Sunday dinner, but according to what recipe and what family secrets cooking is a custom.
Change in time. Customs change over time, pursuing fashion trends and have no special meaning. IN primitive communal system customs were like moral law. They depend on the opinion of society, how to do and how not to. Traditions do not change over time.
Other differences
- Function.Tradition has information functions. Each positive experience is passed down from generation to generation as a tradition. The custom performs official, regulatory and social functions.
- Emergence. Customs arose on the basis of the same repeated human actions. Traditions arose thanks to the support of many people, of any kind. For example, alumni meet every year on the same day.
- The nature of the rules of conduct. Traditions contain only general rules one action or another. The custom is always planned in detail and has its own plan of action, depending on the opinion of society. For example, certain nationalities have a number of customs, how a husband should behave with his wife, how to behave in society, how he treats the elderly.
- Scope. Despite the fact that today many spheres of life are connected, the custom can be more attributed to the family and everyday life. Traditions are more used to refer to politics, philosophy, production, and so on.
- Motives for Compliance. People adhere to various customs, because they are already used to doing so. And traditions are observed only on the basis of any personal beliefs. After all, not every person celebrates Epiphany or goes to church.
- Scale of Compliance. As previously mentioned, customs are the rules that govern the behavior of society, so customs can be followed by an entire nation or large group of people. Traditions are kept small group people, such as family.
- Society attitude. It can be said that customs are treated neutrally or even negatively. Traditions have always been respected in society.
- Content. Custom is just an example of how you can or should act in a situation. Tradition is everything inherited from the ancestors.
from lat. traditio - transmission) 1) historically established and passed down from generation to generation customs, practices, rules of conduct; based on tradition cultural life; 2) custom, established order in behavior, in everyday life.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
Tradition
lat. - transfer) - a way of storing and successively transferring social experience in human communities (family, class, school, village, city, society). Thus, customs, habits, views, assessments of actions are stored and transmitted. Traditions exist in both the material and spiritual spheres of human life. There are traditions of education and training, traditions of the school and children's team, family and city traditions. Through traditions, social inheritance of certain qualities, actions, relationships is carried out. They are formed on the basis of a long experience of joint life activity and manifest themselves as stereotypes of behavior and communication, in the stability of public opinion and beliefs. Traditions are especially important in education. In children's groups they are created, supported, lived by, they make their lives stable and historically valuable. Traditions are a means of democratizing the life of society, gaining freedom, they expand the rights of all, the lowest classes.
TRADITION
TRADITION
(lat. traditio). Tradition, the way in which various incidents, events and dogmas are transmitted from year to year.
Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. - Chudinov A.N., 1910 .
TRADITION
lat. traditio, from tra, trans, through, and dare, to give. Tradition.
Explanation of 25,000 foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language, with the meaning of their roots. - Mikhelson A.D., 1865 .
TRADITION
tradition; complete formulas of social life, literature, art, etc., adopted by a given era from the previous one.
Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. - Pavlenkov F., 1907 .
TRADITION
tradition; Ph.D. an ancient custom, a look that has transferred to descendants from ancestors firmly established, transmitted from the past relationship, and so on.
A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. - Popov M., 1907 .
Tradition
(lat. traditional transmission; narration)
1) historically established and passed down from generation to generation customs, practices, rules of conduct;
2) custom, established order in behavior, in everyday life;
3) oral story passed down from generation to generation, tradition.
New dictionary foreign words.- by EdwART,, 2009 .
Tradition
traditions, g. [ latin. tradition, lit. broadcast]. 1. That which passes or has passed from one generation to another by tradition, oral or literary transmission(eg ideas, knowledge, attitudes, ways of doing things, tastes, etc.). 2. Custom, rooted order in something. (in behavior, everyday life, etc.). New Year's Eve tradition.
Big Dictionary foreign words.- Publishing house "IDDK", 2007 .
TRADITION
and, well.
1. What has passed from one generation to another, what has been inherited from previous generations (eg, tastes, attitudes, ideas, etc.). Old t. In accordance with national traditions.
2. Custom, established order in behavior, in everyday life. T. meeting the New Year. Get into tradition.
Traditional - 1) preserved from antiquity, based on tradition ( traditional rites); 2) existing by virtue of tradition, established custom (traditional gathering of school graduates).
Dictionary foreign words L. P. Krysina.- M: Russian language, 1998 .
Synonyms:
See what "TRADITION" is in other dictionaries:
- (from Latin traditio transmission) an anonymous, spontaneously formed system of samples, norms, rules, etc., which is guided in its behavior by a fairly extensive and stable group of people. T. can be so wide as to cover everything ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
- (lat. tradere to transmit). This term is also used in the literature in relation to the successive connection, which unites a number of successive literary phenomena, and in relation to the results of such a connection, to the stock of literary skills. Within the meaning of… … Literary Encyclopedia
Tradition- TRADITION (lat. tradere to pass). This term is used in literature both in relation to a successive connection that unites a number of successive literary phenomena, and in relation to the results of such a connection, to the stock of literary skills. By … Dictionary of literary terms
tradition- and, well. tradition f. lat. traditio transmission, tradition. 1. Historically established and passed on from generation to generation experience, practice in what l. areas of public life, reality, etc. National traditions. Revolutionary... ... Historical dictionary gallicisms of the Russian language
custom, habit; heritage, accepted, establishment, value, it happened, it happened, the unwritten law, it’s accepted, it’s the way it is, the norm, it’s the Dictionary of Russian synonyms. tradition see custom Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical… … Synonym dictionary
tradition- (from lat. traditio transmission, narration) historically developed and transmitted from generation to generation knowledge, forms of activity and behavior, as well as the customs, rules, values, and ideas accompanying them. T. skla ... Great Psychological Encyclopedia
TRADITION, tradition, women. (lat. traditio, lit. transmission). 1. That which passes or has passed from one generation to another by tradition, oral or literary transmission (eg ideas, knowledge, attitudes, behavior, tastes, etc.). Traditions… … Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
The dead rule the living. Auguste Comte Tradition is just nostalgia, walking around in public in full dress uniform. Andrew Marr Traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past. Lewis Mumford Tradition can't be... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms
- (traditio, transfer) the establishment of actual domination over things by their former owner in favor of a new one who acquires them in ownership or possession. Lawyers think that in order to acquire a property right, that is, to establish ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
Tradition- (Vsevolozhsk, Russia) Hotel category: 4 star hotel Address: Armenian pereulok 2, Vsevolozhsk … Hotel catalog
Books
- The Grail Tradition, John Matthews. 1997 edition. The safety is good. The traditions associated with the Grail, its initiations and tests, are part of a tradition dating back to King Arthur, and lead to comprehension ...
lat. tiaditio - transmission) - a form of continuity in various types human activities, material and spiritual, involving complete and partial reproduction of the methods, techniques and content of activities previous generations. In the class about-ve T. wear class. character and depending on their social. content can play a different role. In the development of socialist culture and the formation of a new person great importance acquire a socialist. T.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
TRADITION
from lat. traditio - transmission, tradition) - a way of being and reproducing elements of social and cultural heritage, fixing the stability and continuity of the experience of generations, times and eras. Philosophical status the term "tradition" is defined by the fact that it includes the whole complex of norms of behavior, forms of consciousness and institutions that have any value human communication, characterizing the relationship of the present with the past, more precisely, the degree of dependence modern generation from the past or adherence to it this concept is confirmed by its presence in all spheres of human life and its active use in various fields of knowledge (they talk about the tradition of “national”, “folk”, “group”, as well as “cultural”, “scientific”, “artistic”, etc. ). In terms of value, content, tradition accumulates in itself a certain system of norms, customs and worldviews that make up the most significant part of the "classical" heritage of a given society, cultural community, thinking direction. In functional terms, tradition acts as an intermediary between the present and the past, a mechanism for storing and transmitting samples, techniques and skills of activity (technologies), which are explicitly included in real life people and do not need any special justification and recognition, except for a reference to their antiquity and rootedness in culture. The transmission is carried out through repeated repetition and replication of traditional actions and relationships (customs), ceremonies and rituals (ritual), symbolic texts and signs (see Creed. Symbols of culture). Tradition is a kind of historical consciousness, where the past claims to be a prototype of the present and even one of the sources of the perfection of the future (as in P. A. Florensky, who prefers to talk about "antiquity"). But only in the so-called. primitive, archaic societies, organized on the principle of "self-sufficient communities that constantly reproduce themselves in the same form" (K. Marx), the regulatory role and world-building function of tradition acquire a universal scale and character.
The nature of tradition is contradictory, which naturally gives rise to extremes in its perception and evaluation. On the one hand, tradition looks like an apology and conservation of the past, a symbol of immutability, and sometimes a synonym for backwardness and backwardness. Such an emotionally negative characterization and evaluation of tradition, of course, has an objective basis. It is conditioned by the non-reflective commitment to the past (K. Mannheim), the mythologization of reality and cult psychology (E. Kassarer), distrust of creative activity and underestimation of the individuality of the subject of action, etc., inherent in tradition. On the other hand, tradition acts as necessary condition preservation, continuity and sustainability human being, a prerequisite and constitutive beginning of the formation of the identity of a person, group or whole society. Once an identity has been formed, it acquires the features and status of a tradition, which prompts some contemporary authors talk about the identity of these concepts. The loss or weakening of tradition is often perceived and experienced as a break with the past, the collapse of the "connection of times", amnesia historical memory, outside of which the meaningful and expedient activity of an individual or society becomes simply impossible. The existence of such timeless truths as "a return to the origins" or "the new is the well-forgotten old" only confirms the importance and relevance of the problem of interpreting tradition, the source of its vital power.
Recognizing the legitimacy of opposing tradition to innovation and modernity, one should be very careful in interpreting this antithesis. This is possible if the problem of heritage, or tradition, is considered in the context of a more general concept developed. With this approach, any tradition becomes an equal participant in the process of development, the dialogue of the “new” with the “old”, providing not only a moment of continuity, but also vitality, richness of the very process of change and renewal of reality. The modern analytical approach to the problem of tradition overcomes the tendency to reduce it to "inert and obsolete elements of the past", focusing on the study historical dynamics and the fate of cultural heritage and cultural identity. The projection of the future is unthinkable without the "shadow" cast by tradition. This concept is associated not only with “stagnation”, but also with “revival”, giving new life meaning to old patterns and values.
At the same time, tradition can act as a conservative, retrograde force on the way to the formation of new, more progressive forms and norms of life. A tradition stagnant and frozen in its “immutability” can become a position of “conscious conservatism”, even archaism, and thereby turn into traditionalism, when not the values of a particular tradition are defended, but the very principle of immutability and immutability. The living contradiction "tradition-innovation" shows its real strength when the tradition is ready for renewal and becomes a source of development, and innovation has no other way to assert itself and survive other than by proving its organicity and rootedness in culture. Practice shows that modernization is more successful where the traditions of the society being reformed are taken into account, and, in turn, traditions retain their vitality, responding to the needs of the time and growing into new forms of life, that is, being updated. The collapse of a particular tradition is associated not only with the realization of the shyness of its framework, but also with the discovery of new opportunities and prospects in development (social life, science, art, etc.).
The role and importance of tradition in science is great (see Tradition in Science) and artistic creativity. The term "tradition" is widely used in the characterization and evaluation of the aesthetic and cultural significance art of entire epochs, directions and individual artists who have made a special contribution to the treasury of world culture, who have created unique samples - monuments of art. If it is true that there is no future without the past, then true innovation is possible only through the preservation of traditions, their creative continuation and development. This is true for both art and historical creativity at all.
Lit .: Sarsenbaev N. S. Customs, traditions and public life. Alma-Ata, 1974; Sukhanov IV Customs, traditions and continuity of generations. M., 1976; ErasovV. C. Socio-cultural traditions and public consciousness in developing countries in Asia and Africa. M., 1982; Shatsky E. Utopia and tradition. M., 1990; Traditions and renewal. Dialogue of worldviews, parts 1-2. Nizhny Novgorod, 1995.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
