Traditions

Tradition includes a number of related ideas:

1. Beliefs or customs taught by one generation to the next, often orally. For example, we can speak of the tradition of sending birth announcements, and family traditions at Christmas.
2. Beliefs, customs and practices maintained by social interaction, such as saying "thank you", sending birth announcements, greeting cards, etc.
3. Beliefs, customs and practices maintained by societies and governments, such as Federal holidays in the United States.
4. Beliefs, customs and practices maintained by religious denominations and church bodies that share history, customs, culture, and, to some extent, body of teachings. For example, one can speak of Islam's Sufi tradition or Christianity's Lutheran tradition.
5. Beliefs, customs and practices that are Prehistoric or have lost/arcane origins, such as trade, the teaching of language and education in general.

Traditions serve to preserve a wide range of culturally significant ideas, specific practices and the various methods used by distinct cultures. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem which is the accusative case of traditio which means "handing over, passing on".


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions