Word “tradition” means something else for everyone. The word comes from Latin (trado, tradere) and means “passing”. Before the internet, most of the things have been passed by speaking. Nowadays, tradition seems to be something too old and have a bit of a negative meaning to some people, but in fact it is important in our daily lives.
There are different traditions to everyone, sometimes it can be going to some places when we are in the specific city but also repetition of activity in time of the year. Now, all of you (readers) can think about traditions from your country, region or home. The function of the tradition is important – during the year, for different occasions, we use it to deal with emotions or situations. If we think about all ceremonies without context, these can seem ridiculous, but in fact can be also helpful in our lives.
In Poland, on the 2nd of November, people celebrate All Souls’ day. They go to the cemetery to clean the grave, light a candle, and put flowers. Of course, some of the people go more often, but this day is a special time for remembrance, giving our life rhythm. In fact, for the dearly departed it hasn’t changed anything, but on a deeper level, for us who keep on living, it can make a change. Actually, it is just a tradition to go to the cemetery and pray, think and talk about the person, but people need it. Our lives happen in a hurry and it is hard to dedicate time during our daily routines. Having a day like this in a year can help us to stop for a moment, re-think some things and practise remembrance about those that left us.
Tradition can also have practical sense, so similar to All Souls’ day we practise other traditions connected to religion. In Poland, in Catholicism, nowadays, there is no obligation of fasting during Christmas Eve. But me, my family and many others are still practising it. Why? Because we can spend the day better. We start fasting in the beginning of the day by eating a small meal in the morning and then in the evening we eat a special dinner that starts the celebration of Christmas. During the day we also don’t eat meat. Reducing food can spiritually prepare us for feast. By reducing food and controlling ourselves, we can be more countious with what will happen.
I think that tradition is not something that is definitely fixed and we can create our traditions. I have few of them that I like to follow. Every time when I go to Cracow I like to go to my favourite cafe. Of course, it’s not like that if I didn’t go I would feel that I made some mistake and it’s a must to do it. I just like to follow it because it’s a place where I feel safe, nice and I enjoy it.
Tradition can as well give us a feeling of being part of a community. In most of the countries, there are few days in a year that remind us about some important happenings from the past. Some of them for sure changed our lives, maybe not that much directly, but celebration can give opportunity to think about belonging to something bigger. When I think about national holidays in my country, it makes me feel grateful, gives me a chance to spend time with family or friends and reminds me that I am not alone and I am part of something much bigger.
Tradition is something that literally exists in our lives. Sometimes can be just an occasion for remembrance, sometimes can make us feel special emotions or just make our lives routine. I think passing the activity, story or anything else can be useful. This way we can create a tradition that will help us to live our lives to the fullest. If something helped previous generations and was worth keeping, maybe it has a deeper sense that we need to pass to the next ones.
Jakub Pokuciński
Sources:
VOICES 
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