"Shared history and legends strengthen the community. Man can only exist in a community, only thanks to it."
(„My journeys with Herodot“, R. Kapuściński)
To which extent can a new tradition differ from the old one?
Maria Fellner - 03.01.2020 @ 20:39
New national traditions?
by Aisa Palkovics, DNG Budapest/Hungary
Foto: Homepage of DNG, traditional Swabianball in our school
Traditions played a big role already hundred years ago in a person’s life. There are traditions in every culture and religion, especially connected to holidays. It’s very important to belong somewhere. People are social creatures who can only exist, develop and become stronger due to the community. When we are talking about a nation, we think about people who speak the same language, share the same history and have the same traditions. But why are they important to us?
Traditions are part of our everyday life; they sometimes give meaning to our daily routines. The basic family tradition of having dinner together every evening, may give a structure to our lives. The old and new traditions build bridges between many generations and cultures. Tradition means identity, besides it gives us the feeling of inherency. For example, Christmas, Easter and Carnival traditions have been passed down from previous generations. This is a growing trend in the globalised world. Previously the Valentine’s Day was unknown in Hungary, but today it is celebrated by everyone. But I wouldn’t call this a transnational tradition, because we just took that from other nations.
But, like everything in the world, traditions can change too. Of course, there are some traditions that are old and never change, for example sending greeting cards or putting up a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. In my opinion, there are not many brand new traditions but the old ones always change a bit, that’s how the modern traditions arise. For example, the sprinkling at Easter in Hungary. The boys used a bucket before to sprinkle the girls, but today they just use some perfume. Another example can be seen in the change of taking care of traditions. Previously horse races were very popular and fancied in Hungary, but with the progress of time they are almost gone. But we can experience this tradition from 2008, because we have the National Gallop in every year.
I think there are just little differences between old and new traditions, because the new traditions are based on the old ones.
In conclusion, I think the old and new traditions are both very important. Due to them culture is something special; they represent our history and our identity, our bond to the past, to our present, and the future.
Aisa Palkovics - 15.03.2020 @ 21:59
Thank you so much for your article, Aisa!
Traditions are a very interesting concept, I think. Not only a nation or a culture has traditions but also every single family might have their own traditions. I also find it fascinating how the value of traditions has changed over the course of decades. The easiest example that comes to my mind would be the tradition of celebrating Christmas. It used to be a holiday that only focused on the origin and the religious component. In modern time, in my experience and how it is portrayed in the media, its purpose seems to be to bring families together and gifting each other. It's also massively commercialised with the Santa Claus persona. Santa Claus originates from the USA and has become popular over the entire world. That's an example of how traditions can change. But traditions are also very different. If you happen to celebrate Christmas as a European in America, you might find yourself confused, since they have rather different habits than we have.
The book "Dancing in the Dark" by the author Maureen Lee, which I read a while ago, is very much about traditions. The protagonist searches through the basement of her deceased aunt and gets to know her on a different level. Even though the traditions that are discussed and compared in this story are on a smaller scale, it definitely represents the idea. A very interesting story with well-developed characters.
Nazli Yüksek - 15.04.2020 @ 15:24
Hello Aisa,
The topic of traditions is a very interesting one, especially when it comes to the traditions’ development and change. I like the phrase you used that people are “social creatures” and so they have a need of belonging, being a part of a community. I think similarly that traditions strengthen the bonds between individuals, between nations. They guarantee unity, and some sort of comfort, for example, when you go abroad and you see Christmas trees, you can feel more like at home. You also mentioned how today's globalised world has influenced our local traditions. I think you’re right, although I perceive it as a rather negative aspect. I think there is a sort of beauty in traditional folklore. It reminds us of who we are, as you said, it gives us an identity which we can choose to be proud of. Here in Cracow in my local community there are sometimes events where we dress up in our traditional clothing. I think these kind of occasions are very valuable and should be encouraged.
In books, especially sci-fi, we sometimes see an example of a civilisation lacking tradition, its cultural heritage. While reading we can notice innumerable consequences of this in the characters’ behaviour, their daily routines, even in their mental aspect, in their thinking, their sense of identity. This only shows the importance of traditions.
Marianna Gawron - 20.05.2020 @ 10:43
Dear Aisa,
Thank you for your article about old and new traditions. It is true the old traditions are sometimes outdated and especially the younger generations lose touch with the greater meaning behind them. However, I think traditions can be transnational. Many cultures, for example the Roman Empire, took a lot of traditions and cultural assets from the Greek. They integrated foreign ways of thinking about gods and greater beings into their daily life. Somehow, traditions have to be adapted to every century. New generations think differently about different topics and issues. The inclusion of new developments is relevant in every part of their lives, even the traditions.
Marei Behrens - 28.10.2020 @ 16:19