Why is customs and traditions important

You may take it for granted until you lose it. The values that support the backbone of our country, our family, and our faith will have drifted for so long that the fabric of our society will be torn.

All rights reserved. Get future posts by RSS feed, email or Facebook. Frank Sonnenberg is an award-winning author and a well-known advocate for moral character, personal values, and personal responsibility. Additionally, his blog — FrankSonnenbergOnline — has attracted millions of readers on the Internet. For permission, please email Frank FrankSonnenbergOnline. I love your info on tradition. I believe this is an helpful piece of information, thank you so much, and God bless.

I was writing a paper for my freshmen high school class and it helped me a great deal! The folly that is religion illustrates this well. The core principles do not differ significantly among the various flavors of Mosaic religions, but the traditions of practice serve to create violent divisions between Jew, Christian, and Muslim. Take away those traditions and the reason if the word is appropriate in reference to so irrational a system of thought for the conflicts evaporates.

More accurately, when we stop thinking about the origins and ramifications of our traditions we suborn our identities to mindless compliance with the status quo, and by extension, with those who benefit most from the status quo.

When, out of unthinking compliance with tradition, mothers actively participate in the genital mutilation of their daughters, one can see the horrific power of unquestioned acceptance of tradition. Authority, and particularly authority that has become petrified in tradition, needs constant examination if we hope to avoid becoming the pawns of others. Without vigilance, traditions take over our identities and replace consideration with obedience.

Traditions typically limit such thoughtful pauses to a few occasions. How often do you really give thought to peace on earth—outside of the Christmas season for those who adhere to that theology? How many go to church on Sunday to prepare for a new week of ignoring the precepts they claim to hold dear? I imagine that those who need a traditional reason for thoughtful reflection use it to excuse the lack of it during the rest of their lives. Thoughtless yahoos do not become considerate because of traditional time of reflection; they just think they do.

Tradition just cheapens the price of involvement. Humans seem to need human contact for comfort, to a greater or lesser individual extent. However, a sense of belonging tends to result in the formation of out-groups: meaningful inclusion demands an excluded group. Traditions, as a human construct, reflect this. The threat of being ostracized from the in-group tempers the comfort of current inclusion. Tradition, and again let me emphasize that I refer here only to the sort that is actively taught, such as religion, not the sort that emerges organically, such as eating at a particular restaurant every Wednesday, harbors dangers that Sonnenberg ignores in this article.

Traditions have provided the excuse for the perpetration and perpetuation of terrible inhumanities and diminished the individual to a mere bit actor in life. While those who benefit from the outcomes—churches, males, warlords—naturally want the traditions to continue, the rest of us suffer. I remain unconvinced that unquestioning adherence to tradition is a net good.

Individuals can achieve everything Sonnenberg attributes to traditions through individual effort. Indeed, you may find, as I have, that turning from traditions and making conscious efforts to define my relationship with society on my own terms has provided a greater sense of satisfaction and meaning than I ever felt before.

Try acting not in ways that have been defined for you but in ways you have defined for yourself. Although we are all imperfect, we must work together to make the world a better place for our children. I choose to build upon the good in the world rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater.

To that end, I continue to believe that tradition plays an important role in our society. People holding onto some form of tradition are the root of ALL intolerance Frank. I think you know this too but have committed so much time to this idea that its become an unwavering tradition of thought for you too. The problem with tradition is that people who practice it also preach it.

What you need to grasp is that Critical thinking is a tradition too, as practiced by the Stoics who make of point of NOT preaching. My wife and I spent this past weekend with good friends. One evening, they shared photos of their family and took us on a stroll down memory lane. They have wonderful memories of raising their family. Now their children are grown up, and have kids of their own. Traditions strengthen the importance of family, reinforce important values, and bring everyone so much comfort and joy.

Your piece of comment holds some points. There is good and the bad, the bright and dark, the harm and safety, the day and night, good and bad. As bad and terrible as the the CoVID, there are benefits of it. Tradition is culture that has been preserved and transmitted from generation to generation. Culture evolves, tradition endure. Like I believe we know, culture is a way of life of a people.

It is the life style of a people. Therefore, culture and tradition are one and the same thing. Every individual, family, society or Nation has culture. Some cultures are peculiar, but some cultural practices are similar to to other families, society or nation.

God created man and gave him culture — way of living, After creation God said that every thing he created was good including man and his culture Genesis The fall of man corrupted him and his thoughts and actions hence the ungodly life styles but not altogether. In essence, there are many important values about tradition. Dear sir,I am very much inspired by your personal life,personality and specially by your thoughts,I often use your thoughts as examples,and my classmates started to say me philosopher.

Thank you for reading my posts and sharing the thoughts with your friends. I hope to see you back again soon. Traditions serve as a signpost for the whole world. Holidays are an important fabric of life. Traditions can also be as simple as reading to your kids before bedtime, saying your prayers, or having pizza with your family on Sundays.

Frank, I read your article with great interest and fully agree with not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But I am at a total loss about how can I possible save the baby and just throw the bathwater which is indeed horribly dirty. With each generation, a heavy editing is required in traditions to make them a good thing for all concerned. Which means that families and individuals should have the freedom to define their own tradition.

These customs and traditions are those which made the society and if these are maintained with making some necessary changes in them along with time can prove to be beneficial for the society. People of different castes and groups participate in each others festivals and functions. Everyone has the tradition of respecting their parents and seniors. Similarly, the name giving ceremony, marriage, etc are our traditions.

We observe them according to our social customs which may be different from others. Tradition contributes a sense of comfort and belonging. It brings families together and enables people to reconnect with friends. Tradition reinforces values such as freedom, faith, integrity, a good education, personal responsibility, a strong work ethic, and the value of being selfless.

They can be cultural, familial or religious and are unique to your family or tribe. It is the rituals, both big and small, that tend to create lasting memories. They are often more important than the physical gifts that we give and receive. Some traditions will evolve and change over time and that is normal.

Families blend together, people move and life situations change. Customs adapt to our lives as much as we adapt to the customs around us.

Traditions are important in our lives and provide many benefits. We intentionally create and continue traditions because they provide a sense of belonging and meaning to our lives. Family rituals nurture connection and give us comfort. The special customs and rituals we have give us something to look forward to and something to hope for. They help us anticipate what is to come. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world.

Traditions also provide a constant for us in an ever-changing and fast-paced life. In that way, they ground us. One of the most important rituals a family can do is eat dinner together more on the benefits of family dinners here. Traditions remind us of who we are and where we belong.

The memories attached to the rituals of our lives are strong and give us a feeling of connectedness to a time, place or person. I urge you to make time for special traditions this holiday season.