Editing Tradition (section)

==Definition==
[[File:LeningradCodex text.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Leningrad Codex|Textual traditions]] of bound manuscripts of the [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) are passed down providing additional [[niqqud|vowel points]], [[dagesh|pronunciation marks]], and [[Hebrew cantillation|stress accents]] in the authentic [[Masoretic Text]] of the [[Jewish Bible]], often the basis for translations of [[Christianity]]'s [[Old Testament]].]]
The English word ''tradition'' comes from the [[Latin]] ''traditio'' via [[French language|French]], the noun from the verb ''tradere'' (to transmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping); it was originally used in [[Roman law]] to refer to the concept of legal transfers and [[inheritance]].<ref name="Giddens2003-39">{{cite book|author=Anthony Giddens|title=Runaway world: how globalization is reshaping our lives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPMtVIsNo-wC&pg=PA39|date=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-94487-8|page=39}}</ref><ref name="Congar2004"/> According to [[Anthony Giddens]] and others, the modern meaning of tradition evolved during the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] period, in opposition to modernity and [[progress (history)|progress]].<ref name="Giddens2003-39"/><ref name="Shils2006-3">Shils [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-zr1Ovc5ggC&pg=PA3 3–6]</ref><ref name="Shils2006">Shils [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-zr1Ovc5ggC&pg=PA3 18]</ref>

As with many other generic terms, there are many definitions of tradition.<ref name="Green1997"/><ref name="Shils2006-12">Shils [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-zr1Ovc5ggC&pg=PA12 12]</ref><ref name="Congar2004">{{cite book|author=Yves Congar|title=The meaning of tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBDnQg5zw8oC&pg=PA9|year= 2004|publisher=Ignatius Press|isbn=978-1-58617-021-9|page=9}}</ref><ref name="Boyer1990-7"/> The concept includes a number of interrelated ideas; the unifying one is that tradition refers to beliefs, objects or customs performed or believed in the past, originating in it, transmitted through time by being taught by one generation to the other, and are performed or believed in the present.<ref name="Green1997"/><ref name="Shils2006-12"/>

Tradition can also refer to beliefs or customs that are [[prehistory|prehistoric]], with lost or [[wikt:arcane|arcane]] origins, existing from ''[[time immemorial]]''.<ref name="Shils2006-15">Shils [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-zr1Ovc5ggC&pg=PA15 15]</ref> Originally, traditions were passed orally, without the need for a [[writing system]]. Tools to aid this process include [[figures of speech|poetic devices]] such as [[rhyme]], epic stories and [[alliteration]]. The stories thus preserved are also referred to as tradition, or as part of an [[oral tradition]]. Even such traditions, however, are presumed to have originated (been "invented" by humans) at some point.<ref name="Shils2006-12"/><ref name="Giddens2003-39"/> Traditions are often presumed to be [[ancient]], unalterable, and deeply important, though they may sometimes be much less "natural" than is presumed.<ref name="HobsbawmRanger-2-3"/><ref name="HobsbawmRanger-3-4"/> It is presumed that at least two transmissions over three [[generation]]s are required for a practice, belief or object to be seen as traditional.<ref name="Shils2006-15"/> Some traditions were deliberately introduced for one reason or another, often to highlight or enhance the importance of a certain institution or truth.<ref name="HobsbawmRanger-1">Hobsbawm [https://books.google.com/books?id=sfvnNdVY3KIC&pg=PA1 1]</ref> Traditions may also be adapted to suit the needs of the day, and the changes can become accepted as a part of the ancient tradition.<ref name="HobsbawmRanger-2-3">Hobsbawm [https://books.google.com/books?id=sfvnNdVY3KIC&pg=PA2 2–3]</ref><ref name=slang/> Tradition changes slowly, with changes from one generation to the other being seen as significant.<ref name="Shils2006-14">Shils [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-zr1Ovc5ggC&pg=PA14 14]</ref> Thus, those carrying out the traditions will not be consciously aware of the change, and even if a tradition undergoes major changes over many generations, it will be seen as unchanged.<ref name="Shils2006-14"/>

There are various origins and fields of tradition; they can refer to:
# the forms of artistic heritage of a particular culture.<ref>{{cite book | last = Lilburn | first = Douglas | title = A Search for Tradition | publisher = Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust, assisted by the New Zealand Composers Foundation | location = Wellington | year = 1984 | isbn = 0-908702-00-0 |author-link= Douglas Lilburn}} {{Page needed|date=February 2011}}</ref>
# beliefs or customs instituted and maintained by societies and governments, such as [[national anthem]]s and [[Public holiday|national holidays]], such as [[Federal holidays in the United States]].<ref name="HobsbawmRanger-2-3"/><ref name="HobsbawmRanger-3-4"/>
# beliefs or customs maintained by [[religious denomination]]s and [[Church (congregation)|Church bodies]] that share history, customs, culture, and, to some extent, body of teachings.<ref name="WilliamsCox1992">{{cite book|author1=Michael A. Williams|author2=Collett Cox|author3=Martin S. Jaffee|title=Innovation in religious traditions: essays in the interpretation of religious change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AD2hShiXNjEC&pg=PA1|date=1992|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-012780-5|page=1}}</ref><ref name="Giddens2003-39"/> For example, one can speak of Islam's tradition or Christianity's tradition.
[[File:Tradisi Unggahan Bonokeling.jpg|left|thumb|A ''[[slametan]]'' tradition of a ritual proceeding before Ramadan to honor ancestors and Ramadan in Banyumas, Central Java, Indonesia]]
Many objects, beliefs and customs can be traditional.<ref name="Shils2006-12"/> Rituals of [[social interaction]] can be traditional, with phrases and gestures such as saying "thank you", sending [[birth announcement]]s, [[greeting card]]s, etc.<ref name="Shils2006-12"/><ref name="Boyer1990-8">{{cite book|author=Pascal Boyer|title=Tradition as truth and communication: a cognitive description of traditional discourse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7cu0joBSM8C&pg=PR8|date=1990|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-37417-0|page=8}}</ref><ref name="Handler and Innekin">{{cite journal|last=Handler|first=Richard|author2=Jocelyn Innekin |title=Tradition, Genuine or Spurious|journal=Journal of American Folklore|year=1984|volume=29}}</ref> Tradition can also refer to larger concepts practiced by groups (family traditions at Christmas<ref name="Handler and Innekin"/>), organizations (company's [[picnic]]) or societies, such as the practice of national and public holidays.<ref name="HobsbawmRanger-2-3"/><ref name="HobsbawmRanger-3-4"/> Some of the oldest traditions include [[monotheism]] (three millennia) and [[citizenship]] (two millennia).<ref name="Shils2006-16">Shils [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-zr1Ovc5ggC&pg=PA16 16]</ref> It can also include material objects, such as buildings, works of art or tools.<ref name="Shils2006-12"/>

Tradition is often used as an [[adjective]], in contexts such as [[traditional music]], [[traditional medicine]], [[traditional values]] and others.<ref name="Green1997"/> In such constructions tradition refers to specific values and materials particular to the discussed context, passed through generations.<ref name="Giddens2003-39"/>