In Defense of Tradition
When I was a little kid, my Dad and I would watch The Masters every year. As the night got late I’d freeze myself in one corner of the couch, hoping my Dad would somehow forget about my 9pm bed time.
By 11pm, we’d both still be sitting there, cheering Tiger around Amen Corner.
As a 20 year old, I watched The Masters it in my Uni house with my roommates, warmly accompanied by some cheap beer.
And now as a 28 year old, I watch it in my apartment in Bondi - still accompanied by cheap beer.
There is comfort in this consistency of experience across time. Scheduled stops on the train of life.
This Sunday evening of The Masters.
Pints on Christmas eve in my local.
The Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
Having a victoria sponge cake for every family birthday…
They are a guarantee of connection with friends and family, without the need to plan. My friends will be at the pub, the golfers at Augusta and the sponge cake on my plate.
A lot of things change in my life from year to year. I move jobs, move countries, relationships come and go. But these traditions are a constant and a sources of stability.
But I’m worried that we are throwing away our traditions. I fear that we don’t understand the value they bring to us. It’s like finding a pair of vintage Levi’s in our wardrobe, and deciding to chuck them in the bin.
I think it’s happening because we also don’t understand how hard they are to build in the first place.
Time builds traditions.
The more time that has been put into a tradition, the longer they have been around, the stronger they are. They’re heavier. But time runs its own schedule and we can’t bypass it.
Once a tradition is gone, it’s gone.
If we realise we want it back, we can’t just turn it on again. We must start from zero and wait for the years to build it.
Traditions are also fragile. Their power comes from their details. The theme tune, the precise time of the year, the smells or the tastes. These details grow roots in our memories and bind us with the event. Changing these details can tear up these roots and leave the tradition hanging on by a thread.
I’ve been worried recently. Worried because I’ve noticed that we are starting to through away some of our traditions.
In Ireland, the All Ireland Hurling Final was always held on the first Sunday of September. It is a magical day, full of lore. And all the traditions were built around this date. There are songs about it, referencing September mornings and a deep feeling associated with travelling to Dublin in early autumn, in the end of any summer heat, just as the kids were back at school.
And then in 2021, the GAA decided to change the date of the All Ireland final to July. They tore up the roots of this day and replanted it in a neighbouring field. But it is not the same.
They have reasons for doing this, sure, but they failed to see what they were giving up. A legacy and tradition built over decades, just thrown aside.
Of course, it’s still a fantastic day. But I wish they had a greater appreciation for the power of tradition and the difficulty of building it before they decided to cast it aside.
If you have traditions in your life, cherish them. And before you throw them away or let them fade, feel their value, remember how hard they were to build and how hard they would be to replace.
Traditions have a depth and warmth to them that we crave as humans. They offer us connection to our past and certainty of the future. They give us familiarity and comfort. We look forward to them. And we need things to look forward to.