Tradition vs. Culture — What's the Difference?

A set of practices inherited from the past.

The social behavior and norms found in human societies.

Rituals or customs formally passed through generations.

The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior.

Established patterns of behavior or beliefs.

The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement.

Historical continuity manifested in cultural practices.

The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices.

Ceremonial acts performed on specific occasions.

The customary beliefs and characteristics of an ethnic group.

A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of folklore, common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes (like lawyers' wigs or military officers' spurs), but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings.

Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Humans acquire culture through the learning processes of enculturation and socialization, which is shown by the diversity of cultures across societies. A cultural norm codifies acceptable conduct in society; it serves as a guideline for behavior, dress, language, and demeanor in a situation, which serves as a template for expectations in a social group.

The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication

The arts, beliefs, customs, institutions, and other products of human work and thought considered as a unit, especially with regard to a particular time or social group

A mode of thought or behavior followed by a people continuously from generation to generation; a custom or usage

These arts, beliefs, and other products considered with respect to a particular subject or mode of expression

A set of such customs and usages viewed as a coherent body of precedents influencing the present

The set of predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize a group or organization

A precept or a body of precepts that are not written in the sacred book of a religion, such as the Bible, but are considered holy or true.

Mental refinement and sophisticated taste resulting from the appreciation of the arts and sciences

A style or method of an activity or practice, especially of artistic expression, that is recognized and sometimes imitated

Special training and development

A piece of folklore

The cultivation of soil; tillage

A part of culture that is passed from person to person or generation to generation, possibly differing in detail from family to family, such as the way to celebrate holidays.

The breeding or cultivation of animals or plants for food, the improvement of stock, or other purposes.

A commonly held system. en

The growing of microorganisms, tissue cells, or other living matter in a specially prepared nutrient medium.

An established or distinctive style or method:

Such a growth or colony, as of bacteria.

The act of delivering into the hands of another; delivery.

To cultivate (soil or plants).

(obsolete) To transmit by way of tradition; to hand down.

To grow (microorganisms or other living matter) in a specially prepared nutrient medium.

The act of delivering into the hands of another; delivery.

To use (a substance) as a medium for culture

The unwritten or oral delivery of information, opinions, doctrines, practices, rites, and customs, from father to son, or from ancestors to posterity; the transmission of any knowledge, opinions, or practice, from forefathers to descendants by oral communication, without written memorials.

The arts, customs, lifestyles, background, and habits that characterize humankind, or a particular society or nation.

Hence, that which is transmitted orally from father to son, or from ancestors to posterity; knowledge or belief transmitted without the aid of written memorials; custom or practice long observed.

The beliefs, values, behaviour and material objects that constitute a people's way of life.

An unwritten code of law represented to have been given by God to Moses on Sinai.

The conventional conducts and ideologies of a community; the system comprising the accepted norms and values of a society.

That body of doctrine and discipline, or any article thereof, supposed to have been put forth by Christ or his apostles, and not committed to writing.

(anthropology) Any knowledge passed from one generation to the next, not necessarily with respect to human beings.

To transmit by way of tradition; to hand down.

(botany) Cultivation.

An inherited pattern of thought or action

(microbiology) The process of growing a bacterial or other biological entity in an artificial medium.

A specific practice of long standing

The growth thus produced.

A group of bacteria.

(cartography) The details on a map that do not represent natural features of the area delineated, such as names and the symbols for towns, roads, meridians, and parallels.

(archaeology) A recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society.

(euphemism) Ethnicity, race (and its associated arts, customs, etc.)

(transitive) to maintain in an environment suitable for growth especially of bacteria cultivate}}

(transitive) to increase the artistic or scientific interest in something cultivate}}

The act or practice of cultivating, or of preparing the earth for seed and raising crops by tillage; as, the culture of the soil.

The act of, or any labor or means employed for, training, disciplining, or refining the moral and intellectual nature of man; as, the culture of the mind.

The state of being cultivated; result of cultivation; physical improvement; enlightenment and discipline acquired by mental and moral training; civilization; refinement in manners and taste.

The cultivation of bacteria or other organisms (such as fungi or eukaryotic cells from mulitcellular organisms) in artificial media or under artificial conditions.

Those details of a map, collectively, which do not represent natural features of the area delineated, as names and the symbols for towns, roads, houses, bridges, meridians, and parallels.

To cultivate; to educate.

A particular society at a particular time and place;

The tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group

All the knowledge and values shared by a society

(biology) the growing of microorganisms in a nutrient medium (such as gelatin or agar);

(bacteriology) the product of cultivating micro-organisms in a nutrient medium

A highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality;

The attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization;

The raising of plants or animals;

Not necessarily; traditions can also include non-religious customs such as family gatherings or community festivals.

Tradition refers to specific customs or beliefs passed down through generations, while culture encompasses the broader set of values, practices, and symbols shared by a society.

Culture can influence tradition by integrating new ideas and practices into traditional events, thus evolving them.

Culture is crucial because it shapes individuals' identities, social practices, and even economic systems within a community.

Yes, many traditional events, like national holidays, are also key components of a culture.

Tradition helps shape culture by maintaining historical practices that inform the community's values and norms.

Yes, every culture develops its own set of traditions that reflect its historical and social contexts.

Traditions usually have historical roots, but new traditions can emerge from contemporary practices.

Culture can change, influenced by factors like technology, globalization, and social movements, although some aspects are more resistant to change.

Traditions are passed down orally, through written documentation, or by practice within families and communities.