tradició

Tradició is the Catalan term for tradition, describing the set of beliefs, customs, rituals, and practices that are transmitted within a community from one generation to the next. It helps shape social life, encode shared values, and connect current members with their historical roots.

Tradició encompasses both material and immaterial elements. Material tradition includes buildings, crafts, heirlooms, and other physical objects; immaterial tradition covers language, music, folklore, recipes, ceremonies, and rites. Transmission occurs through family routines, education, festivals, migration, media, and cultural institutions such as museums, archives, and associations.

In contemporary contexts, tradició is dynamic rather than fixed. Globalization, modernization, and mobility can diversify practices and prompt reinterpretations, while efforts to preserve heritage may protect endangered traditions. Debates about authenticity, ownership, and inclusion often accompany preservation, as communities balance continuity with adaptation and innovation.

The meaning and prominence of tradició vary across Catalan-speaking regions and among diasporic communities, but it commonly intersects with broader notions of cultural identity, memory, and belonging.