By Jerry Riley

I was going to use a longer title, but, well it was too long for a traditional title. The back story for this column started on Groundhog Day. I was reading that Punxsutawney Phil Isn’t Always Right - and, what a revoltin’ development this is! Groundhog Day, in America, goes back to 1887 as a carryover from Candlemas Day in Europe.

The article said that a coin toss would be just as accurate. Neither has anything to do with predicting the weather. This got me to thinking about traditions in general.

A tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. Tradition is usually contrasted with the goal of modernity and should be differentiated from customs, conventions, laws, norms, routines, rules and similar concepts.

Some traditions began hundreds of years ago and very few people even know how they began or even why we continue to do them, but, - it’s traditional. Others are rituals started by our parents, or their parents, we continue them out of respect.

This leads to a question: Are traditions carried on just because that’s the way we’ve always done it? Is it time to look at some of our traditional traditions?

Have you started a tradition, that you don’t realize you started, but it is something you do at certain times, or in certain ways? Think about it.

Traditions may have to be adapted to fit into today’s culture, but that might be nontraditional, or, the beginning of a new tradition.

Jerry Riley comments for the News Bulletin. He is a retired telecommunications supervisor.