CONSIDERATIONS ON THE NOTION OF EUROPEAN TRADITION

Many of us we hear this term tradition. 1 The Hellenic term for tradition is παραδοσις.
Anyway, what is a tradition? There are many definitions given to tradition. Traditions are for
many a set of common custums, common habits, common endeavors and so on. We know in
this sense that Greece has many traditons. The same in Romania there are many traditons.
Greece and Romania has common religious traditions especialy as far as orthodoxy is
concerned. Thus, we can call religious traditions Passover, Nativity of Chirst, orthodox major
feast accross the year.
In a broad sense we can address here the awareness for european traditions. What is
in a great sense an European tradition? We first a tradition is a set common custums that
concerns the europeans. Thus in Europe there are many traditions. There are food traditions,
literary traditions, poetics traditions, school traditions, university traditions. I do not think that
I am mistaking if I affirm that Europe is a land of traditions.
Personaly many of us we don’t like traditions. The first encounter that we have with the
term and the existence of traditons is wehn we enter schools and we see that there were
some others before us who had eventualy the same aims with us and with our way of seen
things. But them we see that school traditions are good and actualy we can use them. A land
without tradition is land that is basicaly with no past.
I will try to write here some words in the Romanian traditions. Romania as well as
Greece is a land rich in traditions. There are monastic traditions, spoiritual traditions, there is
a tradition of the Romanian Atheneum and the Romanian Academy. 2 To speack of a hellenic-
Romanian tradition is not something outdated. As we know there are many hellenic
communities in Romania and many Romanian communities in Greece. Some of these
communities are oriented in science, some in arts some in poetry some in literature.
In anyway, cultural diversity and complexity is something that in modern times we
must encourage. I must adress here that is necessary a very close relation between Romania
and Greece as far as Europe is concerned since both Romania and Greece have very much
men living in the North America and Australia. If we learn these men that migrate from
Europe into some other area to have a common way of seeing things, they will be greatful for
us.
Then is necessary in as much as we can to learn Romanian and hellenics to think in the
same way. This does not mean that we must forbbid the freedom of Romanians and
hellenics, but we must teach Romanian and hellenics to think in the terms of being
europeans before they go in some other area and exist as much as they do not live in the
same area. In North America there are many mixed Romanian/Hellenic communities. Many of
these communities have expressed in the past the need for a greater unitary presence in the
European land. This is why I am very positive for Romanian/hellenic friendships. Migrations
are very much usfual for easten Europe. Main attractions in our days is Australia and North
America. But again we can see that many of these men are comming back to our native
countries. Thus many hellenics in North America have a great cult for Greece only oance
they are in North America or Australia.

1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradition.
2
http://www.acad.ro.

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 It very sure that both Romanians and hellenics are most of the time unsatisfaied with
what Europe can offer them. This is why we see that today the need for migrations outide of
Europe is very great. I don’t know if someone has counted the exact numer of hellenics and
Romanians migrating outside Europe. Again we must remerber our inhabitans that there is
much for us to work here in Europe. Before we travel in other lands we must make sure that
we do all the best here in Europe.

Radu Teodorescu