TRADICIJA KAIP PRAEITIES IR DABARTIES DIALOGAS
TRADITION AS A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

Summary/Abstract: The ideas on the past of the nation, its revival and integration into the national identity expressed by Antanas Maceina, one of the most prominent Lithuanian philosophers and educator, more than seventy years ago serve as a theoretical background in the article. An attempt is made to analyse the topicality of these ideas in the context of the 21st century as well as to reveal the conception of tradition in the culturological, ethnological and educational discourse and to describe the main methods of tradition transfer, to emphasise the importance of traditions in modern life and to discuss some problems occurring in the process of passing on traditions, their adoption and nurturance. The author suggests that though a tradition has lost the role of regulating the life in modern sociocultural context, it is not just a relic of the past and an exhibit of culture collection. Traditions are perceived as a live and dynamic process. Next to the function of passing on the past, they also perform a function of forming a sense of attachment and belonging. Traditions also facilitate building up of an integral worldview. Therefore, if schools support a non-formal and non-superficial attitude to traditions, they may not only gap the bridge between the past and present but also ensure cooperation and consolidation of school community members, that is teachers, school learners, their parents and grandparents.

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