Tradition is a collective term for the beliefs, habits, attitudes, institutions, stories and so on that grow up among a people living together and give them a common mind and spirit that enables them to make a life together. Tradition is also the knowledge of things that can’t easily be put into words, diffused and made concrete in the life of the people.
Catholics sometimes distinguish
- Sacred Tradition, which is a vehicle of revelation equal to scripture,
- Other ecclesial traditions, which develop and order the particular forms religious life takes in various communities, and
- Secular tradition, which constitutes human culture considered without specific regard to the Catholic Church.
There are many useful resources on tradition on the web.