What always gets me about traditions, whether they're religious or secular, is that just by repeating the same motions of old times you may not get the same effect. And not wanting to rip on other peoples' traditions, I prefer taking the X-mas tree as example, which I've been ranting about since I was a teenager. Or the fireworks (for new years, independence day, the festival of the Guadalupe virgin, either one). Or throwing rice / cake at a wedding...

Yes, I've been criticized for my anti-traditionalist views a lot, but I keep insisting: thanks to modernity, the culture we live in today is so far removed from the one that started (whichever) tradition, that we may as well start our own traditions, which specifically address our present needs. For example, removing toxins (and algae fertilizer) from the rivers.

Thanks for raising this important point, though!