The Lottery? That's pretty extreme definition of tradition, Peace....

"Tradition" is a useful word...if we allow it to be. People use it to mean something. Words like 'folk' and 'traditional' to differentiate most newer stuff from a lot of older stuff...for a reason!

In music especially, many older songs & tunes just 'feel' different from newer music. The subject matter, the style, the meter and speed, the verse arrangement, the presence of absence of a chorus...etc. Some people really LIKE much of the older music better, and thus want a way to refer to it.
   Those who try to suggest that "all music can be 'folk music'" in the right context might be technically correct, but they miss the point.