I think we can (usually) easily distinguish between The Tradition and a tradition, and use each expression validly as long as we remember the distinction.

--Steve Parkes

I've been thinking about this one. I think, when a discussion is about more than one possible "tradition" (such as klezmer, or Yiddish culture in general, as opposed to, say, Acadian music or culture), it is necessary to refer to each as "a tradition". It is only possible to use the phrase "the tradition" when the discussion is about only one tradition.