"inheritance" versus "heritage"

Sunday, January 17, 2016 Few days ago, someone wrote to me, asking: "Please, how would you differentiate between 'inheritance' and 'heritage' ?" MY ANSWER: Both can be synonymous but still, there are peculiar usages, especially because "heritage" is more of an abstract thing. For instance, call the shoes your late father left for you "inheritance", but don't call it your "heritage". "Heritage" is the tradition and history about a given people which is reflected in their general way of life. It is more of an abstract thing. You can call your father's act of honesty "heritage", or what belief system you adopted from him. Say "heritage" is an act or art.... e.g. The Benin Kingdom has a rich cultural heritage (You won't say "inheritance", would you?). Do you understand now?