AITA for quietly ending a tradition with my family instead of talking it out first

My family has had this weekly tradition for as long as I can remember. Same day, same time, same expectations. When I was younger it was framed as this wholesome bonding thing, something we’d laugh about and look back on. As an adult it slowly started feeling… heavy. Not dramatic, just this low level tension I couldn’t shake. I’d spend the whole day thinking about it, already tired before it even started, then leave feeling weirdly empty and snappy for no clear reason. Everyone else seemed fine, so I kept telling myself I was overreacting.

Over the last year I tried pulling back a little. Saying I had a long week, or that I just needed a quiet night. The reactions were always jokes or guilt disguised as concern, like “wow guess family time isn’t important anymore huh”. Nothing aggressive, but enough that I stopped bringing it up. So eventually I just stopped showing up. No speech, no announcement, no drama. I honestly thought it would just slowly stop being a thing, or at least stop involving me. For a few weeks no one said anything and I felt.. lighter. Less tense, less annoyed with myself.

Then someone finally called me out and it escalated fast. They said I was being cold, passive agressive, and that by not explaining myself I made it seem like I didn’t care about anyone. When I tried to explain that talking never really felt like an option because it always turned into pressure or jokes, that somehow made it worse. Now the narrative is that I “quit” instead of communicating, and that I ruined something meaningful for everyone else. I get that it mattered to them, but it was quietly draining me and I didn’t know how else to step away without it turning into a whole thing.

So yeah. AITA for ending a long standing family tradition by just opting out instead of forcing a big emotional conversation that I honestly didn’t think would change anything?