HOLIDAY SHARING
KEEPING WITH TRADITION BY LENA ARGOT
My husband and I were talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas and the subject of family traditions came up. It got me thinking; What makes a tradition? How do they start? Why do families have such different traditions? When our oldest daughter was young, anything she liked that we did once was a tradition. So, what makes a tradition? Is it something your family has done for years, or something we do once and our children insist it must be done every year because “it is a tradition”, or is it born of necessity? Maybe you always had an artificial Christmas tree because someone in the family was allergic to pine, or always had a small tree because that’s what you had room for. Maybe you always eat certain foods, like sweet potato casserole and mincemeat pie on Thanksgiving or ham and cherry pie for Christmas. You might not even know why you eat these things, but it’s the same each year. Some traditions come from your culture. My family eats turkey with mashed potatoes and filling for Thanksgiving, while others eat lasagna and antipasto salad. Are there some traditions that you are tired of but can’t stop because everyone will be upset with you? One year I considered not hanging stockings but when I mentioned it to my teenage and young adult children they shrieked “but it’s a tradition” so off I went to the store to buy candies and trinkets.
14 MKR Magazine September 2021
Some traditions are fun and you look forward to them every year. In our house we read the “Christmas story” from the Bible before we open our presents on Christmas morning. Some people have a cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus. Maybe you dive into presents early, while others eat a special breakfast before opening gifts. A tradition at our house I especially enjoy is that we take turns picking a present to give out. In our tradition you may pick any present under the tree (as long as it’s not one for you) and give it to the person it’s for, then we all watch as each gift is opened. Whatever your traditions, as we enter the holiday season, this may be a good time to stop and take inventory. Think about past and future holidays. Do you look forward to your holiday traditions? Maybe there are some that you’d like to retire. It’s possible your family would agree with you, or maybe you will continue them just to make the “kids” happy. Maybe It’s time for some new traditions, but be warned…. if you do it once it may just become your new tradition. Possibly, this is the year you will ask “why do we do this?” You may learn something about your family that you never knew. No matter what traditions you keep this year, whether it be the old ones you love, those you tolerate to keep the peace, or the new ones you are about to create, I hope they bring comfort and joy to you and your family.
