In todays post, we will be talking about traditions. Traditions have gotten a bad reputation over time. And this is because many young people are not privledged to understand what the traditions mean. We don’t educate ourselves very often of the story behind traditions. We just do them because it is what is done, and when someone askes us ( usually young children) we often say it is because it is always done.

Because of the vagueness of traditions, young people are leaning towards dismissing tradition altogether. While I do agree that new and modern does have a place, I also believe that traditions are important and meaningful. I love thinking that people before me valued something so much that they made it a yearly or everyday ritual. And for my part, if I do a tradition, I am showing my respect for those founding people.

Here are five ways why we need traditions

• Traditions contributes a sense of comfort and belonging. When we do a tradition, there is a effort that everyone will be included. Family and friends can find belonging and comfort in celebrating a familiar holiday together. This sense of comfort and belonging can be attributed to the understandings of everyone the reasons and history behind the holiday. Because of this, there is a sense of unity among everyone, which then brings comfort. This is why I find comfort and belonging in celebrating a traditional holiday, then when I go to a random party.

• Traditions enforces life values. These values are friendship, family, and learning and creating memories with them. Some of the best things we can learn is from traditions.

• Remembering traditions are saying “Thank you” to the one who had contributed to the tradition.

• Traditions create lasting memories. I love how traditions can make the best memories. In fact, most of my favorite memories are from traditions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter, because of all the fun things that we got to do with each other. Such as, for Easter, when we were very young, we had Easter egg hunts and big Easter chocolate eggs. I will always treasure these memories and even look forward to having my own Easter egg hunts with my children in the future.

• Traditions allow for meaningful pause and reflection. This is so true of many traditions, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Fourth of July. They make us remember what is most important and allow us to take time to pause and reflect on life. Sadly, as it is often the case with this hectic modern times, these holiday traditions are usually the only time family and friends make time to see each other. Thus it is all the more reason to take a step back and appreciate traditions that allow families to congregate and have fun time together.

Remember you don’t have to have a special reason for starting a tradition. Many people think that traditions were only made in the past, and thus don’t try to make a new one. But there is no reason not to start a new family tradition. It could be anything, such as family scrap-booking once a month, or making cakes and cookies on a Saturday afternoon. If you feel like family time is lacking, then make an effort in starting a new family tradition. It might be the key to bringing the family together over a shared interest.

So, whenever you are tempted to forgo a tradition, just remember this list, and that when you do a tradition, you not only contribute to it, but also create lasting memories that are not outdated.

I hope you have a great week,

Alyssa