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9 Powerful things traditions can do for your family |
So many of our "favorite childhood memories" are of family holidays and vacations that were repeated over and over again; good smells, good feelings, good times. Children and adults alike find comfort in knowing that something is going to happen that they are sure they will enjoy. Traditions are really the building blocks of strong, caring, happy families.
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Traditions make us spend time together without the normal daily distractions because they are scheduled and planned. Since we are often rushed, rituals and traditions make sure we do the things we really value.
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Traditions provide opportunities to show how much we care with gifts, preparations, and spontaneous displays of emotion. They set the mood for a more relaxed and focused state, and make us feel comfortable enough to openly express our love and appreciation for each other. When we talk with longing about our Mother's apple pie, or Grandpa's favorite fishing trip, it's the emotions and good feelings connected to those things that we really miss.
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Traditions help us stay close to family and friends far away because traditions usually involve celebrations, and celebrations usually require more people. They provide a structure that prevents people from drifting apart. The more occasions and events a family celebrates, the more opportunities they each have to connect.
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Traditions help us build a family identity by establishing how we communicate, how we make decisions and solve problems, as well as how we celebrate holidays, milestones, and other family events. Traditions say, "this is how we do things as a family... this is how we decorate our Christmas tree, this is how we celebrate birthdays, this is the ice cream shop where we stop on the way to Sequoia National Park every Labor Day Weekend... this is who we are."
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Traditions make it possible to create a family history as they are passed on through the generations. Memorabilia and photos that show the family doing the same thing year after year make us feel connected to those who came before us.
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Traditions provide optimal settings for teaching family values through the sheer strength of repetition. We learn much more powerful lessons from activities that we participate in year after year, than from an occasional lecture. Since many rituals and traditions create a relaxed and happy atmosphere, learning is more likely to take place. Our family values become part of who we are.
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Traditions give us many reasons to celebrate life together, and they make it easy because you know what to do and how to do it. On Friday nights we walk to the ice cream shop after dinner, on Saturday afternoons we make caramel-almond-popcorn and watch a video, and Sunday mornings we have Mom's delicious blueberry waffles and go for a bike ride to the beach. Since we are not rushing around worrying about what to do next, we can actually enjoy ourselves.
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Traditions bring together the generations, which can add such richness to our family life. The older members of the family bring patience, wisdom, and wonderful stories of the past. The young ones bring that youthful wonder and excitement about life that brings joy to the rest of us.
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Traditions help us organize our busy, hectic lives. Planning rituals on specific days of the year means that those projects will get done (such as the family album on New Year's Day, or the letter to your child on his/her birthday). |
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