A friend posted on Facebook this week about wanting to establish some family Christmas traditions in his home. He said that he and his wife had different traditions growing up and needed to find a way of celebrating as a family. I smiled as a read his post because I can completely relate. My husband and I grew up in different countries. His first language and mine are different. Our cultural backgrounds overlap in places but there are plenty of places where they don’t. It’s been fun discovering and deciding on traditions to introduce to our home and our family.
Ties that bind
Traditions are wonderful and intriguing things. In a culture that is obsessed with getting the most up to date; the latest model, you may ask is there any place for something that’s intent is to bind us to the past? The dictionary defines tradition as the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice. So what’s the point? When we’re so busy trying to find new and better ways of doing, and moving forward, why bother with traditions that keep us looking back?
We are family
First and possibly foremost, traditions give a tremendous sense of belonging. By continuing a ritual, event or celebrating style that has been handed to you from a previous generation you are not only connecting to the people in the past who also upheld that tradition, but also connecting with those around you in the present who continue to observe the same tradition. Traditions also encourage a sense of comfort and security. Woody Allen (in his true cynical style) said that traditions give us an illusion of permanence in an otherwise changing and uncertain world.
Memories are made of this
My personal favourite reason for continuing traditions is that it gives us the opportunity to create enduring memories with friends and family. Many of my happiest childhood memories are bound to traditions that we had as a family. Christmases, birthday celebrations, Sunday evening McDonald runs after church, holiday board games and afternoon tea with biscuits after school. Traditions don’t need to be grand and lofty to be meaningful or even worthy of being passed on. The church I attended as a child had a tradition that every year on the day after Christmas there would be a soccer match between the under 25 year olds and the over 25 year olds. It wasn’t particularly auspicious or even very comfortable (I grew up in Europe and remember many wet and cold matches) but it was a really fun tradition that continued for many years and may still be going on as far as I know.
Excited much?
Traditions also create a wonderful sense of anticipation. In our house Father Christmas comes while we are asleep on Christmas Eve. We have a tradition of putting out a mince pie, a glass of milk and a carrot with a note for Father Christmas before we go to bed on December 24th. I did this as a child, I’m pretty certain my mother did this as well and now each year my children do the same. It’s tradition. The toe-tingling excitement this simple act produces is mind blowing. I’m amazed that we can get my children to bed after laying out these goodies. It’s the anticipation, they know what’s going to happen next. They know that Father Christmas is on his way and that next time they enter the room, the tree will no longer be standing alone but will be surrounded by gifts! It’s so exciting, I can hardly stand it.
Our traditions remind us what is important. They very often reinforce the things that we value, be it family, good food, prayer, rest, hard work or happiness. By celebrating and observing these rituals we are also honouring those who have gone before. It’s a chance to say thank you for the legacy that has been handed on and a way to use that past as a reference point or as context with which to face the future.
I was interested to see that the dictionary also includes theology in the definition of tradition. It says tradition is also a body of teachings, or any one of them, held to have been delivered by Christ and His apostles but not originally committed to writing. I love that the teachings of Jesus are considered to be traditions. It makes perfect sense. The teachings of Christ are all about giving us a sense of belonging, of helping us to find our place in the larger family of God. The things that have been written in the bible were given to us, to connect us to God but also to other believers and to instruct us about the values and the things that we should hold onto. The bible is there to give us security and comfort and direction. It also gives us an incredible sense of anticipation and hope for the future.