Traditions are something that develop deep in our family root system. They build up over a long period. They take time and repetition, and we have to TRUST THE SEEDS.
As I look around our home during Christmas time, we have 55 years of accumulation of holiday decor. As a newlywed couple, Joyce and I started with a small, plastic, Christmas Tree with a kaleidoscope of lights. Slowly we added – homemade ornaments, our Dickens Village, Christmas china, photos. It was one thing a year, for 55 years. As we look around, our decorations are really the reminders of the warmth of our memories. It isn’t just the stuff. It is the memory it evokes.
Traditions build deep roots, especially if they have these 4 components:
- VALUE – Celebrate your values
- EVENT – Plan an event with the people you love and care about
- RITUAL – Repeat your event
- TRADITION – The next generation continues the celebration
MASTER GARDENER
Wisdom from our Master Gardener can be found in the Bible’s New Testament:
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7 [NIV]
So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught . . .
2 Thessalonians 2:15 [NASB]
“As you were taught” reminds us that we are learning, teaching. and repeating. Learn from our Heavenly Father, teach our children, and repeat to create the tradition. The ritual is repeating it within our own family. The tradition is the fruit when the next generation decides to embrace is as well.
WEEDING – WHEN TRADITIONS GO WRONG
Not all traditions are worth keeping. It could be an event that was just too much work. Homemade Christmas cookies with an explosion of sugar sprinkles and icing all over the kitchen and dining room – not Joyce’s favorite. This was a one time event, not a repeated ritual. After 55 years of trying different things, bringing decor out, putting it all back in storage, we figured out what we CAN do and what we will CONTINUE.
Evaluate your personal experience – did your family of origin have a ritual (food, cultural, religious) that you want to continue as a tradition? If there was no ritual for a particular holiday/event, do you want to create one with your own family?
What needs uprooting? Omit any traditions that were hurtful or “too much” emotionally. Weed out the traditions that had no value since they are not worth the effort.
Common excuses for not building traditions:
I am busy.
I am tired.
Turn that PERIOD into a COMMA!
I am too tired, so I am going to ask for more help with . . .
I am too busy, but I next year I am going to . . .
Yes, I am tired. Yes, I will be busy. However, I want to be tired with lots of memories!
Hear more at our Resource Library!