VALUING HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

Holiday traditions provide connections...

Many of us treasure holiday traditions, most of which are passed from one generation to the next. This past weekend my family got together at my son’s lake house to celebrate  the Family Pre-Christmas PJ Celebration. A new family tradition we began as one of the ways we ensure everyone spends time together during the busy season in a relaxed, beautiful environment free from distractions. An extremely enjoyable event we all look forward to with anticipation. It was fun to hear the loud laughter and joyful conversations amongst the generations coupled with the sharing in preparation of meals, fun music , games and good wine.

Today I was thinking about why traditions like this one are important. Though I believe the reasons may seem very basic, they have much deeper meaning. For instance---Traditions:

1.     Provide connection to family, friends, lost loved ones and past experiences.

2.     Instill pride and give us an opportunity to share, laugh and play.

3.     Help strengthen relationships from one generation to the next.

4.     Allow us to share stories, celebrate passed memories while building  new ones.

5.     Lend an avenue for engaging persons of various cultures in conversation.

6.     When positive, help us build community.

7.     Give us opportunity to celebrate each other and the life we have been gifted.

These are a few reasons I came up with when thinking about the value of traditions. How about you? Do you have traditions you hold dear; what makes them special? Do you think traditions hold value?