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Holidays lend themselves to traditions for many reasons. There are religious holiday traditions to help people remember or be grateful on an annual basis. There are family holiday traditions that... |
Holidays lend themselves to traditions for many reasons. There are religious holiday traditions to help people remember or be grateful on an annual basis. There are family holiday traditions that bind a family together through the years. There are national holiday traditions that perpetuate a feeling of loyalty and belonging. all of these traditions have come about by either design or by accident. But one thing remains, they serve a purpose for those who participate in any particular holiday tradition.
Family holiday traditions are the ones that most likely start spontaneously without design, but are simple elements of family gatherings that become repeated and cherished. They are often passed down through the generations. These holiday traditions can be about food, for instance. Some special dish that is served for a holiday treat and then is requested on a subsequent holiday or offered without realizing that it would become a mandatory part of that holiday’s menu.
Every family has some holiday traditions whether they realize it or not or whether they name them or not. A holiday tradition may be something as simple as taking a group photo together. Before you know it, the tradition has been going on for twenty five years and the family has grown and maybe there is even a new generation of children. And those children will remember taking a family picture at holiday time and understand that it is a holiday tradition and continue that tradition into their adult years and with their own children and so it continues.
A holiday tradition can be something much more elaborate than just a group photo. It could be that a family reunites from all over the country or the world over the labor day weekend, for instance. This tradition most definitely keeps a family connected. And it is a a tradition that cannot be spontaneous, but each member of the extended family must make plans. Some will need to travel. Some will act as hosts. Everyone will chip in to make meals, do chores, play games and yes, take group pictures, but the real tradition is the getting together every year at the same time.
Holiday traditions are not limited to the family setting. Business create and participate in holiday traditions. An example of this is the “Company Christmas Party”. Everyone has heard stories or attended one or more of these classic gatherings. The company Christmas party is a holiday tradition that is sometimes looked forward to with great anticipation and sometimes dreaded. It all depends on how much fun this holiday tradition has become and its reputation and its ability to attract and entertain and feed its attendees to the point of satisfaction and build the desire to participate in the holiday tradition the following year.
So whether the holiday tradition is Midnight Mass, a camp out at Lake Rickonda or strawberry and chocolate fondu, it can be one of the most important parts of celebrating any given holiday