Keeping Christmas Traditions
Probably the most memorable traditions that families participate in and remember for generations are Christmas traditions. While it can be something as simple as passing on a very special Christmas ornament or as complicated as cooking a special Christmas meal using treasured family recipes, the Christmas traditions of today will continue to affect generations for years to come.
Just about every family has some Christmas tradition that they participate in, whether it be actively or passively. Little things like baking a special kind of Christmas cookie each year, gathering around the piano on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols, or decorating the Christmas tree with a collection of very special Christmas ornaments. These are all examples of family traditions that can be handed down from generation to generation. The most important thing about keeping a family Christmas tradition alive throughout the decades is to make sure you do them on a regular basis. While the Christmas season can be hectic for everyone involved, carrying on the family tradition is what makes Christmas such a special and memorable event for everyone. The stress and problems that may seem to consume you today will all be forgotten in the years to come, but the memories of your family Christmas traditions will last a lifetime for everyone involved.
Of course, you may not have a family Christmas tradition or don’t like the ones that you do have. In that case, it’s never too late to star a family tradition that can be carried on well into future generations. Creating your very own family Christmas tradition is easy to do and will unify your family together during the holiday season. You can start in a variety of different ways, and you don’t necessarily have to wait for Christmas to roll around to get started. Starting a collection of special holiday items that can be prominently displayed during the Christmas season is a great family tradition that the whole family can participate in together. This might include collecting some handmade nativity scene figurines and placing them on the table as a centerpiece, collecting traditional holiday nutcrackers and lining them up along the fireplace mantle, or collecting some very special and unique Christmas ornaments that can be placed on the Christmas tree together as a family. No matter what you decide to start collecting, these items and the traditions that go along with them are easily passed down from decade to decade and will greatly affect future generations. Just imagine how a family member a hundred years from now will enjoy placing that little wooden Christmas ornament you bought today on their tree in the future. They might reflect on how that ornament got there or how the tradition began. It’s a powerful feeling to know that your actions today could still affect how future generations will act.
You can also adjust or add to an established family Christmas tradition by updating, modernizing, or adding to it. Some family traditions involve cooking recipes that may not be as easy to create or enjoy today. With more people today being vegetarians, going gluten-free, or just avoiding fatty foods, some of the past generations’ traditions need to be adjusted slightly to appeal to the modern family. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with changing these family traditions, as long as the spirit of the tradition carries on and continues to unify the family as one. Replacing shortening with butter in your great-grandmother’s Christmas cake recipe is perfectly okay and does nothing to diminish the importance of your great-grandmother’s efforts, so don’t be afraid to improve upon a tradition that could use a little boost to keep it going for generations to come.
The point of having and maintaining a family Christmas tradition is to keep you all connected from one generation to the next. Tradition gives everyone something to hold on to and reminds us of what’s really important during the hectic and fast-paced holiday season…family. The family traditions that were created in the past have influenced you today, so those that you carry on will also influence the next generation and beyond. Just remember that it doesn’t matter what the family Christmas tradition is, as long as it brings your family closer together and allows you to appreciate each other as individuals and the family as a whole. These are the things that will be remembered today, tomorrow, and forever.
Written by Chrysta Baker
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