This article is reprinted from Celebrate Green
Recently, on our “Celebrate Green!” radio show, we spent some time talking about traditions: what they are, why they are important, and how to create them.
We also discussed the idea that while it’s absolutely possible to celebrate green with green decor, green food, and green gifts, one of the most meaningful ways to celebrate green is to put people first. Carrying on old traditions or establishing new ones are great ways to do so.
What qualifies an event or activity as a tradition?
Technically speaking, a tradition is “information” that is passed forward from people in the past to people in the present, often within a familial, cultural and/or religious context. This “information” usually comes in the form of practices or customs which hold deep meaning, significance and often power. Traditions help people feel a sense of identity and belonging. They create a connectedness with the past and a hope for the future.
In many families, holidays and celebrations are made up of old and new traditions, the exact mixture decided upon consciously or on the other hand, evolving organically over time.
But an activity doesn’t necessarily have to be passed on from one generation to the next to be called a tradition in your home. Traditions can be started by anyone and used for as long as they suit those who are enjoying it. After all, every tradition started somewhere. We doubt that the first time Lynn’s husband’s mother, True, put a little elf on top of the Christmas tree instead of an angel, she planned on starting a tradition, but 70 years later, the elf is still staring down from our tree and True’s great-grandchildren help put it there every year. Elfie definitely qualifies as a tradition.
Whether purposeful or accidental, once a pattern of behavior is established, in our book, it qualifies as a tradition. We encourage people to spend time thinking about their traditions and to create and/ or carry on traditions that they and their families can enjoy and be proud of.
What’s the importance of traditions to children and families?
A study initially published in 1987 found that alcoholism is less likely to be transmitted to the next generation when families make made a tradition of eating dinner together. Other studies have shown that family cohesion relates strongly with familial rituals. Tradition is the glue that helps mold a family, strengthen it and keep it together.
Imagine a family without traditions. No coming together at the table on Thanksgiving. No singing out Happy Birthday! No making mom breakfast on Mother’s Day. No meaningful activities to look forward to, to engage in together, to infuse with your personal touch.
Pretty bleak picture.
When we haul out the same Christmas ornaments our grandmother hung on her tree, it does more than create a surge of nostalgia. It links it to her in a real way. When we light the candles at Hanukkah or color our mashed potatoes green on St. Patrick’s Day or jump over a stick at New Year’s, the repetition helps to create shared memories and an experience to look forward to. The traditions themselves matter far less than what they represent: the opportunity to stop, to laugh, to be grateful, to enjoy each other. In doing so, we are building family and writing our story together.
What are ways that families can start, maintain, and incorporate traditions into their holiday celebrations?
Starting traditions is fairly simple. Maintaining them can be a challenge. Seems to us that the best ones begin organically, that is, they emerge accidentally because they are fun or silly or meaningful. Setting out a decree to do things in a certain way in hopes that it will become a tradition is like telling your child to clean her room in hopes she will want to do it every day.
That doesn’t mean you should not encourage your children to make their costumes instead of buy them at Halloween. But the expectation that they will whole-heartedly embrace your idea and want to do it for the rest of their childhood and hand it down to their children, may lead to disappointment.
Instead, focus on ways to bring creative and meaningful ideas to your celebrations in a way that is most appealing to you and your children. You can do this by – focusing on people over things (for your child’s birthday each year, suggest each guest bring a new or gently used toy for a needy child, then accompany the birthday child to the donation center); by focusing on fun (each New Year’s Eve, enjoy a fondue dinner – on the floor) or focusing on meaning (on the anniversary of your deceased loved one’s death or birth, light a candle for them and let it shine while you eat dinner together as a family).
You can also put a new twist on old family traditions or re-start traditions that were abandoned long ago. If you want to know more about your old family traditions, interview your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. If they have journals and will allow you to read them, dig in!
For resources on creating new family traditions, do an Internet search or look in your local library. You’ll also find dozens of ideas in our book, Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family.
To make maintaining traditions easy, plan ahead and, if necessary, write traditions down on your event’s to-do list so things are not left to the last minute.
photo by Geir Halvorsen
