Two years ago, I was blessed to receive an offer to be published in the amazing magazine, Latter-Day Woman (link to article below). Especially since it’s a subject that is very dear to my heart: traditions.
Growing up, my family traditions were of both a typical and non-typical kind. For Christmas when I was a little girl, I was allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve. When I became a teenager, my younger sister and I began our own “naughty list” tradition where we would secretly open one or two presents early when our parents weren’t home. We were always given similar items. Each a new outfit, a CD and a movie. So we started having some fun and switching presents, then re-wrapping them and watching the look of confusion on our parents faces. But we were happy with our gifts, so they never said a word. Years and years later it’s become quite a funny story to tell.
As I’ve grown up, I’ve incorporated traditions from my husbands family, like items that go in a Christmas stocking, or what foods we might eat Christmas morning. We also started our own traditions, like creating our own ornaments, and celebrating Christmas traditions from our Irish and Scottish heritage.
Traditions are important. The tradition I kept with my sister wasn’t exactly the best one to brag about, but during a time where we were both hormonally crazy teenagers, often eager to pull one anothers hair out, it was something that bonded us. That’s what traditions do. They bring families and friends closer together. They create and build memories.
