How to Establish a Family Tradition

Families are known to have long standing traditions. When men and women venture away from their families, those traditions often fall by the wayside.
When a couple starts their life together, they not only merge their family's traditions, they create new ones that are uniquely their own.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• your family
• a little creativity

How to Establish a Family Tradition

1. First, look at past celebrations and traditions your family has practiced. Do you want to carry certain traditions on? Do you want to tweak them a little and add your own personal touch? Do you want to do something completely different?

2. A tradition can be anything from the family getting together for brunch every Sunday to exchanging special ornaments for Christmas.

3. Some traditions are common events. The evening meal shared by the entire family at one time has been lost by some, due to hectic work schedules and sporting events. Pick one or two nights a week and set them aside as family nights. Order in pizza and watch a movie or do something your family as a whole enjoys.

4. Celebrate religious traditions. Catholics observe Lent at Easter, Christmas and feast days of Saints. There is also Jewish Passover, Kwanzaa and Channukah. Rediscover your family's spiritual roots. Find out where your family traditions started. Have they changed? What can you do to make them your own?

5. What comes next? CELEBRATE! Celebrate your family and your heritage. The small things, as well as the big can all be special occasions.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep it simple. Start small. The traditions will grow and evolve with time.
• Involve all of the family.
• Be respectful of traditions that are already established.
• Teach children about their heritage. Many families today have a mix or ethnic backgrounds. Many old ways are being lost because they are not being passed down and taught to the younger generations. Honor the ancestors and keep the traditions alive. My sons and I are Native American. We don't live near a reservation, so what they have learned had to come from me. They learned most of what they know because I incorporated it into our daily life. From prayers, to respecting others, and appreciating our gifts, all this was taught to them through the honoring of our ancestors' traditions.