How to Have a Strong Sense of Family Tradition

One necessary trait for having a healthy family is having a strong sense of family brought about with the observance of rituals and traditions. These create a strong sense of kinship that enables a family to withstand stress and disappointments down the road. Traditions give family members a sense of identity and belonging. All of us need to feel that we are not just a cluster of people living in one house, but a family that is conscious of it's uniqueness, personality, character and heritage. Traditions and rituals are what make our families unique. Simple or elaborate, they become the fabric of daily life.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Family
• A desire to create strong family traditions

How to Have a Strong Sense of Family Tradition

1. Family celebrationsThese are the occasions that mark rites of passage or holidays. Birthdays and first communions would be good examples among others.
2. Family TraditionsThese are occasions that your family chooses to observe repeatedly: reunions, vacations, and other special times.
3. Pattern of Family InteractionThese include the organization of daily life. Special dinner time or bedtime routines that are unique to your family can fall into this category.
4. The following characteristics have been observed in families that are strong in traditions and rituals:The family treasures; its legends and characters. What family doesn't have a character or story from the past that is passed on to future generations? Stories can be the basic ingredients of any group that resembles a family. Make the most of your characters and legends, rather than hiding them.
5. The Family Has a Person and/or Place That is its LocusMany families have one person who keeps track of everyone else and answers questions from other family members. Families often have a special place to which they return, an old family home, ranch or farm. This is a natural gathering place for family members.
6. The Family Makes a Conscious Effort to Gather as a PeopleAll families gather for weddings, funerals and other rites of passage. Those with a strong sense of clanship however, gather even when they don't have to. They deliberately plan reunions and look for opportunities to get together. In these families, it isn't necessary to wait for an invitation.
7. The Family Views Itself as a Link Between Past and FutureHealthy families talk about deceased relatives, visit cemeteries, look at pictures and old Bibles, and pass on memorabilia of the past.
8. The Family Honors its Elders and Welcomes its BabiesElders and toddlers are welcome at all family functions. They are viewed as contributing members of the family. There is interaction among all ages.
9. The Family Cherishes its Traditions and RitualsTraditions give us identity. We realize how easy it is to establish a tradition when we hear a small child say, "We always do it this way." One interesting fact about traditions is that we do them even if we don't like them. However, eliminating these traditions may cause rebellion.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider traditions in your family. You may be surprised to see how many you already have. Discuss traditions and rituals with other family members. They may identify some traditions that you didn't think of. Some traditions may become dusty over the years. They have been "put on the shelf." Is it time to bring them back? Traditions and rituals are the fabric from which our families are made. They are the spice, the qualities that make us unique and give us identity.

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