Thursday, March 18, 2004
Traditions
It's post-St. Patricks day, and I completely forgot about the day. Well, I'm not Irish, so maybe I'm forgiven. In my blog travels, I found the nicest St. Patrick's day blog banner over at Kari's.
An email from M2 got me thinking about traditions and what we pass down to our children. I lived a scattered life, moving from here to there and back again. About the only family traditions I remember were the Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings at my grandparents home. The Fourth of July was another big gathering, as the front porch and steps of my grandmother's home were filled with relatives and friends, watching the passing parade. Moving, and sharing many step-mothers along the way, made it difficult to keep anything as a good family memory. And the holiday gatherings at my grandparents homes disappeared with the death of my grandmother when I was 14.
Oh, we've tried to establish something that is memorable, like everyone making their own Christmas ornament every year. But the remnants of that one-time event merely show up on the tree every year. In thinking about M2, who has an Irish family heritage, the sense of tradition seems right. She cooked yesterday, corned beef and cabbage, and had a houseful of her daughters, their spouses and friends. Her daughters look forward to this every year, and shows a wonderful aspect of tradition; it binds people together. I saw that in my childhood at my grandparents, where aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins and great grandparents would gather. I don't remember my grandmother ever bending under the pressure of cooking for sixteen, or that family squabbles prevented so-and-so from coming. Even as a five year old, I looked with anticipation for the holidays at my grandparents home.
Is it too late to begin traditions? I think not, but it will take consistency, planning, and spontaneous happiness. Maybe a new tradition will be started later this year. Or tomorrow.
À bientôt!
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An email from M2 got me thinking about traditions and what we pass down to our children. I lived a scattered life, moving from here to there and back again. About the only family traditions I remember were the Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings at my grandparents home. The Fourth of July was another big gathering, as the front porch and steps of my grandmother's home were filled with relatives and friends, watching the passing parade. Moving, and sharing many step-mothers along the way, made it difficult to keep anything as a good family memory. And the holiday gatherings at my grandparents homes disappeared with the death of my grandmother when I was 14.
Oh, we've tried to establish something that is memorable, like everyone making their own Christmas ornament every year. But the remnants of that one-time event merely show up on the tree every year. In thinking about M2, who has an Irish family heritage, the sense of tradition seems right. She cooked yesterday, corned beef and cabbage, and had a houseful of her daughters, their spouses and friends. Her daughters look forward to this every year, and shows a wonderful aspect of tradition; it binds people together. I saw that in my childhood at my grandparents, where aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins and great grandparents would gather. I don't remember my grandmother ever bending under the pressure of cooking for sixteen, or that family squabbles prevented so-and-so from coming. Even as a five year old, I looked with anticipation for the holidays at my grandparents home.
Is it too late to begin traditions? I think not, but it will take consistency, planning, and spontaneous happiness. Maybe a new tradition will be started later this year. Or tomorrow.
À bientôt!
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