“Invest in traditions – They are the glue that holds the pieces of life together”

January 15, 2011

Today’s Bit of Advice……

“Invest in traditions – They are the glue that holds the pieces of life together”

Tradition!  Tradition!  I love that song from “Fiddler on the Roof” when the father, Tevye, sings about the traditions that shape his Jewish culture and faith.  Traditions bind the family and community together and give a sense of stability and peace.

I am a huge fan of tradition.  Maybe even too attached to tradition sometimes.  I remember craving repetition and continuity right from an early age and I have always rebelled against change. Tradition makes me feel good. 

There are many things that become part of our family traditions – foods, celebrations, music, activities.  Some families have more traditions than others but each of us can find a least a few traditions that are an important part of life.

In thinking about the traditions important to me and my family I came up with an interesting list to share:

·         Christmas decorations – the fancy tree topper with colored lights we used when I was a child (we affectionately named it the “Polish Star” but I have no idea why), special ornaments I made as a child that had to be hung on the tree, a special nativity set given to us as a wedding gift.

·         Continuing with the Christmas theme – attending Midnight Mass, eating scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and playing “Peg’s Christmas Envelope Game” on Christmas Day to win lottery scratch-offs or cash.

·         Thanksgiving – my childhood was filled with special Thanksgiving traditions at my grandmother’s farm.  The food stands out as the biggest tradition:  Boiled oysters, creamed onions, dinner mints, Suet Pudding, and at least a dozen pies.  Fruit Salad was the most important traditional food (as memorialized in a book my sister wrote about Thanksgiving while in elementary school – she mentioned the Fruit Salad at least ten times!).  As times changed, so did our Thanksgiving traditions.  While the food remains mostly the same, where we eat it has changed.  Instead of gathering on Thanksgiving Day as an extended family, we now get together the day after for a variety of events that have become our new traditions.

·         Easter – It wouldn’t be Easter Sunday with “Simone’s Easter Bread”, some marshmallow Peeps, and a drive in the country.

·         The Catholic Church is a set of traditions unto itself and some of my important traditions take place there too.  My family has sat in the front pew at our church for forty years.   If someone else sits there and we have to relocate it feels very strange.   For many years, it was also a tradition for us to stop at the Golden Krust Bakery after mass for donuts.  Still feels funny now to only have the after church donuts on a rare occasion.

·         Music can become a tradition.  Before September 11, 2001 it was tradition to hear “Take Me Out To the Ballgame during the 7^th inning stretch.  Now we’ve become accustomed to hearing  “God Bless America” at that time (well, at least you do if you’re a Yankees fan!).  I remember several years ago when I attended a local rodeo and they asked the spectators to stand for the National Anthem.  Of course, my ears prepared to hear the “Star Spangled Banner”.  But, I guess, in rodeo the tradition is to perform  “God Bless USA” first.  Sort of like the overture to our National Anthem.  That was one tradition I wasn’t prepared for but have come to enjoy.

·         How we cook is another area of tradition.  I have certain casserole dishes I use for specific recipes.  I was thrilled the day I found an ugly,  oblong casserole dish at a garage sale for $1.00.  It was the same dish my mom always used for lasagna and apple crisp.  Those foods just don’t taste right in any other container.  I remember reading a story one time about a family who traditionally cut the end off the roast before cooking because “Grandma” did and it made the roast taste better (though they couldn’t explain why).  One day, someone asked “Grandma” why cutting the end off the roast made such a difference and she laughed, “I only cut the end off because the roasts were too long for my pan!”.  Traditions can make us do strange things.

When times are hard and life takes too many turns, it is a blessing to be able to fall back on the constancy of traditions for comfort.  Traditions remind us that no matter how much things change, certain things will remain constant.

Oh, and the reason I chose this Bit of Advice for today?  I’m spending Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on my annual MLK Outlet Shopping Trip with my mother and my sister.  We spend the day at the outlet’s in Lake George and have lunch at the Montcalm Restaurant where we dine on quiche and delicious scones with strawberry jam.  We go every year.  It’s tradition.  I love it!

Thank goodness for traditions.  “Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as….. as a fiddler on the roof!”

Hope you enjoyed the read.