NationStates Jolt Archive

I have been thinking a lot lately about family traditions, and how cool they are. Since I have a family worth my time now (hubby and the kiddos) I thought it would be cool if we had some of our own. We don't have any heirlooms (you know like Great-grandma's wedding ring) so I guess those will have to start with me and I will be long dead before I see if any of that goes down, but just little traditions would be nice.

I have a friend who's family has a piggy bank that gets passed around the family whenever someone is having a tough time, they put notes in it about how they got through their own crisis and words of wisdom and such and then pass it on when someone needs it. I always thought that was cool.

My family (my old one that I grew up with) didn't really have any traditions at all. I think that might be one of the big reasons that I never really felt like I had a family.

So, anyway, I can't think of any good traditions to start..... does anyone's family have a cool tradition that I can borrow?

Our traditions are foodstuffs and assembling at Grandmas. Darn good ones, too.
Only thing, I gotta learn how to cook those foodstuffs, no-one else has bothered! :eek:

Chinese food and a movie on Christmas day.
Matzah brie on sunday mornings.
Passover cleaning.
I have a guitar that's gone father to son for 3 generations now.
Learning how to grow things.
Learning how to cook.

Lots of traditions, I suppose.

None that I know of:(

My mum always hides chocolate easter eggs around the house at Easter, and there's a huge Easter Egg hunt that morning with everyone trying to find theirs! Once, she hid one of mine in an old oven (waiting to be dumped, but my Dad can't bear to throw anything away EVER! Should see the attic!), and I didn't find it for two days! Nice treat, seeing all the other ones were long gone by the time I found that one!

Oh, and there's the Saturday night family video and take out night! My mother gets a video, take out (usually from the local chippie), soda, chips, cakes, then turns out all the lights, and everyone sits around, watching videos and eating themselves silly. I love Saturday night family video and take out night!

Try teaching your kids something enjoyable. My mum taught me how to knit and crochet, the knitting didn't stick all too well, but I did really well with the crochet. Now I'm making baby clothes and blankets that I can pass on to mine when they're older. And my mother is going to pass on the 'family' christening blanket she knitted before I was born (it's absolutely beautiful, it has to be seen to be believed!), when we christen out baby next Christmas!

Doesn't have to be knitting or crocheting, embroidery is good too, painting, sketching, scrap book making, anything that you can do with your kids and you can admire their efforts - works wonders when they're young, and they're so proud of such simple efforts! Never know, you might have the next multi millionaire artiste on your hands there!

Oooh, ooh, one more. Every Christmas Eve, my aunt (who lives six doors away) comes up, and together, we all prepare the Christmas dinner so that the only work to be done on it the next day is turn on the stove and let the veggies boil. So together, we all break open our favourite liquer and get horribly drunk so that the brussel sprouts look like the funniest things on the planet ever. Now, all this preparation normally should take 40 minutes to an hour, but we've often started at 9pm, and are still peeling potatoes at 1 in the morning. It's the best craic ever! Oh, and the kids too young to drink, usually just find it hilarious enough to sit and watch us for hours, laughing hysterically at us falling around the kitchen, before the excitement gets too much and they fall over asleep!

Back when my family was still in one piece, Dad used to take us up into the Cascades to buck (saw into splittable rounds) fallen trees for firewood. I can still smell the exhaust from his green Poulan chainsaw. We'd haul the wood into the family van and bring it home to stack on the back wall of the house to season under a tarp. Dad taught me to use and maintain the chainsaw and how to split the rounds for firewood using regular axe (cedar, pine, alder), a five pound maul (cherry, maple, Doug fir) or a wedge with the eight pound sledgehammer (anything remotely wet, knotted or branched). Later it would be just me and him, but I got to talk about all kinds of stuff in the time it took to get up to the mountains and navigate the Forest Service and logging roads. Valuable time and terrific memories, plus it heated the house every winter.

Hmm...

- Every New Years Eve, we make cheese dip and watch the ball drop in New York (we're on the west coast, so that means none of us is up too late).

- We open one present christmas eve (normally a small one), intended to both keep the peace between parents and children (the younger types). Normally its a book or something, since that keeps kids out of the living room while "santa" comes.

- Major holidays are a time of pranks, as well as merriment. As I got older, more and more my parents have given me a few, very inexpensive presents which were similar to what I wanted, and then given me the best present last. That kind of prank both keeps things interesting for an older child (who is less enamored of the whole Christmas thing), and makes everyone a bit happier. Easter egg hunts don't have to be boring either. With three boys of varying ages, we often see some of the most clever hiding places on Easter morning (use plastic or wrapped chocolate eggs, even hard-boiled, dyed eggs aren't good for carpet, or themselves if they fall).

- Since our family is a pack of book lovers, we often read different books to children when they reach a certain age. For example, at age five we were all read Bunnicula and Celery Stalks at Midnight (both by James Howe). At age 7, we were all read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. By age 9 we're all being encouraged to read less common titles, so family readings stop, but family book discussions don't (thanks to these, I've never had a problem writing a litterary analysis paper).

Maybe one of those will help.

My family's traditions are more focused on making our own events, rather than huge holidays and such. I mean, technically we have patterns of behaviour for the holidays, but what's more important are family reunions, school letting out, anniversary parties for the older generations, etc.

For instance -- the McCarty side of my family has a huge family picnic the same place every single year, and we all know about it WAY in advance, and you're pretty much unofficially shunned for a time if you miss it without a damn good reason. That's also when most of the major family announcements are made, and when we have our large-scale meeting and vote in new officers (that's right, we're a small-scale democracy). This year I intend to bring my boyfriend just so everybody can meet him en masse, and so they'll know (without me having to verbalise it) that it's a serious relationship and will probably last a looooong while. Like for life.

They're the only side of the family that's REALLY into things like that, though.

I was at my brother's wedding last summer (half-brother really). It was revealed to me there that it was a time-honoured family tradition that the oldest male sibling of the groom who was still not married, had to dance by himself in his socks.

I didn't believe them at first. I thought it was all a ploy to get me to dance in my socks in front of everybody. Then they sent a pretty red-head over with Zambucha and next thing you know, I'm dancing in my socks.

I get to see the incriminating evidence tonight.

okay so we already do the Chinese food on Christmas day thing, and the movie night.....

I like the idea of teaching them to do something that can be passed down, like knitting stuff.....

okay so we already do the Chinese food on Christmas day thing, and the movie night.....

I like the idea of teaching them to do something that can be passed down, like knitting stuff.....

Crochet I think is easier, and you can get really pretty patterns with some very basic stitches! Plus, you can get a really nice set of crochet hooks for, like $8 from a place called JoAnn's, it's six hooks, aluminium and all in different colours! Perfect for kids!

Crochet I think is easier, and you can get really pretty patterns with some very basic stitches! Plus, you can get a really nice set of crochet hooks for, like $8 from a place called JoAnn's, it's six hooks, aluminium and all in different colours! Perfect for kids!
yeah, but you have to count or your stuff turns out all wacky looking, I never could get the hang of it.

knitting however, as soon as you learn the stockingette (sp?) stitch you can basically zone out.

I was at my brother's wedding last summer (half-brother really). It was revealed to me there that it was a time-honoured family tradition that the oldest male sibling of the groom who was still not married, had to dance by himself in his socks.

I didn't believe them at first. I thought it was all a ploy to get me to dance in my socks in front of everybody. Then they sent a pretty red-head over with Zambucha and next thing you know, I'm dancing in my socks.

I get to see the incriminating evidence tonight.

LOL, last wedding I was at, the bride had to dance with a leprechaun! Apparently, in my hubby's family, they play pranks on the newest member of the family by doing something silly like that!

yeah, but you have to count or your stuff turns out all wacky looking, I never could get the hang of it.

knitting however, as soon as you learn the stockingette (sp?) stitch you can basically zone out.

My knitting always ended up going 20-30 rows up before I realise I dropped a stitch and the whole thing is unravelling. Making blankets, especially in a V stitch or a 'granny' pattern is really easy, and, yes, I've zoned out and watched TV while making the most recent crocheted blanket, and only a tiny few mistakes!

LOL, last wedding I was at, the bride had to dance with a leprechaun! Apparently, in my hubby's family, they play pranks on the newest member of the family by doing something silly like that!

Where did they find the leprechaun?

My knitting always ended up going 20-30 rows up before I realise I dropped a stitch and the whole thing is unravelling. Making blankets, especially in a V stitch or a 'granny' pattern is really easy, and, yes, I've zoned out and watched TV while making the most recent crocheted blanket, and only a tiny few mistakes!
hmm. I haven't dropped a stitch yet, but I guess I never truely zone out either, I am used to doing 30 things at once, I guess knitting doesn't require as much concentration as like crochet or embrodery, or even cross stitch... I hate cross stitch, too much counting. :p

Where did they find the leprechaun?

Don't you know anything?!? At the bottom of a rainbow of course!!! :D

Seriousy though, that suit can't have smelled in any way decent inside, yer man looked a bit green... :D

hmm. I haven't dropped a stitch yet, but I guess I never truely zone out either, I am used to doing 30 things at once, I guess knitting doesn't require as much concentration as like crochet or embrodery, or even cross stitch... I hate cross stitch, too much counting. :p

True about the cross stitch and the couting! Maybe I just like numbers! Hey, you could teach them to quilt - old clothes you know will never be worn again, and, well, without knees in the pants', are no good to thrift stores or Goodwil will have a whole new lease on life! And you'll have a bunch of very warm quilts for the winter, or teach your kids the value of giving, and donate them to a charity that caters for homeless people, hurricane relief, or poor and displaced people in other countries

Don't you know anything?!? At the bottom of a rainbow of course!!! :D

Seriousy though, that suit can't have smelled in any way decent inside, yer man looked a bit green... :D


They keep a costume around for this thing? Egads! I was hoping it was a real leprechaun. Been after that pot of gold for ages now...

Family traditions?

Well, my dad yelling at me almost daily and cutting off communication with my sister at least once every year have pretty much become tradition in my "family".

They keep a costume around for this thing? Egads! I was hoping it was a real leprechaun. Been after that pot of gold for ages now...

Nah, someting different every time. Unfortunately, my wedding, everyone was too busy bitching and moaning about my poor hubby, that I wasn't 'extended' the same 'privilege'

They keep a costume around for this thing? Egads! I was hoping it was a real leprechaun. Been after that pot of gold for ages now...

oh yeah, and best of luck finding a leprechaun, they're sneaky little bastards! ;)

Family traditions?

Well, my dad yelling at me almost daily and cutting off communication with my sister at least once every year have pretty much become tradition in my "family".
I'm sorry. :( that's the kind of crap that went on in my old family.

what type of traditions would you have if you got a new family?

I have a feeling you could come up with some good ideas.

I'm sorry. :( that's the kind of crap that went on in my old family.

what type of traditions would you have if you got a new family?

I have a feeling you could come up with some good ideas.

I don't really like the word "tradition" in the first place. I'd rather be progressive in that sense.

I have been thinking a lot lately about family traditions, and how cool they are. Since I have a family worth my time now (hubby and the kiddos) I thought it would be cool if we had some of our own. We don't have any heirlooms (you know like Great-grandma's wedding ring) so I guess those will have to start with me and I will be long dead before I see if any of that goes down, but just little traditions would be nice.

I have a friend who's family has a piggy bank that gets passed around the family whenever someone is having a tough time, they put notes in it about how they got through their own crisis and words of wisdom and such and then pass it on when someone needs it. I always thought that was cool.

My family (my old one that I grew up with) didn't really have any traditions at all. I think that might be one of the big reasons that I never really felt like I had a family.

So, anyway, I can't think of any good traditions to start..... does anyone's family have a cool tradition that I can borrow?

in my family all the babies have used the same bassinet -- it was my greatgrandmothers. it was a royal pain to drive it back to boston when my cousin had her baby -- it really would have been cheaper for me to have just bought one for my own kids after i rented a large enough vehicle to transport it -- but that's the big tradition.

my grandparents always keep a pad of paper by every phone. there was one down in the basement that we all starting writing little "love" notes to them on several years ago. it's pretty neat to look back on them -- there must be 10 years worth of them now.

i write a letter to each of my kids every year on their birthday. i haven't given them to them yet. i don't know when i will, maybe for a big birthday, or if they ever have kids of their own, or maybe they'll get them when i die. haven't figured that out yet.

Every year my dads side of the family went to my nana's and got very drunk durring the ABA parade in august.. thats all over now tho..

Theres sunday lunch at the golf course.. but I don't go to church with them any more.. I'm the satanist of the family!

Hrm..

Vacations to Wildwood, NJ. But Now I'm more of a laid back Cape May kinda guy.. what? ... they have good coffee and a B&J store..

I'm not really sure what our traditions are..

*shrugs*

Outside of the usual family gatherings based on holidays, one of my favourite family traditions was a special breakfast of pancakes every Sunday (usually topped with frozen strawberries and whipping cream).

Family traditions? We usually gather at my German granpa's and step-grandma's for Easter and Christmas. We always have potato salad for Christmas, and it used to be tradition for the kids to recite a poem or sing a song to open our presents. Now it's tradition for the kids to avoid that :D

We always have potato salad for Christmas...
I don't want to invoke Herder's unholy wrath, but perogies are far supierior to "potato salad". *nods*

I don't want to invoke Herder's unholy wrath, but perogies are far supierior to "potato salad". *nods*Not for Christmas :D

In my family, we we don't open our christmas presents until after 11am on Christmas day, we all get stocking gifts so it's not like we have nothing in the morning. Now I am the Mum, at midnight, my Canadian and I swap stockings and share our gifts, which caused us huge amusement because a couple of them were not for public consumption. In the morning, the children (17, 15 and 13 now) all come and 'show' us what they had in their stocking..even now. Then everybody gets dressed up, so it feels more special, we go get the turkey in the oven and get everything ready, then we make a pot of coffee and go and sit in the living room, where we take turns to give out a present from under the tree to everyone and then start to open, we all take a look at what we have got, before we move on.....

In my loft, I have the crib that all of my family have used, I also have a 120+ year old family christening gown, that my girls both wore, as did I and my Mum and her Mum.

I heard a program on the radio about family traditions, and a lady told a story about her family tradition. When ever she cooked a joint of meat, before she put it in the pan, she would cut a bit off of it, when her husband asked her one day why she did it, she said she didn't know, it was what her mother had always done. Out of curiosity, when she next saw her mother, she asked her about why she cut the bit of the joint of meat, and her mother said the same thing as her, because HER mother had always done it. Now both of them started to wonder and visited the grandmother especially to ask about it, they asked about why, when she cooked a joint of meat, she cut a lump off it first, and she said " I only had a small roasting pan and so I used to have to cut a bit off of the joint to fit it in the pan".

Traditions are sometimes so ingrained into how you do things, that you don't even realise that they are a tradition, until someone comes along and asks you why you do something the way you do.

There are cetain trifling things my immedeate family does every year but i hardly feel the habits of 2 people subsiquently forced onto their children counts as tradition. As for the rest of my family (dramatically reduced during world war 2 and never repopulated) if they have any they dont appear to like us enough to indulge us in them.

We have a Christmas tradition. Probably one of the only traditions in our family if not the only one. Jay, my little brother, gets a light bulb of some type each year. This year we almost forgot so we gave him a christmas light bulb...one of the little ones. LMAO!!! It was great!

It started when he was about 3, he's 17 now, we had gone up to my grandma's in Detroit for Christmas and he was tearing into one of his gifts from Grandma and out comes a thing of light bulbs.

Of course Jay being 3 at the time was like "LIGHT BUBLS?!?"

My dad looked at her and was thinking "Great, we're going to have to put her in a home already."
Grandma was like "OHHHHH! You weren't supposed to open those first!" LOL

They were to a toy. LOL *wipes tears and rubbs sore sides*

Ever since then Jay's gotten some light bulbs and each year he thinks he's gotten away from it but NO! He will ALWAYS get a light bulb.
BWAA HAA HAA!!!