Most of the time, a tradition is something that is passed on to you, from the way you were raised and the traditions your parents taught you. Some, can be as simple as reading, "The night before Christmas" on Christmas Eve night or as complex as making sure to eat certain items in your Christmas meal, following a recipe passed down from generation to generation. Where does one find tradition, from a family that spent the Christmas holiday going to meetings, or sitting around watching television? What are traditions you can do, and explore? Why even have a family tradition? All of these were questions that passed threw my mind, as I exited the Witness lifestyle and explored my new found freedom.
While it is easy to see why people might think Christmas is all about presents and buying. It is also about family, joy and simply making the most of your life and the life of others you share this time in history with. When we leave the Witnesses, and find ourselves standing in a Christmas tree lot, trying to figure out what we like and dislike. It is common for use to feel at times, "this is foolish," and maybe even give up on even trying to bring a Holiday into our lives. Then as time goes by, and we bring that tree home and find ourselves decorating it, sharing the time with our children and actually filling the house with the smell of that tree. We soon feel something swelling from within, an inner voice saying, "This is fun, I feel happy." Of course, we do this with the windows closed the first year, hoping that no one actually sees us, but we get better in time. This moment though, is step one into opening up a world that has far more too it.
When my spouse and I started celebrating Christmas, like many others in our same shoes, we did it like robots. We did what we thought people did, we bought what we saw others buying and we said what others said. That was all fine and dandy, but then a child came into our lives and we wanted that child to learn something about the Holidays, that we did not. Not about simply doing this, on this date and doing that on another. Rather we decided to take an active role in making things traditional, and fun. We did things as foolish sounding to some, as wearing Santa hats while we decorated the tree. To as complex an idea as deciding that we would bring Christmas gift out on the Winter Solstice each year (Normally around 12/21), rather then trying to play the Santa Claus game, and yet we still open our gifts on Christmas morning. I can truly tell you, it drives little children nuts looking at gifts for four days, but the excitement in the air is fun.
These little traditions, habits and others that we have done. More numerous then I could list hear today, have become things we love and enjoy. They are things we talk about year round. We even bought special coffee mugs to drink our Christmas morning hot chocolate in, when we saw the perfect ones in July. We enjoy this time, we make the most of this time, and that is what the Holidays are about, when you see them for what you make them. Sure, there are the gifts and the buying, but that can be down played considerably, if you take the time to make this holidays something to you. Trust me, some things stay and some things you do, will never be done again. That is just part of the learning process, and what happens in a natural growth period.
When I look back now and remember that first Christmas after leaving the Witnesses, I chuckle a bit. Our tree was kind of pathetic, are ornaments were kind of limited and cheap. We did not do much for dinner, or gifts, as we did not really know what we really wanted. I am just so thankful, we stuck with it, and made the most of it. As time has made the traditions grow, from a seed of attempting to see what we like to things I know my son will one day pass on to his own children. He will sit there telling them stories about how we wore those Santa hats, and how we had the best hot chocolate on Christmas morning, or maybe how we took a family picture in the mountains each year to send with our Christmas cards. In all cases, they will be something unique to us and something that will forever be seen as a family tradition. Born from nothing more then desire, but made strong in persistence and hope. That is why I believe strongly in tradition, and wore my Santa hat today while I decorated my tree.
So what traditions have you brought into your lives?