How to Create Family Traditions

On May 1st Sops and I woke up at sunrise and washed our faces in the morning dew. Why? You ask. Because the fairies will grant us blemish-free skin for the year. British women have been following this ancient custom for centuries (until the Puritans banned it, but they ban everything). My mum used to drag my sisters and me out of bed early on May 1st to wash our faces in the dew. Now I am going to do the same with Sops because it is a family tradition.

Family Traditions are so important. They help build memories and stronger bonds between family members and generations. When my parents first got married they talked about their family traditions. They talked about which traditions they wanted to keep for their own family and which ones no longer seemed relevant to them. They also created new traditions as the family grew. I am not sure what traditions my father bought to the family, but my mum bought all sorts of rituals both pagan and Christian for us to enjoy together. It certainly broadened our horizons. It gave us a better sense of who we are as a family unit and a greater appreciation of history and culture. The traditions were also fun and something to look forward to.

The Benefits of Having Family Traditions

There is so much more to family life than just living with each other and arguing over who is going to wash the dishes. Special occasions are really worth living for, and they are even better when you include customs to the occasion. Here are some reasons why family traditions are so important:

• Traditions strengthen the sense of community in the family unit
• They give children a sense of security
• They create memories. It is easier to remember an event in the past if it is associated with a repeated action.
• Different generations in the family come together and share in a time honoured tradition.
• It gives members of a family and the wider community a sense of belonging.
• Traditions strengthen cultural and religious identity in families

For more in-depth reasons on why Family Traditions are important I recommend reading The Mommy’s University post, “The Importance of Family Traditions“.

How to Create New Traditions

I am sure you already have dozens of ideas for traditions you want to try with your family. They may be traditions from your own background or something you have learnt from elsewhere. Be sure to discuss the idea with all the members of the family to see if everyone wants to try it out. Nine times out of ten they will. This is because people like traditions that bring them together and give them a sense of belonging. However, some traditions just cause embarrassment and can cause tensions. Don’t let a tradition get in the way of having good quality family fun, as Steve does in the Christmas movie, “Deck the Halls”.

Adopt a Family Tradition

As I mentioned before, my mum introduced a lot of traditions into the family when she married my dad. I have chosen to carry out quite a few of those traditions in my own family. I have also shared these traditions with my friends, and some people have liked them so much they have adopted them into their own families. Here are some ideas for you to adopt and share with others.

New Year’s Eve

We have tartan blood running in our veins so we celebrate the Scottish Hogmanay. This includes designating someone to bring in the new year. They would stand on the doorstep just before midnight and ring the doorbell at 12:00am. They would be welcomed into the house and bring in bread, salt, coal and a bottle of bubbly. The bread is so the household will never know hunger. The salt is to bring flavour into the home. The coal is so the home will only know warmth. Many houses don’t have coal fires these days, so I have substituted the coal for a candle that brings both warmth and light. And of course, the bottle of bubbly is for good cheer. We all sing Auld Lang Syne, watch the London fireworks on TV and eat some more yummy party food; then retire to bed.

The next morning I encourage Sops to write New Year’s Resolutions. Some of these resolutions are just hopes for the year, such as going on holiday. It is interesting reading back on resolutions at the end of the year to see how much we did in the year. I was pleasantly surprised I was still able to fulfill quite a few resolutions by the end of 2020, despite all the restrictions. I think I may keep that particular list for prosperity’s sake.

Lent & Easter

Lent and Easter are very important times in the Christian calendar. We stuff our faces with pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and fast on Ash Wednesday. We go to mass on Ash Wednesday and decide what we will do or give up throughout Lent. Admittedly, I tend to focus on losing weight in Lent. I see little point going on a diet midwinter or exercising in the bitter cold. I wait until spring is on the horizon and the weather to warm up before I try to lose the Christmas pouch. At Easter, it’s back to stuffing our faces again with chocolate and lots of fun games, which you can read here.

Birthdays

I must admit we didn’t have any really strong birthday traditions in my household. We were a large family so we just celebrated a birthday within the family unit rather than hold lavish parities for each individual. Mum would make a cake that was usually themed to something the birthday child liked at the time. Also, we all wanted a chance to blow out the candles, so after the birthday child blew out the first candles mum and dad had to relight the candles so the rest of us could have a turn. Siblings, eh! The Meaningful Mama has some more ideas on birthday traditions to try with your child. I think I may adopt one or two ideas for Sops.

Summer

There are so many wonderful events that happen in the summer around the world I thought I would just suggest a few ideas to celebrate the best season of the year (in my humble opinion).
May 1st Wash your face in the dew.
June 2nd Coronation day. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2nd June 1953. There tends to be a gun salute to honour the day. However, next year will be a Platinum Jubilee year, so expect an extra bank holiday and street parties.
June 19th Father’s day. Go out with your dad and have an awesome day.
June 21st Summer Solstice. Practising Pagans tend to travel to Stonehenge to mark midsummer. I tend to watch Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Do you have any custom to mark the longest day?
July 4th I am from the UK, so I am not about to celebrate the day when America gained Independence from Britain. But for all our American cousins across the pond the Explore Parents website gives some great ideas on how to celebrate 4th July.

All Hallow’s Eve

When we were children we used to celebrate Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night together. We used to dress up and have a party with apple bobbing etc and conclude the evening with a bonfire and fireworks. But my dad decided to ban that celebration as it was so un-Christian. I can understand the reasons, but we were disappointed. Halloween actually means All Hallows Eve and it is actually the eve of All Saints Day, so many churches now celebrate a Night of Light party with the children.

Another way to honour our loved ones who have gone before us is to celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). This day is celebrated by Mexicans and Latinos. It’s bright and colourful and full of hope and celebrates the wider family community both alive and dead. I think this is much nicer than trying to scare the living daylights out of each other.

Guy Fawkes Night

Guy Fawkes was a Catholic terrorist. He plotted with other wealthy Catholics to blow up the government whilst King James 1st opened parliament. The plot was discovered on 5th November 1605. Guy Fawkes was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Every year people from the UK burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes and set off fireworks to celebrate the foiling of the gunpowder plot.

Thanksgiving

I love the story of Thanksgiving. Here in the UK, the closest we have to Thanksgiving is the Harvest Festival. But it’s not as big as Thanksgiving is in the USA. As a Brit I don’t think I can really advise on how to celebrate a unique American Feast, so I recommend you read Shari Stamps post on 5 Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Thanksgiving.

Advent

Advent is the lead up to Christmas. It is a time of preparation for the big event and people hold their own traditions over the Advent season.

There is one tradition our family has held over the years, which I have adopted in my own home and that is ‘singing carols around the wreath’. Every Sunday of Advent we invite friends to our house and sing carols around a candlelit wreath. Then we eat party food and just enjoy fellowship with each other.

For more ideas of things to do in Avent check out our post 24 Activities to do in Advent

Christmas

It’s the big one. The major festival is at the end of the year. The one that you have been saving for all year round. You have decorated the house. You have been cooking all month long. The presents are under the tree and you have tucked your overexcited little darling into bed after reading, ‘The Night before Christmas’, or in our case, ‘The Father Christmas letters, by J.R.R Tolkein. I am sure you already have loads of wonderful family traditions for Christmas, but if you want to adopt some more take a peek at this post on whychristmas.com.

What are your Family Traditions?

As we build a great International Community of One Child Families on this site, it would be great to know what your traditions are. Please do share some of your favourite family traditions in the comments box below. You never know, another family may want to adopt the idea.