Family Tradtions

With the festive season fast approaching, I am giving a thought or two to what I want my children to learn from this time of year. 

Living in a multi cultural city, with people from al walks of life, everyone seems to agree that this is an exceptional time of year. Even those that do not celebrate Christmas, find it a good time to catch up with loved ones, take a moment to reflect on their blessings, and to maybe think of giving back.

 I grew up away from my country and extended family, and now my children are doing the same. My parents made sure we knew where we came from and what was important to our family. We integrated into our new "home" easily and adopted numerous local customs, while staying true to our culture.

I give plenty of thought in my daily life to how I can remind my children of their heritage and their country of origin. While making sure they become "citizens of the world", accepting others and respecting differences, I would still like them to carry through life the special traditions that make our family unique.

Every holiday in our home is celebrated with great fanfare. We are the family with the huge birthday parties, the egg hunt in the backyard at Easter, and the Halloween treat makers to name a few. Having said that, the most celebrated holiday is Christmas, it is usually a whole month of activities. 

We marry our traditions of big meals, open door policy of one and all being welcome in our home, the house being decorated to an inch of its life, and the various traditions we have learned from our travels and interactions with a variety of nationalities. 

Raising children in today's consumer consuming society, bombarded day and night by social media marketing, constantly being told of a new and improved version of what they already have at home, makes it practically impossible to raise socially conscience and charity minded individuals. 

This is the time of year, to remind my children who they are, where they come from, what makes their family "their" family, how privileged they are, how Christmas is less about what Santa can bring, and more about what they can give to those less advantaged, and most of all those traditions that I would love for them to pass down to generations to come.

Christmas makes me reflect on those family members no longer with us. How to honor their memory, by making sure all their lessons and beliefs, are packaged and wrapped and gifted to those that have come after them.

Here is what I have learned: Traditions and customs are important to pass on to my children. To give them a base to grow from,  to give them a sense of stability, and to impart to them the significance of family and roots. 

Happy Festive Season to you and yours!