Family Traditions Passed on from Generation to Generation

Families who are close are drawn even closer for the holidays. This could be Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or holidays in other cultures. Other family celebrations such as family reunions, birthdays, and anniversaries are also a breeding ground for establishing traditions.
The traditions you hold today will be passed on from generation to generation. The good family habits you develop today with your own family will be passed on to your grandchildren and their grandchildren.
Christmas is a good place to start; of course, not everyone in the world celebrates Christmas, but for the families that do, the holiday reminds us of how life began. Christmas in our home actually starts on Thanksgiving Day, the day we erect our Christmas tree, so I will combine these 2 holidays in my story.
On the eve of Thanksgiving, we set our bread machine for a batch of homemade Newfie Bread. It is an old family recipe of molasses, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The recipe has been passed on from generation to generation in our family. Growing up, my grandmother would wake up at 4AM to knead the bread by hand. The children would awake to the aroma of the holidays. Today, it is a little easier with the invention of the bread machine. Just load it up the night before and awake to the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg.
While mother prepares the Thanksgiving feast, the girls and I set up the Christmas tree. We have been practicing this tradition since our first child was born. In the background, the sounds of Christmas carols are played softly through the stereo while the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is showing on the TV.
Decorating the tree is like reliving the many Christmases past as each child hangs the ornaments they made themselves in previous years. Some artifacts are 10 years old or more. When it comes time to top the tree, the smallest child is hoisted overhead for the finishing touch. The countdown begins for the official day.
Christmas Eve holds traditions of its own. Just like Thanksgiving, the bread machine is loaded Christmas Eve, so the family will awake to the smell of Christmas. Just before retiring off to sleep, the children make a cup of hot chocolate for every member of the family and one for Santa. We gather round the fire while I read “Twas the Night before Christmas.” We started this tradition for our first family Christmas and have never missed a year.
Like most other families around the world, we have traditions at other holidays like hiding eggs at Easter and fireworks for the 4th of July. We decorate our golf cart for the firework celebration. We still have stars from the very first time we did this as a family.
The lesson learned here is that by practicing family traditions, you and your family will become closer and closer each year. Your children will grow up with good family values. They will cherish the memories of the family traditions and start their own family traditions with their children. When you see your smallest grandchild place the star on the tree for the very first time, you may just cry. Every time you and your family members smell cinnamon and nutmeg, your memories will be stimulated with delight