Traditions are a fun thing! In a family, things are always changing. School starts after what seems like a short summer vacation, kids move up to a new grade in school with a new teacher, family members grow up enough to move away, leaving the younger siblings at home. What is it that keeps us all connected? Well, one thing is our family traditions. Take a moment to think about your favorite family traditions. Some of them have been celebrated since you were a child in your family growing up. Maybe you have forgotten or would like to know some of the traditions celebrated in your family history. What did you grandparents or great grandparents do for fun? When my maternal grandma, Norma, was a little girl a extra special treat would be to share an apple around the kitchen table. In our home, an apple is not a treat. It is one of the servings of fruits and vegetables we must sometimes force ourselves to eat each day. But knowing and remembering that it was a treat for my grandma helped me to be more grateful for apples. They really are a sweet treat! Another tradition my family has had for generations is to go on a picnic up one of the many canyons near where we live. I haven't done this for a while, so I'm going to make a plan to do it soon while the leaves are beautiful. We would take the dog, pack up the car and stay for hours. Us kids would play in the stream or river close by, and mom and dad would take a rest in the camping chairs, sometimes dozing off. We would collect rocks and leaves. What fun! With the holiday season coming up, think of some of your family traditions from the past that may become forgotten and bring them alive! Another thing you could do is research traditions that were common in the land and places your ancestors came from and make them a part of you our family traditions. As I've shared with you in the post you will find here, my maternal grandpa's family were Welsh. A tradition in Wales was for a man to give a love spoon to the girl here wanted to marry. Because I know that was a tradition in Wales it means more to me. I think my ancestors would have liked that tradition too.
One funny family tradition that started years ago was this. First for many years and mostly while my children were small, we would watch "It's a Wonderful Life" on Christmas eve. Then one year we couldn't find the movie. We looked and looked. So one of the kids said, "Lets watch 'What About Bob?'" We love that show at our house, but it's not a very "warm fuzzy" Christmas type of show. My darlin' and I said, "OK!" So now "What About Bob?" is our traditional Christmas eve movie. It's fun to have traditions! They make family time the best time! Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy
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