Reason for the Season? Maybe!

In lieu of motherhood, pregnancy, newly married-ness, kitties, puppies, sugar, spice and everything nice- and oh yeah, I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR- I have been giving a lot of thought to seasonal, family and cultural traditions. Some of us find ourselves pleasantly nostalgic; lost in between this moment and another, long, long ago, as we gaze warmly at our lit up Christmas tree. Others of us, for our own personal reasons, despise most any and all forms of tradition- maybe because it has always shed a naked, sinister light on the hypocrisy of being human. All this being said, this particular entry is all about GOOD traditions, and my thoughts of keeping them up as well as building new ones.


What makes a good tradition is timelessness and sincerity. It has to keep up with the changing world- somehow preserving an ancient, perfect ideal or moral, without ever becoming stale and unreasonable. My family's traditions are classic and pretty common- baking on Christmas eve, carving pumpkins, insisting on getting a real tree and decorating it with a great deal of thought; apple pie, pumpkin pie, etc... in other words, the typical, American mix matched melting pot assortment of lovey-dovey feel good seasonal stuff. And I love it! With no shame. :) And why I love it is perhaps because it was the pinnacle time in which our struggling, tired, overworked, dysfunctional family truly operated out of humble, vulnerable and tender love. That's something too hold on to and continue celebrating. 


Of course, now that I am a mother and wife, I am super pumped about being the one who gets to show my kids our traditions and introduce a few new ones. Tristan and I found a really beautiful, gold communion set- which was likely intended for home calls to the sick- at a super neat store a few months ago, for next to nothing. Immediately, we thought the same thing- every Christmas dinner, before the beginning of the meal, to commence giving each other communion, in a celebratory, thankful and never dry way! 


The next one I am very excited about is, every year with family and friends, going carolling! With instruments, and loud, happy singing- and (of course) with some "christmas cheer" in convenient travel safe mugs. Carolling, unfortunately, is nearly lost on us all... nobody really seems to do it anymore! And what a shame! Because it's just so much fun. :) 


What traditions warm your heart? Do you have any traditions that you are excited to try out or continue on with that are new to your family? 


Until next time... :)