Every family has their own traditions for holidays. Whether it was planned or it just fell into place, traditions are part of what make holidays special.
Some traditions are unique for each specific family while others may feel unique but are surprisingly quite common. Unique traditions are always fun to talk about because they are so different from what other people experience on the same day. Some are more serious – for example, maybe the same person says a prayer before the meal at each holiday. Other traditions are more comical. For example, in a friend’s family Graandpa always gets the first piece of cake, no matter the occasion; holidays, birthdays (anyone’s birthday, not just his own). Not all families experience it, but for this family it’s become a tradition for all get-togethers – if the first piece is haanded to someone else, it’s automatically pick back up aand given to Graandpa, because it doesn’t feel right any other way.
Thanksgiving is a holiday full of family traditions because the holiday primarily revolves around food. For many families, the holiday just wouldn’t be the same without pumpkin pie, or apple pie. For others it’s the green bean casserole that makes Thanksgiving dinner complete. For one boy, it’s canned cranberry sauce. He will not eat homemade cranberry sauce; if he can’t see the rings of the can he won’t eat it aand his Thanksgiving feels incomplete. As the family started talking to their friends about how this funny tradition started, they learned that a lot of their friends had someone in their family that was the same way. This tradition that they thought was so different aand unique to their family was actually a tradition that a lot of other families had too. When it comes to food, it is fascinating to see how it has the ability to bring people together. It gives people commonalities. Everyone comes together with food.
What special holiday traditions do you have in your family?