I’ve always struggled with holiday traditions. It’s something I’ve thought about over the years in my quest to understand myself and the world, but certainly not something I’ve ever arrived at a decision about. I have no set mental system for traditions; similar to my egg conundrum, I find myself going back and forth every time I consider the options.
Perhaps this requires an explanation? I suppose.
For ease and relevance, let’s just take Christmas traditions for example, shall we?
My family always opened presents Christmas morning, cooked all afternoon, and had a giant meal with my extended family on Christmas evening, at my parents’ house. Seitz family traditions boiled down as simply as possible.
This year, I am not going to my parents’ house, I don’t know when during the day I’ll open presents, and there will be no sit-down meal at all – I decided I’m tired of cooking and that I will just have an abundance of snacks for all who knock on my door. (Feel free to show up. Bring your favorite mug, I’m making hot chocolate.)
And I have no guilt about completely ignoring the Seitz family traditions – I’m not doing anything wrong, per se. And I actually feel strongly that breaking tradition can not only be healthy, but even healing, in some situations.
But…am I missing something?
The Jewish culture is well known for its rich and frequent traditions: certain meals for certain holidays, family recipes passed down for generations, and songs sung together around the table just as they were hundreds of years ago. Although I have little experience in Jewish culture, my understanding is that their traditions allow for processing of feelings, for proper understanding of the importance of life and death, for a sense of belonging. The deeply-rooted traditions provide a constant thread reaching down from the Hebrews in Egypt to the young Jew in Brooklyn. There’s something incredibly beautiful about that, isn’t there?
So, am I missing that? Is my millennial, we-do-things-how-we-want-to attitude depriving me of some of that richness? Or am I simply doing what is best for me on this particular day of this year?
I would love to hear your thoughts! What traditions do you keep, if any? Have holiday traditions been valuable in your life? Or has there been more power in breaking them?
Regardless of how traditional you are or are not this year (or other holidays), I do still want to say to you, my faithful fellow journeyers: Merry Christmas, and may your hearts be bright.
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