Establishing Family Traditions

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By C S Lewis

As Christmas is drawing closer, I find myself remembering all the family

traditions my parents established long ago. Even now, as a married young adult, I
still look forward to my family's annual Christmas-Eve Family Program with
childlike excitement. I have reflected lately on what it was my parents did to
instill in me the innate desire to participate in our family traditions; whether
it was over the holidays or throughout the year with our other special annual
family events, I have always anxiously anticipated our gatherings. So, what is it
that makes a family practice a "tradition?" I believe there is a basic format to
creating family traditions, and it involves three things: attendance, preparation
and timeliness.
In order to create a family tradition, strive to have all family members present
during the initial "formation" process. Having all family member present gives
children a sense of belonging and comfort, and children will also understand that
this new event/ordeal is special because everyone is gathered together. Make it a
point to engrave in everyone's mind the importance of the tradition you are trying
to establish and encourage involvement and ask for others thoughts. Those in
attendance should have a say in how activities and events are orchestrated.
Traditions will provide children and adults with something to look forward to
throughout the year, so it is important that everyone give their input on how they
want to celebrate a particular family activity. Before these traditions are set in
stone, they have to be held regularly at least two times in a row and all family
members should try to be present; this will engrave upon the minds of all present
that this family gathering is more special than the typical, every day happenings.
Prepare for this big family event in any way you can. If you plan to make a family
program, create an actual program that family members can follow along with and
hold in their hands. If it is an event of some kind, make invitations your young
children will love to receive. Set the invitations on pillows and request a
response of whether or not they will attend. This will add to the level of
importance the children place on the family tradition. The more planning,
preparation and time you put into your tradition, the higher the value that will
be held for the family event. If you want to create lasting memories, make all
possible efforts to produce a family function that everyone will not only want to
participate in during their childhood growing years, but throughout their adult
lives as well. I know I have a yearning to go home to my parent's house for the
holidays and see who will win the title for the "2009 Christmas Spirit Award." It
may sound silly, but it was the award I wanted to receive ever since I was five
years old. I think I won it every year for the first couple years since I was the
oldest and the baby siblings were not quite eligible for the noble title.
Any time is a good time to bring the family together; creating traditions,
however, is best done when families are young and children's minds are imaginative
and still forming. If certain dates and times are deemed of the upmost importance
in young children's minds, they will continue to value that tradition throughout
their life and may even believe the tradition is just a way of life within their
family. Establishing traditions when children are in the teen stages can be more
difficult because some teenagers may try to create their own personal traditions
that involve hanging out with friends and not family members.
By striving to place importance on family togetherness when children are young,
you can better your chances that your children will always value the time your
family spends with each other. Embrace the principles of family attendance for
family events, preparing for family activities and beginning traditions while
children are still young. Make your family traditions as special and unique as
each member or your family is.