Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Traditions
In every life, every family, every community, long-held traditions are honored and maintained. What tradition do you and your family members, or friends, keep and why? Is the tradition important to you? How does it affect your life, overall? Complete your post prior to the end of today's class, and before reading Shirley Jackson's THE LOTTERY. The text of the story is available on my homework page, under "9th Grade Assignments". sites.google.com/site/picozzihomeworkpage/. HAVE A GREAT DAY and be good for Mrs. Demers.
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For as long as I can remember, my family has had Thanksgiving dinner at my house. We decorate the house in fall colors and invite other family from elsewhere to visit us and enjoy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThis tradition is importatnt to me for many reasons. First off, I love food and having Thanksgiving dinner at my house every year means there are always leftover turkey and desserts that I can eat. For a better reason, hosting the dinner at my house lets me see all of my family that I usually don't see much throughout the year. My family is very very large and it's hard to get together with everyone.
My life is affected by this tradition because if we didn't carry it out, I wouldn't see my other family as much and I would miss them. I love being with them and take every chance I get to see them. That's why I'm glad my family tradition is having Thanksgiving dinner at my house.
Alot of families have different traditions. My family doesn't have many but one that we always have kept is our Thanksgiving dinner. Every Thanksgiving my family prepares a big dinner together. Everyone helps out in the kitchen, setting the tables, or even doing the dishes afterward. Part of the tradition is that no one eats until everyone in the house is sitting down at the table. After sitting down we thank god for what we have then eat! This tradition has been kept for many years and not for any particular reason except that we all get to bond as a family and eat dinner together, which we dont usually get to do.
ReplyDeleteThis tradition is important to me because I dont get to sit down with my family and eat dinner every night. My mom usually makes dinner around 4 and everyone eats whenever they have time depending on thier busy schedules. I think that having atleast one family dinner together a year is important for all of us to bond and be together, as well as thank god for what we have.
Overall eating Thanksgiving dinner as a family doesnt change my life in many ways. It is just one time where i get to spend time with my family as well as an ocasional uncle and cousin. Even though it doesnt make a change in my life it is still very important to me because i enjoy spending as much time as i can with my family.
For as long as I can remember, my family has had Thanksgiving dinner at my house. We decorate the house in fall colors and invite other family from elsewhere to visit us and enjoy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThis tradition is important to me for many reasons. First off, I love food and having Thanksgiving dinner at my house every year means there are always leftover turkey and desserts that I can eat. For a better reason, hosting the diner at my house lets me see all of my family that I usually don't see much throughout the year. My family is very very large and it's hard to get together with everyone.
My life is affected by this tradition because if we didn't carry it out, I wouldn't see my other family as much and I would miss them. I love being with them and take every chance I get to see them. That's why I'm glad my family tradition is having Thanksgiving dinner at my house.
In every life, every family, every community, long-held traditions are honored and maintained. My family has created traditions for the next generation to uphold. Everything time my family is together for a meal, we play Trivia Pursuit. Boys against girls’ every time and the boys always win. There is always screaming and yelling that goes along with playing but there is so much laughing and talking amongst each other that this small traditions creates some of the best memories.
ReplyDeleteEvery New Year’s Eve my whole family will go over my grandparent’s house to watch the ball drop on television. We order Chinese food or pizza, whichever one gets the most votes that year. My grandparents will always order more than enough food for our family so we get to take some home with us and eat later on. The conversation those nights refer to looking back on the year and realizing how grateful we all our to have each other here for another year.
Easter day is spent at my Aunt’s house. She makes up an Easter egg hunt of my brothers, her son, and me. She hides eggs all around the house and we have the find the correct colored ones assigned to you. Once you find them all you trade them in for your “big prize”. The big prize is an Easter basket filled with candy, money, gift cards, she changes it every year. After the Easter egg hunt we all go upstairs for the dinner she made us. The food is the same every year. Some things shouldn’t change especially how my family spends time together.
All of my family's traditions are very important, and we do have many traditions. One of my favorite traditons is Thanksgiving dinner at my house with the whole family. Everyone on my mom's side of the family and my dad's side always come. And every year my aunt Linda always makes her home-made stuffing, and it's always a crowd favorite! My mom doesn't even need to even call my realitives to invite them over for Thanksgiving; they just know.
ReplyDeleteAnother tradition that we don't need reminding about is going to my grandparents house on the night before the Fourth of July. We do this because my grandparents live across the street from McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, so we always go for a cookout and then sit on their front lawn to watch the fireworks after the baseball game is over. This tradition isn't always the same as my cousins got older and started bringing their boyfriends with I wasn't used to, but now it's just part of the tradition.
Another family tradition that is always fun is that we always get together when it's someone's birthday. I love how we always have a birthday party for everyone in the family; one in February for my mom, dad, and aunt, one in April for me, my sister, and my grandpa, and one in June for my cousin Kim. We even have birthday cakes at Thanksgiving and Christmas for my cousin Heather and Katie so we don't forget about them. These trditons are all so improtant, and my life would be drasticly changed without them; and without my family.
Myer- In our family, we do not have many family traditions. The only tradition we have is at the beginning of every month, our parents give us money. This may not seem like a tradition, but when my parents were growing up in Pakistan, their parents would give them a couple cents each because they were poor. My grandparents wanted my parents to look at the money and realize that there are opportunities out there. My parents wanted to keep this tradition, but now that they are well off, they give us more than a couple cents. Now it ranges from twenty dollars to fifty dollars. It is an important tradition for my family.
ReplyDeleteWithout this tradition, life wouldn't change much. Yet, this is important to our family because it shows that this family has hope for the future, and if you look at my family, they are successful. My dad and mom both got scholarships. My dad got into the best medical school in Pakistan, and my mom got acceptance into another great school in Pakistan. My mom then got another scholarship into Boston University. They decided that they wanted the same success for us, so they started this tradition back up to instill hope into our lives.It is important to our family, but it affects the youngest generation the most.
For the youngest generation, this tradition is an important ritual because it shows that the world has so much more in stock for us. We wake up, and we look forward to our parents handing the money to us over breakfast, prepared by the kids. It shows how our parents also care about us, because if they stopped the tradition, then it shows us that they have given up hope on us ever reaching our goals. Currently, I have thousands of dollars in my bank account because of this tradition, and I am not going to spend it. There are more important things in this world, and money is not one of them. Yet, this tradition makes money special to our family, and I will not spend the money I get.
Myer
DeleteThere is supposed to be another paragraph after the sentence "Now it ranges from twenty dollars to fifty dollars."
My family members and I have a tradition of everyone coming to our house for Christmas Eve. We have this tradition so that everyone from both sides of the family can come together. Usually for other holidays the family will be seperated and go to different people's houses but on Christmas Eve the family is always together. The adult sit at the main table in the dining room, and the kids sit at the kitchen table, since there isn't enough room. At dessert we all come together in the living room, and open up our gifts. Also, my sisters and I save the ones from our parents and open them on Christmas day. This is the tradition my family members and I have.
ReplyDeleteThis tradition is very important to me. It's important because I get to see people I normally won't be able to see, because they live far away. When the family comes together it's always a better a time, and everyone looks forward to coming. This tradition is always followed, and everyone always attends.
This traditon affects my life but not a lot, because it's just a time to get together and have fun. It's not a serious time we all just hang around and enjoy eachothers company. Without this tradition though I don't think Christmas Eve would be as fun as it is. It makes Christmas my favorite time of the year.
Maya LaFleur
ReplyDeleteMy family members and I keep the tradition of baking cookies together for the holidays. My family has a sugar cookie recipe that is spread throughout my dad's side of the family that was created by my grandma. We make these cookies for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, when all of my family members are present to enjoy theses marvelous cookies. When we roll the dough we cut them out in holiday shapes such as Christmas trees, presents, etc. After they bake, my mom will evenly divide the cookies between her, my sister and me to decorate. We decorate the cookies with red, green, and white sprinkles, frosting and colored sugar. These cookies are a tradition to my family because when the holiday season comes around, they're always present for all my family members to enjoy.
This tradition is very important to me. This is an important tradition to me because without it the holidays wouldn’t be the same. They wouldn't be the same because everyone looks forward to enjoying these sugar cookies for the "holiday treat". This tradition is very important to me also because when decorating the cookies, I get to bond with my sister without the use of electronics. During this era, everyone is always on their cell phones, computers, laptops, etc. This gives me a chance to talk to her without arguing and allowing us to bond with each other and get along. Even though it isn't a massive tradition, it is still very important to me along with other members of my family.
The tradition affects my life overall in many aspects. IT affects my life because it provides a bond that my family needs. It is a bond because it brings my family closer together around the holiday season and that is when you need your family the most. It affects my life becasue it lets me know that my family treasures the small things in life. This tradition affects my life because it provides value to the the smaller things in my life and also helps me become closer with my family becasue at the end of the day your family will always be there for you.
A tradition that me and my family members keep is opening presents on Christmas Eve. These presents essentially aren’t from Santa. They are from my Grandma, Aunt, Uncle and cousins. For example, if my grandma got me clothes, I would open it up on Christmas Eve. Another example is if I got my parents and grandma gifts, I would give it to them Christmas Eve. We do this so when we were younger we wouldn’t get mixed up on which gifts are from family/friends and which gifts are from Santa.
ReplyDeleteThe tradition of opening presents from family and friends on Christmas Eve is important to me because my family has done this my whole life. I we were to stop this, I feel as if it wouldn’t be Christmas anymore. It just doesn’t feel right when we don’t open gifts on Christmas Eve. For example one year, we were out so late on Christmas Eve, my mom expected to go home and go to bed, but my sister wouldn’t let her go to be until we opened gifts. My sister wanted to keep the tradition going. It is important to me and my family because we have done it for so long.
Overall, it doesn’t affect me life because if we didn’t open them the night before, we could still open them the day of but Christmas doesn’t feel the same when we don’t open on the eve, and the next morning. For example, if we didn’t open them the night before, it’s not like the world is going to end, but it just wouldn’t feel right. Traditions are supposed to be kept for a very long time, and breaking them doesn’t feel right at all.
Thanksgiving is a tradition that my family and I keep. We keep this tradition because it gives us a time to give thanks for everything we have. The tradition also gives us the opportunity to get together with friends and family. We always have a turkey dinner at a family member house. Although the dinner is always good, the most important part of this tradition to me is that I get to see family members that I don't always get to see throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteThis tradition is very important to me. It gives me a chance to realize how lucky I am to have all of the things I have. There are many people who are less fortunate than I am so during this time, I also like to donate things to charity so that someone less fortunate can enjoy this tradition. This tradition is also very important to me because I get to have a chance to see my family. My family is everything to me. I am glad that traditions like Thanksgiving exist because they give me an opportunity to see my family.
Thanksgiving affects my life a lot. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have some of the things that I have. During this time, I like top volunteer at food banks and soup kitchens because I feel that I have a lot of things and it always feels good to help someone in need. Thanksgiving also makes me realize how important my family is to me. Whenever I get to see my family is a good time. We always have good food and good conversation.
Matthew Albanese
ReplyDeleteMy family has many traditions that we keep. There is a range of a bunch of traditions that run in the Albanese family. Every Christmas Eve, almost my whole family (my cousins and immediate family) goes to my grandma's house and spends some quality time together. My family has been keeping this tradition for as long as I can remember. When my whole family comes together, we all have a good time because we mess with each other on purpose and get each others jokes. The tradition that my family keeps is important to me because it lets me spend quality time with my whole family.
The tradition my family has of going over my grandma's house on Christmas Eve is important to me. This is the only time I really get to see the rest of my family, besides Thanksgiving and birthday parties. After it's time to go home, I miss my cousins immediately because I know I won't see them for a while. My family keeps this tradition in order to keep in touch with all of my family members and to have a good time. Also, to celebrate Christmas, because we are Catholic. My whole family getting together and being in one place for a short amount of time is enough for spending some quality time together. Although, I prefer that I had more time to talk to them about things that happen in my life. My whole family spends quality time together when we get together at my grandma's house for Christmas Eve. The tradition that my family keeps is important to me because it lets me spend quality time with my whole family.
The tradition my family has of going to my grandma's house for Christmas Eve affects my life overall. Not only does doing so make me happy and let me spend quality time with my family, but it relaxes me and changes my attitude into a more positive one. This family tradition we keep can also be a stress reliever for me. When I'm worried about exams, my family tells me not to worry about it so much and helps me relax.(I still study, of course) When I see my family and talk with them, I always have a good time. Spending quality time with my family on Christmas Eve is something that will never change. My family has had many traditions, but this one is the most important one to me. I always seem to be more happier when I'm around my cousins. The tradition my family keeps is specifically my family's, and it is important to me because it lets me spend quality time with my whole family.
Traditions take a big part in my family’s life. A few traditions we have are mainly to do with holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. During Christmas time my family and I put up our Christmas tree and decorate it together and we always take a big family picture of everyone on my dad’s side. On the day of Thanksgiving, our tradition is a little different; my family will always make the mashed potatoes. The only tradition that might affect my life in a way is the Christmas picture because it will always be something to look back on throughout my life. These traditions are what make our family moments memorable.
ReplyDeleteTraditions are what brings a family closer together and my family and share a few traditions. As Christmas comes around the corner, my dad and older brother realize that it’s time to put the tree up and get all of the decorations set up. We all decorate the tree as a family, my two younger brothers decorate the bottom, my older brother and I decorate the middle and my mom and dad decorate the top. Another Christmas tradition deals with my whole family on my dad’s side. Every year we wherever the holiday is being held to celebrate, we all sit and stand around for a big picture. Lastly, on the day of Thanksgiving as foods are asked to be made by my aunts and uncles, something that is always made by the same person every year is the mashed potatoes. My mom is always the one to make the mashed potatoes because everyone enjoys how she makes them for scratch. These traditions are although not big, they are memorable and they are always going to be a part of our lifestyle.
The traditions my family and I share are important to me in a way that they are always going to be something that occurs every year. These traditions are not a huge thing that must happen every year; it is just something that my family and I choose to do together. Our traditions are something that will be remembered and will continue on. Every family should take part in a tradition for the sake of the memories they would bring.
Me, my family members, and friends have a tradition of getting together to have parties for different occasions like Easter or Christmas and having small concerts where everyone can share something with the guests. For instance,some people sing songs, others play something on the piano, and some recite poems. Those little concerts are always fun and we keep this tradtition because it brings everyone together and we all get to enjoy each other's various talents. There's no need to be nervous or anything because everyone, even friends,are family.
ReplyDeleteThis tradition is important to me because we have followed it for pretty much every party that we ever have, at our house, and at other houses. Sometimes people even show dances or little plays they created. Those are always fun because the audience claps for you no matter what. It is fun to make the audience laugh and somehow it brings everyone closer together. Sometimes these little shows are recorded so we can later watch them and remember the good times we all had.
This tradition affetcs my life because pretty much every party that I've been to has had a little concert where all of the guests perform something. I have learned to prepare a piano piece or song for when guests come over because we usually have some kind of concert. Even the adults perform sometimes so it sort of brings everyone on the same level since it's not like just the kids or just adults are performing. I feel comfortable performing for all of my friends and family because I have known them for so long and they know me. I always want to have that little tradition between my friends and family because it is really what makes holiday parties unique and special.
My friends and I have a tradition for our before class time in school. Our tradition is hanging out in the band room. We called it a “pow wow” This tradition started in seventh grade. My group of friends and I would sit around and talk. We held a get together every morning. We got very close to each other and shared a lot. The “pow wows” started as soon as Mrs. Ricci unlocked the band room in the morning, and ended at the final bell. At first, the group of people was small, but as time went on, more and more people joined the group. Now that we’re in high school, the group disbanded and only a few are left. Those who remain in the group still wait for each other’s buses to arrive and then head in to the band room until final bell again.
ReplyDeleteThe tradition isn’t complex but it’s very important to my friends and me. It gives all of us a chance to talk and hang out more than we could if we didn’t hold the get together. We can stay involved in each other’s lives better and bond more. We get to know each other and gives us the chance to really talk because even though we may see each other in school, or even sit next to each other, we don’t get to talk much. Getting my friends to open up and talk to me about their lives is really important to me because it shows I’m a good enough friend to trust.
The “pow wow” has had a major affect on my life overall. It doesn’t seem like a big deal when you just think about friends hanging out; that happens all the time. Even to me it doesn’t seem like it would affect me this much. But some of my friends have had personal issues and having people there they can talk to has really helped them. I love being this connected to my friends. I look forward to school every day. I like knowing that if I have an issue I have a support group to talk to and to help me get through it. I’m more confident about dealing with things. I really enjoy our tradition and I am very happy its part of my life.
My friends and I have a tradition that takes place every morning before school, this tradition started in seventh grade. Traditionally, we all gather in the band room to sit, talk and have a good time. We consider our meeting a “pow wow” and have one every day. Our tradition started off small, but slowly grew as the school year passed. The small group of people that participated in our “pow wow” became much bigger and we ended up almost being too big for the room. When we entered high school many members of our “pow wow” were lost, but some of us still uphold this tradition. We keep this tradition because it helps us to stay connected with each other. With all different classes it’s hard to find time to talk to everyone. The “pow wow” is also our place to let out some energy and relax before the school day begins. This tradition is certainly one that will continue throughout our high school careers. No matter how many people leave our “pow wow” will still occur even if I have to uphold it by myself.
ReplyDeleteThe tradition of having a “pow wow” is very important to me. I have grown a lot with the friends I have because of our “pow wow” and it has many memories attached to it. This simple tradition has become part of my daily routine. Without it I would lose my place to rant and let energy out before the day. The “pow wow” has become a huge way that my friends and I have bond and it is important for us to have it to insure that we all continue to stay connected. We have lost a lot of time that we used to spend together because of moving to the high school setting. If we lost our “pow wow” my friends and I would lose a lot of our social time and eventually we would become so disconnected that we lose our friendship. Our “pow wow” is the only time we have where we are all together and because of that it is very important to all of us, especially me.
The “pow wow” actually has a large affect on my life overall. If I didn’t have a “pow wow” to go to in the morning, I would most likely lose many friends and be a chattering hyper girl all day. It also affects my life because it allows me to have a place to rant to my friends and get out some of my frustrations. It truly does affect the social part of my life. My friends and I all get together, talk about both serious and humorous things and have fun. The loss of the “pow wow” would change my life dramatically. I would be a different person if I didn’t have my friends to go to in the morning. I truly do appreciate that we started this silly tradition in seventh grade. I enjoy spending time with my friends in our “pow wow” and love the way if affects my life.
One of the traditions my family keeps, is the lighting of candles on Friday nights. In the Jewish religion, holidays start at night, so he Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday. Jews are supposed to light candles to start it off, and that is what my family does. There are many more things that we are supposed to do on Fridays and Saturdays, but we do not do those things normally, because we are not that religious, and some of the stuff is more intense or complicated. Although this tradition can become annoying and tedious sometimes, I still think it is very important. It keeps my family doing something that relates to our religion, and at the end of the week, it is good to think about that. Since there are not that many other rituals that we do relating to Judaism, this keeps us in the loop somehow. Lighting the candles on Friday nights is a very important tradition in my family.
ReplyDeleteMy friends and I had a tradition of hanging out in the band room before homeroom in Middle School. When the bus dropped us off in the morning, we would head there and meet up with the rest of our friends. There were around ten of us that would be there every day, and occasionally others who came in, just because we were just super cool. This tradition was important to me, because the band room was already my favorite room in the building, and it meant that I had a specific time to go hang out with my friends. It was very nice to relax before classes started, and to just sit down on the ground and talk. It did not greatly affect my life, but it was just one of those things that I will think about when I think back on eighth grade. I will never forget those times in the band room and the great times we had.
Another tradition I have, is with my swim friends. This tradition involved food after swim practice. Last year, the older boys made a schedule that said whose turn it was to bring in chocolate milk each day. Since the boys were drinking chocolate milk, we decided we needed to do something, also. On every Wednesday, /I brought in a big bag of M&Ms. It was not very good for us, but it was a fun tradition nonetheless. This year, we tried to make a milk schedule, but only people that were on my team last year actually followed it. A lot of days after swim practice, we drive over to Stop and Shop and pick up a gallon of chocolate milk. We pass it around the car and take turns drinking from it. This tradition is very important to me, because it brings back some memories from last year, and it also means that I get to spend more time with my friends. It does not have a big affect on my life, but I love doing it. It is one of the things that I look forward to every day. The traditions I have with my friends and family are the things that I will remember for a very long time.
Mollie Westrick
As every life and community my family has many traditions that we keep and never get rid of. Some traditions include going to Maine every summer. The reason we do this every year is because we have been doing the same thing for so long and there is no reason not to keep doing it. Having a tradition is like a routine. Every morning you might have a routine of waking up, eating breakfast and brushing your teeth. You do this every morning and don’t even think about it. Why? This is what you were taught growing up and you did it every day it became a habit. Going to Maine every summer is our routine.
ReplyDeleteEach year my family and I drive up do Kennebunkport Maine where my Grandparents have a camper. We do the same things while we are there every single year. We shop at the same shops we eat at the same restaurants we go to the same beach. Every day this is our schedule, wake up, eat breakfast, go to the beach, go back to the campground, have a snack, play a game, go out shopping, and eat. We do that in the same order every day. This affects our lives because we look forward to something every year because we actually know what we will do while we are there. We enjoy everything we do and never want to change it.
One year we were debating whether or not we go back to Maine instead of going someplace else believe it or not we chose not to go to Maine. After my sister and I thought about It we realized we have been going to Maine for so long this would be the first time in years we didn’t. We changed our vote and we ended up going to Maine after all. We did this because we love Maine and want to keep the streak up for as long as possible. Just like we don’t change our routine, we don’t change our traditions. It is hard to break traditions because we are so attached to them. For as long as possible I will try not to break traditions.
Traditions to me is a huge part of my life and other peoples lives since the beginning of time. In America you could say the first Amerian tradition was Thanks Giving, where the Native Americans and the colonist sat down together in peace for a large meal and festivities. But thanksgiving wasn't the only tradition in America, and definitly not the first one around the year. For many families, traditions are usally held around holidays, like birthdays, or Christmas/ Hanaka/ other winter holidays. Tradition is very important to me and many other people because if you think about it, tradition helped get us to where we are now.
ReplyDeleteOn my 14th birthday I knew exactly what would be waiting for me when I woke up, I knew every year, and my little sisters knew every year, what surprises where waiting for them. In our dining room, there would be a small stack of presnts at the birthday girl's seat, and streamers would be hung from the ceiling. Once everyone woke up, the birthday girl would open her presents up one by one, as our mom, against our will, would take pictures. This has been a tradition for me and my sisters since before i can remember, and when I grow older and have kids of my own, I plan on doing the same thing for them. I think people have traditions so even as the world around you are changing, and if you having a hard time, you still have something to hold onto, something that keeps you grounded.
Tradition plays a huge role in my life. On christmas eve my family comes over, and we sit around the living room with the christmas tree, telling stories and jokes, playing with out new goodies, and enjoying eachothers company. On Christmas day, there will be a bunch of presents under the Christmas tree, for my sisters and I to open. Then after Church, my sisters and I go to my aunts house for a huge sit down dinner. We do the same thing for easter minus the presents. The forth of July is my families most beloved holiday, we go to my meme'ere's house and watch the fireworks come to life over Paw Sox's stadium, which luckly is only one block over from her house. Tradition has effect me by giving me something to hold onto, like I said in the second paragraph, even if my family or I is having a hard time, we always have tradition to look forward to, and I think it's the same for other families too.
My family and I have many traditions together, and I'd assume that they've been happening since before I was even born. Most of these traditions happen over the course of the holiday season. In chronological order, the celebrations really start to take place at thanksgiving. Every year we celebrate this at my house, eating a nice, formal, sit-down dinner. After dinner, everyone always seems to separate a bit into their own conversations, and when this happens my cousins and I go upstairs to get the fliers of all the sales going on the next day. From there, we start planning for our Christmas shopping by circling all that is of interest to us. When we finish this, we bring all of the fliers back downstairs to the dinner table, and with our parents, we start to map out where we will be going in order and at what times we have to be there by. Just to get in the spirit, at this time we usually break out the Christmas music and always seem to forget that it’s still only thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThe next tradition my family enforces would be the cookie party. This is basically a ‘pot-luck’ of cookies, in which everybody makes three different kinds of cookies, with three dozen per each kind. As if making nine dozen cookies isn’t hard enough, they all have to be decorated nicely, with an obvious Christmas theme. Basically, during this time of the year, you really don’t want to be caught in the kitchen, unless you would like to feel the wrath of a crazed cook. Usually, being the youngest, I always get stuck with the job that nobody else wants: piping icing onto the gingerbread cookies. It might not sound that bad, but try drawing on eyes, a smile, a bow tie and mittens onto three dozen cookies with near frozen icing, and it tends to drive people insane. Finally, on one Sunday in December, we all get together and take home as many cookies as we made, meaning that everyone ends up with nine dozen cookies in their fridge at home; a stockpile usually lasting until mid-February.
After the chaos of the cookie party is done, it’s time to just sit back and enjoy Christmas at my aunt’s house. Every Christmas Eve, we all go over and eat surf and turf, to try and get out of the winter blues. Then, we open all of our presents except for the ones for our parents, because none of us really feel like waiting any longer to get the Christmas holiday out of the way, and my parents logic is that there’s no point in having two days for Christmas, when you can get it done before everyone else. It seems to me that the holiday season is all pretty crazy with the stuff that the adults in our family make us do; however, it seems to all work out in the end. In reality, I guess there really is no reason for anybody in their sane mind to have these traditions, but in the end, they are what makes my family original and different from everybody else’s, and I am very happy because of that.
P.S. My paragraphs were indented, but for some reason it changed that when I hit publish. Sorry!
DeleteTraditions are something that is very important to my family. To be honest they are the only way my holidays go smoothly. Every time a holiday comes around my mom brings up a new box from the basement and my brother and I help her to decorate the house. Year after year we actually look forward to doing this because we enjoy the memories and seeing all the different decorations that had been kept away in a box for almost a year. The biggest area of tradition though, is Christmas. For the actual day, it is not much different than other holidays in which we have the same routine of going to my aunt and uncles, having dinner at my house, with the big three course meals and the cookies or egg biscuits made before. But, the preparation for this day is by far the most grand. My whole family gets involved to decorate the tree and set up the abundance of snowmen and little towns residing on the mantel and window sill. Music that I know the order to on the CD rings through my home in the upcoming days and my brother and I look forward to all the old Christmas specials on television. As a whole, my family and I do countless things as traditions all year long.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I think we do all these traditions to make everything run smoothly, as I said before. If we know what we have to do and have done it what feels like a million times before, there is little room for missing something that could ultimately ruin a holiday. Still, another reason why I think we keep these traditions year after year is so that we can bring back memories. Whenever certain songs come on in the many Christmas CDs, my brother and I laugh and think of a Christmas that could have happened when we were in elementary school. Everything we do reminds us of a time before and I think it brings my family closer together without even realizing it. By doing things every year that we enjoy it reminds us of how important it is to stop and just be together sometimes and that even with my brother and I growing up, that is still okay.
Therefore, these traditions are very important to me. They help to give me a sense of stability as holidays that can be very hectic with shopping and preparation come around. It is a lot more fun to look forward to a holiday that I am going to have to celebrate every year for the rest of my life rather than loathe the thought of more celebration. Tradition is important to me as well because it is something that I can pass down for generations to come. I am not expecting my grandchildren or my own children to do the same exact things that I do now as a kid growing up, but it would be nice to spread some of these things to them so that they can remember my family and myself even after we are gone. I mean, I bet my great grandma would appreciate that when we make all of our holiday cookies the recipe we refer to says “Grandma Mastrianis Sugar Cookies.”These traditions enrich my life, and give me the opportunity be with my family and remember moments of my childhood. Without tradition our lives would always be totally spontaneous every year. There is nothing wrong with a little bit of change from year to year, yet having constants in my life like traditions allows every year to be fun and highly anticipated.
Jon-Luc Jarboe
ReplyDeleteMy family and I have somewhat busy lives though we always make time to for certain we share. An example is Christmas. While most people celebrate Christmas every year it's still a tradition that we love and do. Another example is friday fires. On most fridays my mother and I light a fire and watch movies. These are a few traditions we do however there are reasons behind why we do them
Every winter we celebrate Christmas not only for the presents or because everyone is doing it. My family on Christmas celebrates being close to one and another and also making it through another year without killing each other. My mother and I do friday fires to comemerate the closing of another week and also to relax and watch movies by a warm fire. Another tradition is one I do almost always after school. This tradtion is to relax for a few hours after school until my mom comes home then I start to work on my homework. These traditions don't have a huge impact on my life however they do affect my life in a few ways.
These traditions are important to me because they serve a purpose in my life. Christmas is important to me because it brings me and my family together more. Also it allows me to get tons of presents. Friday fires are not as important as the others however it is another activity that brings my family together more. Finally my afterschool tradition is extreamly important to my life. It's important because it helps me relax and not feel so stressed out all the time. Tradtions are important to many families these are the traditions my family share and why we share them.
Since I was a little kid, Christmas was always my favorite holiday. Every year, on Christmas Eve, my little sister and I would jump into the car with our mom all bundled up and drive to my Grandmother's. Then we would get into out pajamas, settle down in the TV room and watch "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol." It was always one of our favorites, and after that, we would sit by Christmas tree in the living room and light a fire. My aunt would arrive afterwards(she usually said she would be there at 7 but 7 always ended up being 9. Before bed, we would set out a plate of cookies and milk by the tree, and stomp up to the guest room, snuggle under the covers. Once we were tucked in, my mother would come up and read us a little pop-up version of "The Night Before Christmas" Then we would try to fall asleep as quick as we could so that Santa wouldn't skip our house.
ReplyDeleteThe next morning we would run down to the glittering tree to see all of the present. We would always beg to open just one, but our parents insisted that we wait until night time when everyone got there.
These memories are so important to me because most of them are gone now. Many family members are now missing, and my cousin never comes down. This year, Christmas probably won't even be at my Grandma's. I'm not a naive little kid who eagerly wait for Santa Clause to come and leave presents under the tree anymore. That's is why I want to hold onto these memories for as long as I can.