LIFE LESSONS
Traditions Pat Cirrincione
Traditions passed down to family members through the years are as varied and numerous as the people around us. Traditions are the stories that families write together. How many traditions are there in your family? I’ll bet you would be amazed if you wrote them all down! Which ones stand out to you? Which ones are your favorite? Your least favorite? Let me tell you about some of our traditions, from childhood to my marriage, to the ones my husband brought into my life, to some of my favorite and least favorite traditions! But first, let me ask you a question – how have your traditions stayed the same or changed this year? Send me a note, a card or an email, as I would love to hear how things have changed, or have not, for you and your family. And I will now share some of mine with you. My husband, Sal, and I come from families that have always had traditional dinners for the big holidays, like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is always, and I do mean always, some kind of pasta to begin with along with meatballs and sausage. Now to most people these items, served with a salad, would be enough, or at least that’s what most of our invited guests thought. My dear readers and friends, this was just the beginning! Next came the meat! At Easter it was, and still is, always a ham; Thanksgiving is usually a twenty-pound plus stuffed turkey; and at Christmas a crowned pork roast, a smaller turkey, and sausage. This does not include the side dishes: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, corn, cranberry, general types of salads, and dinner rolls. Just when you were wishing you had worn your elastic, expandable waistband slacks, out come the desserts! Pies, cookies, candy, coffee and tea or wine. Oh Mylanta! Are you full yet? I hope not, because to wash it all down out comes the fruit! However, the times, along with our traditions took a turn this year, and as 2021 begins, I must ask the obvious: which traditions might change because of the pandemic? Will that make you happy or sad? Or will you turn to God and keep his hope in your heart? Let’s take a sneak peek at what it could look like, or might not. Let’s take a stroll down holiday tradition lane and put ourselves into “It’s a Wonderful Life” mode. How have traditions stayed the same or changed for you this year? I noticed that birthdays were celebrated a bit differently;
for example, instead of “at home” gatherings they became “drive by”s, which included driving by our children’s homes, beeping our horns, and writing greetings on pieces of cardboards placed on our car windows, all designed to make the recipient smile and laugh. Gifts were then placed at the front door, to be retrieved once the gift bearer got back into their cars, and then our families facetimed for the gift openings. Will this continue or will we get back to being together in our homes? Only God has the answer to that, but we can hope! Now before I leave out the other holidays, let’s take a look at Valentine’s Day. I don’t see too many traditions changing there as one can still purchase and give flowers and candy; however, it’s the romantic dinner for two that might not look quite the same. We may have to pick up that dinner via drive by, or heaven forbid, cook it ourselves! What about Easter? We usually have the Easter holiday, with the dinner I described earlier, with about twenty some people gathered around the dining room table. Well, this year we weren’t able to have that gathering, so we pulled out the plastic Easter
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