Every Thanksgiving, Mia Vela’s family goes around the table saying what they are thankful for twice. First they say something they’re thankful for in terms of family or health, and second they say what they’re thankful for about their year. Mia’s favorite part of this tradition is being able to focus on two topics to be thankful for, and it’s helped her cherish her relationships since she was young. Her mom brought this tradition with her from Argentina, and they’ve been doing it ever since.
Another tradition from Mia’s family is staying up until midnight to open presents on Christmas day. They spend time together, having fun and making bets on how long people will stay awake. This tradition is especially important to Mia as she doesn’t get to spend much time with her family otherwise.
Grace Freeman’s family always serves lasagna for christmas dinner. It got its start from the Italian-Americans on her mom’s side of the family. Grace loves eating lasagna on Christmas, it tastes delicious and helps her feel connected to her family and their heritage. This tradition is important to Grace and she hopes to continue to pass it on.
Every Christmas since Madi Slater was young, her family has read the same picture book. The book, “Grumpy Badger’s Christmas”, is about a badger who hoards his food before he learns his lesson and shares his food with the other animals. Every year her family switches who reads the book, giving Madi something to look forward to and the opportunity to spend time with her family. Madi’s family also has cookie day, where they all get together and bake cookies for the whole day. Her grandma started it with her neighbor and family friend, and it’s been ongoing since. Madi uses cookie day to bond and spend time with her family, as well as to bake, decorate, and eat cookies.
Every year during Christmas, Demetre Banchero’s family holds a mini reunion. This tradition started around 6 years ago when one of his aunts decided to organize and host it at her house. They typically swap who hosts it each year and use the time to hang out and see how everyone else is doing. Demetre doesn’t get the opportunity to hang out with cousins very often, so he loves being able to catch up with them and have fun. When hanging out they like to play sports and video games, walk around, talk, and eat food. If this tradition were to end, then he would be able to see them even less than now and he would lose the gained sense of community.
Since Willie Rogers was in elementary school, he’s been having a snowball fight with his mom every winter, if weather permits. His favorite part of this tradition is spending quality time with his mom while laughing and having fun. It helps him feel closer to his mom and if it were to stop, he would be sad and upset.
Traditions are an important part of everyone’s holidays. They can take many different forms, from elaborate activities that have been passed down for generations, to simply a day where people spend time together. Traditions can be between families or between friends, but regardless of who is participating they almost always tend to mean the same things to the people who participate in them: spending time together.
