Family traditions are activities or rituals that a family participates in together and are maintained throughout the family’s life together. They are often passed down through generations, but with each new generation, new family traditions can be started.

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Some family traditions can be cultural or spiritual, like celebrating religious holidays. There are many aspects to such celebrations, like decorating the home in a particular way, exchanging gifts, cooking certain foods, telling traditional stories, inviting guests into the home, singing traditional songs, and participating in traditional dances.  Others, like having dinner together as a family once a week, going on a family vacation, celebrating family milestones like birthdays and anniversaries, or donating to a shared cause, can be family-specific. 

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Family traditions are so integral to families that they become second nature. They are rarely questioned, and, generally, universally enjoyed by family members. Family traditions are such a natural part of the family dynamic that we seldom, if at all, think about their actual importance to our families. And yet, they are of great importance. Here are some reasons why.

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Family Traditions Are Inclusive
From the youngest family member to the oldest, family traditions often have a part for everyone to play. For instance, as noted above, decorating and cooking are part of cultural and religious family traditions. Each family member will probably take part in at least one of these activities. In doing so, they feel important, needed, and necessary to the success of the completion and outcome of the tasks and to the overall occasion. As well, camaraderie can develop, and participants have fun. And this is just the preparation! Once everything is done and the family is actually in the occasion itself, the good times are shared by everyone.

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Family Traditions Are Reassuring and Provide Structure
Family traditions that are repeated every week or month or at the same time every year, not only give family members something to look forward to, they provide reassurance that all is well and that the traditions will continue. They also provide structure. Children, especially, love routine, and family traditions deliver predictable routines that are part of the family’s foundation. Knowing that the family will continue their traditions throughout the year, and for the years to come, strengthens children’s bonds with their family. When things become stressful, family traditions can create stability and restore our sense of well-being knowing our families are here for us. 

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Family Traditions Create Memories
Memories are important to us. Some are good and some are not so good. It’s necessary for us to have times we can look back on in our lives that make us smile and that reassure us we have had a life well-spent. Memories of family traditions can do that. They can be recent memories and the stuff of stories that we share with our family, like, “Do you remember last Thanksgiving when Aunt Beatrice brought the pumpkin pies? They were the best I have ever tasted. I hope she brings them again this year.” Or, they can be memories of the distant past, like seeing the sled we asked Santa for under the Christmas tree wrapped with a big red bow, that we hold onto through the years. Memories are personal. We can choose to share them or keep them to ourselves. Whatever we decide to do with them, we tend to cherish memories made from family traditions.

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Family traditions are a large part of who we are as individuals. They solidify our place in the family unit by reassuring us, providing us with structure, and giving us a sense of our culture and our family history. We learn things from them, have our senses heightened by them, and take joy in them. Best of all, we get to see our families pass our traditions down to their families and witness the magic of them in a whole new way.