Skip to main content

Family Traditions


Hello everyone!  I want to start this post off with a quote:


Today we are talking about family traditions!  Each family has its own unique culture and unique traditions.  Traditions are defined as “a long-established custom or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another.”  There can be both good and bad traditions within a family.
Some examples of traditions could include family dinners, reading scriptures together, singing the children songs before bed, family prayer, Sunday walks, kissing the children goodnight, board games, family home evening, daddy/daughter dates, mother/son dates, yard work on Saturdays, Christmas Eve dinners with extended family, fireworks on the 4th of July. 

In the Handbook for Families published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it states:

Family traditions are like spiritual and emotional cement in the foundation of a happy home. They create fond memories, and these memories bond us together as nothing else can.

Traditions influence the way we live and the way we look at life. They may be practices or beliefs handed down from generation to generation, or new habits or patterns we establish in our own families. Some will be based on commandments and righteous principles, others may evolve from our cultural or national heritage.

I love these statements.  I really love the image of the cement, both spiritual and emotional, in the foundation of a happy home.  I know in my own family, the things that bind us together are the traditions that we made and kept growing up.  My favorite was always family meals.  I always looked forward to dinner as a family especially as I got older.  It gave us a chance to put our technology away and talk about our days.  Often, this would be the only time we were together as a family throughout the day.  As I got older, we got busier and our schedules got crazy.  Even still, I cherished family meals.  I remember countless times where my mom and I would laugh until we cried, and those memories will always stay with me.



Being members of the church, there are traditions that they have asked us to establish and maintain in our families:

Among the most important habits and customs we establish should be some that are clearly gospel oriented. For example, besides praying together as a family and blessing food at mealtime, we ought to observe the fast, attend meetings together on the Sabbath, study the scriptures, hold family home evenings, write in journals, and participate in missionary and service projects.

These traditions not only help us understand our identities, but they help us come closer to our families and to God which are the most important things in our lives.

Another one of my favorite family traditions is father’s blessings before school.  I love that my mom would record them on her phone and type them up in a transcript for us so during the year, we could look back and find comfort and strength through times of struggle.

However, it is important to keep in mind that not all traditions will be easy to carry out:

Whatever the tradition may be, parents need to expect that few activities will go exactly as planned, particularly when children are involved.

There are so many ideas for family traditions both big and small.  There are some that are good and some that aren’t so good.  I would love to hear from you!  What are your favorite family traditions?  Are there any traditions that you would like to start?  Any traditions you weren’t so fond of growing up?  Let me know in the comments below!  I hope you all have an amazing week!!







Sources:
https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/1986/03/traditions-worth-keeping?lang=eng

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjvwqzWvaXiAhVBoZ4KHSqeDpgQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=%2Furl%3Fsa%3Di%26source%3Dimages%26cd%3D%26ved%3D%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fquotescop.com%252FFamily-Tradition%252F%26psig%3DAOvVaw2FP6kheGF9swn_hMOuI4wN%26ust%3D1558282698441728&psig=AOvVaw2FP6kheGF9swn_hMOuI4wN&ust=1558282698441728


https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi548nbvqXiAhXDiFQKHdaZBMMQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mykidsadventures.com%2Fsecrets-of-happy-families%2F&psig=AOvVaw2RJNBo9hspNL3HdqDhbVEI&ust=1558282553500379

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Divorce

This last blog post is on divorce.   This is a rough topic for many families and can be a very sensitive subject.   There are so many reasons why someone would divorce.   For example, reasons could include things such as abuse (physical or emotional), adultery, addiction (of any kind), and abandonment (either physical or emotional).   Whatever the reason, this can be a shattering experience for everyone in the family.   There are three kinds of divorce: 1.        Legal divorce 2.        Economic divorce 3.        Parental divorce Legal divorce is settled by the courts and the marriage is dissolved officially by law.   The second kind, economic divorce is when you separate your things.   This could include finances (you separate bank accounts), property, etc.   The last one is parental divorce where the parents split. Often times if a family that is involved in divorce has children, it leads to joint custody.   This is where they share both resources and physic
1 comment
Read more

Relationships with In-Laws

This week we are talking about the in-laws!!!  This is a topic that many people make jokes about and that many people struggle with.  So how do we create healthy relationships with our in-laws?  What boundaries should we set and how do we do that respectfully?  We are going to explore the answers to these in this post. When we get married, we have just covenanted to love and cleave unto our spouse and no one else.   In Genesis 2:24 it says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife.” The dictionary defines cleave as “to remain attached, devoted, or faithful to,” and “to remain steadfast”.   This is what is required of us when we marry someone. In “Creating Healthy Ties with In-Laws and Extended Family” by James M. Harper and Susanne Frost Olsen, they say that, “a newly married couple is to separate from the families in which they grew up. One component of separating from families of origin involves creating a marital identity.” (n.d.)  
Post a Comment
Read more

FAMILY 100-- Equal Partnership

This week I really wanted to focus on what it meant to have an equal partnership between men and women in families.   I believe that this concept is misrepresented with the views of the world.   There is a large movement in feminism, and it has created ripples throughout the world.   There is a fight for women to be “equal”.   They want the same roles, pay, duties, respect, and more.   They want to feel like they are the same as a man.   This idea is a little bit twisted.   Equal does not mean identical.   The Family Proclamation outlines the roles of men and women.   For men, it states that they must preside, provide, and protect.   For women, their main role is to nurture the children and teach them the gospel.   Does this mean that the roles don’t cross over? Of course not!!!   As equal partners, all duties are shared.   We must be willing to help fill any gaps in those roles if necessary, but that doesn’t mean that all of the sudden because both parents decide to work and pur
Post a Comment
Read more