Traditions & Connecting
As the holidays approach do you have traditions you like to follow? My family and I had holiday traditions that died when my mother passed at the young age of fifty-four. For Christmas we would make over four hundred tamales and pozole (a chicken soup with hominy served with various accompaniments). They were traditional dishes for the holidays. I miss those days, the tamale assembly line, the laughter and stories told around the table.
When traditions break, we sometimes may feel broken, or as if a little piece of us is missing. We lost our mother on December the 26th so for a very long time we felt guilty and sad celebrating Christmas holidays until one day I begged my family to recapture that feeling of love and celebration. It was time to celebrate with those here with us while celebrating the lives of those who have passed.
This holiday season I encourage us all to gather with friends, gather with family and celebrate life, create traditions and celebrate old traditions. One year for New Year’s Eve I invited friends over and asked each one to bring with them a tradition typically celebrated in their culture and share it with the group. There was the counting down the year with twelve grapes and champagne, another was wearing the color of underpants related to what you wanted to bring in with the new year such as red for love. Then there was the travel tradition, if you wanted to travel in the coming year then you had to bring your suitcase and walk around the block with it. More than anything it was fun, engaging and we all learned a bit about each other’s traditions.
What honored and fun traditions do you miss? Which ones can you begin?
If you find yourself without a tradition create one! If you find yourself alone, invite someone or a group of people. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It could be a meet-up at a local restaurant, bar, park or the beach.
It’s so much easier to do the same old thing but imagine opening to new possibilities to celebrate life, to honor those who have passed and to engage with those that are right next door, down the street or the next city over. Or why not travel to see that good friend or lovely relative.
I leave you with this. Back in 2017 for Canada’s 150th birthday, Loblaws and it’s President’s choice brand (a line of grocery produce in Canada) launched a commercial as a call out to Canadians to put down their phones, turn off the TV, and sit down and share a meal. The commercial had a message: “Nothing brings us together like eating together. When we eat together, good things happen. We share a bit of our lives. We talk we laugh, and we share the foods we love.” This really resonated with me, and I hope it resonates with you. I encourage you to take a bit over two minutes to watch the commercial. Go to YouTube or Google and type in #EatTogether Commercial.
If I inspire one person to reach out to another this holiday season, then this article was well worth writing. Make a call today! Pick up the phone and invite a friend, neighbor, relative to share a meal, or a coffee or some vino. Create happy memories. Happy Holidays and Happy Connecting!
“Life is about the quality of our connections.” – Sara Rubalcava, October 2023
