Holiday Traditions
Adopted, Adapted, Passed Down, and Let Go
Often traditions are some mixture of food, how we spend time with people, and how we celebrate. Some people’s traditions come from their religion or cultural background, others have amalgamations from all sorts of places.
When some family of mine moved to the Bay Area several years ago, we started a tradition of Christmas eve boogie boarding. As a child who grew up in the Mid-West, this is not a thing I ever imagined possible for me on any day, let alone as part of our holiday activities. Traditions change based on where you live, the climate, and the type of activities and food available to you.
This year we boogie boarding on Christmas Eve. We made sopapillas for Christmas dinner; a dough ball stuffed with beans, beef, and cheese or chicken and cheese, fried and then smothered in green chili. It is a community effort to make, so after we all contribute to their creation, we eat together. I have friends who make tamales every Christmas, another who makes Swedish crepes and family who have the traditional Turkey or ham dinner.
We all have different traditions that are passed on; some we choose to keep, others we let go of. We adapt as we move, and we adopt as we meet more people who share their traditions with us. We get to create our own traditions based on what is important to us.
