Traditions

Most families have their traditions, even if they aren't necessarily regarded as one. I know of traditions in our family that we do now, but I was curious as to what traditions that my grandparents did when they were my age and growing up. What was it like, and are there any similarities between both of our perspectives?

As far as I know, our family has a few traditions that my grandparents practiced the same as me. However, we both had Christmas, other holidays, and family traditions that we held close to us. They were special and were valued similarly, despite them most likely being different.

Quotes From My Grandparents...

Accent One Accent Two

"Holidays were big times for traditions and we looked forward to our family traditions. We loved getting a real Christmas tree and decorating it. We secretly bought or made gifts for our family members. We hung our stockings by the fireplace. We put out cookies for Santa. We opened our presents on Christmas morning. Other holidays were also times of big family gatherings and always big meals." - Grandma.
My grandma at christmas "My family liked to go out to a restaurant after church almost every Sunday...
In our home we were NOT allowed to play with friends on Sundays.
We always had Christmas at our house in Christmas morning and then went to my Grandparents in the afternoon...
Great Grandpa used to like to wrap Christmas presents in the wrong boxes. For instance, you would have a box that was for Ice Skates but when you opened it there was a different gift.
Every New Year we had the youth group come over to our house and we would go skating, tobogganing, etc." - Grandpa.

What It Was Like For Me...

Me on a ferryAlong with culture, some of the traditions that I do now are different. For example, it's a tradition that my dad and I read a book together on the nights we are both available. Usually, it is something like Narnia - which we read a handful of years ago. Then, we watch the corresponding movie if there is one. Another tradition we used to do was going to Mackinac Island. The picture on the right is of my dad and me getting ready to ride the ferry over to the island. Despite the specific details being different, I would still say that we have similar values in our traditions, even generations apart.