Holiday traditions: Important for families and communities!

What is it about this time of the year that brings a special excitement for young and old alike? Perhaps it has something to do with traditions. We remember what it was like for us when we were young, the traditions we participated in and the happiness they brought.

It’s the memories! Memories formed from engaging in traditions are important because memories provide us with a chance to relive those happy experiences and memories give us the opportunity to pass those traditions on from generation to generation.

An additional benefit is that bonds are created within families. I (Doug) remember the tradition that every Christmas Eve our family always had lutefisk and lefse. Lefse is like a Norwegian soft tortilla and well-accepted. On the other hand, lutefisk, shall we say, is an “acquired taste”. It’s cod fish with the consistency of jello. The best definition is: “Lutefisk is the piece of cod that passeth all understanding.” Either you love it – or not! There was always fun, lively conversation about the pros and cons of lutefisk. We continue that tradition to the present time.

I (Lynn) also have a childhood memory of a tradition around food. During the holidays, I enjoyed helping my creative mother make her poinsettia salad. No, not with real poinsettias in it – even if they weren’t poison, I don’t think they would be very tasty. We carefully cut pimentos and arranged them to look like red poinsettia flowers. A few pomegranate seeds completed the center of each poinsettia. Then all the ingredients were submerged in lime jello. Sometimes we would sing as we prepared the salad or simply share memories of past holidays. The salad was a fun activity to do with Mom. What Doug and I realize is that food can be the catalyst for simple activities that end up to be meaningful traditions.

Traditions provide a sense of identity not only within families, but also within communities. It is a way of expressing what is important to us and it gives us a sense of belonging and history. Just as we remember traditional events with parents and relatives, we also remember holiday events in the community. It was exciting for us when Santa Claus came to the towns where we grew up and gave out treats. We even had the opportunity to have our picture taken with him. Those traditions continue today for families and communities.

Last weekend, Chanhassen kicked off the holiday season with their traditional tree lighting ceremony in City Center park. It was snowing heavily and blowing so we thought there may not be many people there. Wrong! It was packed with people who came to enjoy the activities. The event was complete with carolers, bonfires and even a glimpse of reindeer. Chanhassen Mayor Denny Laufenburger was emcee, warmly greeted people at the event and flipped the switch to light the tree.

We asked Jodi Sarles, who oversaw the busy event, to tell us about it. She said, “It’s our annual tree lighting out here and we ordered up some fantastic winter weather for it. Santa is going to come. We’re going to light up the downtown area with lights. We’ve got s’mores, hot chocolate and all sorts of good stuff.” Then we asked Jodi how long the lights stay up? Jodi said, “They will be up throughout the Christmas holidays into January (the 15th) – so come on out and visit beautiful downtown Chanhassen.” We wanted to find out how many years Chanhassen had been doing this event. Jodi wasn’t sure but she thought it was about 30 years. We commented that even though that might not be the exact number of years, the Chanhassen annual tree-lighting event has continued through many years as a wonderful tradition. If you missed the tree lighting, attend next year. Be sure to stop at City Center Park this year to see the lights. You can also visit our related video online to get a glimpse of the activity.

We enjoyed talking to Mayor Laufenburger and Jodi Sarles at the event. We also shared some of our traditions. How about you? What holiday traditions do you enjoy?

Here are some ideas: Because traditions are important, you could make an album called Holiday Memories and Traditions. Write down your traditions and add pictures or videos so you can pass them along to future generations. Maybe there are new traditions you want to start or possibly revive some old ones. That reminds us, we need to get lime jello, pimentos and a pomegranate…and lutefisk!

Chanhassen residents Doug and Lynn Nodland are Success Coaches and owners of The Balance Center. They can be contacted at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2018 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.