We all have memories from childhood that we love. Some of my favorite memories involve our family traditions. I'm often not sure where these traditions started or why we did them (like holding your breath when passing a cemetery) but they are traditions I love so much that I want to pass them on to my own children (like stuffing the Easter Ham - yes, ham...with spinach, green onions, and hot peppers!).
Traditions create anticipation and excitement in families, especially children. They also give a sense of stability and security. There is a feeling of connection to the past that helps bond families together, generation after generation. Traditions are important in my family because we live all over the United States and they bring us together over the miles. I call each of my four sisters, from California to Chicago, every Easter Sunday to find out if their ham was "the hottest ham ever" this year.
Even if you don't have generations of traditions to bring into your family, it's never too late to start. A simple, fast, and fun tradition is the May Day basket. It is customary on May 1st to leave a May Day basket on your friends and neighbors' doorknob. A simple "basket" can be made with colorful construction paper stapled in a cone shape, with some yarn or ribbon strung through two holes punched into the top for the "handle". Pick some spring flowers out of your garden, or make them with more construction paper, tissue paper, or coffee filters!
Not only is this a great opportunity to start a family tradition, but it can also be a great way for you and your children to meet new friends in the neighborhood. Make it a point for you and your children to select one neighbor each year you have never met or don't know very well to deliver a special basket to.
If you don't have the desire to create May Day baskets, why not spend some time with your family in the garden? Start a planting tradition and spend a few hours on May 1st planting flowers. After all, May Day began as a festive day to celebrate the first spring planting and as a reminder of the renewal of nature.
Whether you use May Day to begin a family tradition, plant a flower garden, or meet new friends, it is a great opportunity to gather your family together and spend some quality time with them. The juggling of work schedules and school activities combined with the amount of time kids spend watching TV, on the computer and playing video games has lead to a drastic decrease in quality family time over the past 15 years. Use a family tradition to slow down the day or, as my Dad always says, "take time to smell the flowers."
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