What is a tradition? Well, according to Webster’s dictionary, a tradition is the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way. But tradition is more than a simple definition. Tradition is a lifestyle, an identity. Whether it’s as small as hiding a pickle every Christmas or as big as a sacred ring ceremony that had been taking place for over 100 years, traditions are an important part of every person’s life and it’s sad to find that many traditions are fading and being forgotten.
Traditions are extremely important in my hometown Savannah, Georgia: traditions that vary from wearing green and being downtown every St. Patrick’s Day, to St. Vincent’s Academy seniors having to wear their senior jerseys backwards until their first day of senior year, to Benedictine students being commissioned the beginning of their senior year, to the Savannah Arts Academy holding their annual Junk-to-Funk fashion show. Traditions also differ from family to family, for example, having the same dinner every Thanksgiving, family Halloween pumpkin carving, family tailgating before big football games, annual touch football games and even family poker nights. Traditions help us stay in touch with who we are by reminding us of our roots and history, no matter how far we’ve drifted from ourselves.
But sadly, many traditions are beginning to fade away, traditions that are fading because some people find it better to suit themselves rather than uphold these year-old customs. With the world changing every day, traditions are becoming so much more important in society. Each day, society is becoming scarier and an unsafe place, giving us more reason to hold onto traditions now more than ever to keep some kind of silver lining to these troubling times we have today. So now, all I’m asking of this nonstop changing community, please hold onto those beloved traditions. No matter how big or small, any and every tradition plays a part in making a person who they are, so I urge you to please continue these customs, pass them down to your children, your children’s children. Be a part in making who your great grandchildren will be. Recognize that these nations are changing more and more each day, and the only thing you can keep from altering are these practices that have become your normal way of life.
This world is becoming a scary place. Give your family and yourself some sense of security by keeping as many things as regulated and as normal as you can, even if it is something as small as hiding a pickle every Christmas.
