Has Tradition Gone by The Wayside?

Autumn is that time of year when we start giving a lot more thought to the holiday season before us.  October is the unofficial start to an almost two month long celebration of family, friends and food.  We also tend to think back on our past, remembering those holidays long ago.  With a wistful, faraway look in our eyes and a nostalgic half-smile, we yearn to share our memories with others.  Perhaps it’s sharing with our children or our friends, maybe even our co-workers.  Traditions were great back then…remember the Thanksgiving meals our mothers cooked?  Those dinners were quite a spread back then.  We always felt so special because we used the good china and the good crystal.  Mom didn’t even get upset if we didn’t clean our plates…ah, what memories!

Our memories are so deep-rooted in us that we subconsciously pass them down from generation to generation.  Take, for instance, the Thanksgiving Dinner.  When you cook for your family and friends, how much of your meal is made the same as it was when you were a kid?  Mine is almost identical to how it was back then, except I’ve added a few things to accommodate my husband’s taste.  How many of you make the Green Bean Casserole?  Me, too!  Does anyone know how long that recipe has been around?

Memories create traditions.  Our traditions help keep our memories alive to transport us back to the past just long enough to remember everything great about whatever celebration we happen to think about.

We also tend to reflect (and tell our children!) about things we didn’t have growing up that are commonplace for them nowadays.  I know some of you will remember the days before microwave ovens were common items in homes!  What about vinyl records and 8-track tapes?  Oh, and don’t forget – we didn’t have cell phones or personal computers growing up in the 70’s! 

There was no digital TV, and cable was either A or B – this was the conception of HBO and Cinemax.  Men traveled to space in a rocket, not aboard a space shuttle.  Pong, Space Invaders and Asteroids were the most popular home video games – if you didn’t have an Atari or Intellivision system, you were not cool.