Traditions: Creating Something New

Traditions are some of the most precious tools we have for creating memories. Growing up, my family had our own special Christmas traditions. We always decorated the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. My mom and I put the lights on first, and then, my dad would hand out the ornaments while my brother, sister and I would share the stories that accompanied each one. My brother had his collection of rocking horse ornaments that he always clumped together on one side, and there was always that one ancient ornament that was literally falling apart that we would put on the back of the tree facing the window so “the neighbors could enjoy it.” As Christmas approached, my dad and I would always take time to shop together for my mom. On Christmas day, my mom would make cream cheese coffee rolls and apple cider along with a cornflake marshmallow wreath covered in Red Hots. Still to this day, after 35+ years those items will be present at my parents’ home on Christmas Day  When I married my husband 14 years ago, those traditions shifted a little as we combined Christmases between his family and mine, but for the most part we were able to maintain many of the same traditions by just shifting the celebration date a couple days earlier or later around Christmas. 

Then, six Christmases ago, God called our family to take a step of faith and follow Him to move to Latin America. Leaving behind furniture, homes, family and friends was difficult… almost like leaving a piece of my heart in another country; but what I didn’t realize I was leaving at the time was so many traditions. Actually, I didn’t even realize I had left them until that first Thanksgiving away when I couldn’t bake a pie alongside my mom or sip apple cider on Christmas morning with my brother. That first Christmas away, Jeff and I realized that traditions back “home” would have to continue without us, and our little family would have to create some new traditions that would stay with us wherever the Lord took us moving forward. We still cherish the traditions we grew up with, and they will still be there when we were able to be back; but now we have the priviledge of creating new traditions that our children will anticipate for years to come. In our quest to develop our own special traditions, here are a few things we have seen. 

When Creating New Traditions…

1.    You Get to Choose the Focus… 

Starting our own traditions allowed us to choose where we wanted to keep the focus. For us, that meant that we wanted to be more intentional about creating traditions that pointed our family to Christ’s birth at Christmas. We started collecting nativity scenes from around the world to remind us of how God desires for all nations to know Him, and we started keeping a Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is an Advent tool where you decorate a tree with ornaments that represent stories throughout the Old and New Testament that point to the coming of Christ. One year our Jesse Tree was made of construction paper stuck to the wall, another year it was made from ribbon taped to the window another year it was a small artificial tree with colorful lights and this year it is a carboard pop-up tree on the buffet in our dining room. No matter what the tree looks like, the stories of scripture remain the same. We are a world in need of a Savior, and that is why we celebrate each year how Jesus came to save us.

2.    You Get to Choose Which Traditions Continue and Which Do Not…

Being away from the traditions you grew up with allows you to evaluate which ones you want to continue and which ones can be left behind. It might be a particular food you never really cared for (we had a friend who kept the gratefulness of Thanksgiving but traded the turkey for steak), or it might be choosing not to introduce a Christmas movie that you never really loved. For us, after a couple years away, we realized that we didn’t really need nearly as many gifts as we had once had, and we decided that while we would tell our kids about who St. Nicholas was and his generosity, we would not make the focus about Santa. 

3.    Some Traditions Are Born on Their Own

In those early months of surviving our first holiday season outside the USA, we were just trying to keep our heads above water. Our focus was around learning basic phrases such as, “How much does that cost?” and “Where is the post office?” in our new language, so not nearly as much attention went into preparing for the holidays. That Christmas we hung literal socks from our mantel, had a few simple gifts wrapped in tissue paper, decorated Christmas cookies and made cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. I had no idea that that would be the birth of some of our kids’ most cherished Christmas traditions. From then on, Christmas could not happen without making and decorating Christmas cookies, and cinnamon rolls would become sacred to only Christmas morning and birthdays in our home. 

4.    You Get to Experience Family That Goes Beyond Genetics

While being away from family is genuinely hard, it also opened our eyes to the “family” that God had placed all around us. Being on our own taught us what the family of Christ was all about, and it taught us to look for others who were alone too. In each country where we have lived, it has been amazing to see the automatic bond we share with our brothers and sisters in Christ no matter what country they live in or language they speak. They have brought us into their traditions, and we have opened ours to them as well. For the last two years, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our Costa Rican family, shared special foods, and gave thanks together for God’s blessings in the previous year. In Mexico, our friends taught us to make tamales and brought us roses on Christmas Eve. In Chile, we celebrated Christmas at 95 degrees in the park teaching our daughter to ride a bike, and in Costa Rica we brought in the New Year playing games and watching the city sky light up with fireworks alongside friends. Though we cannot always be with our “blood” family, we experience the love of family in each place we live.

5.    Traditions Can Include Exploring New Places

Living in new places opens opportunities to things we never would experience otherwise. It has opened our hearts to the beauty and traditions of other countries and people. Because of this adventure, our family has been given the opportunity to explore beaches, tide pools, volcanos, mountains, rain forests, rivers, waterfalls, valleys and more. We’ve seen exotic plants and animals and tasted foods we never imagined. We have met people from all around the world and got to share in their traditions. We get to see the creativity of God in countless ways, and our children understand a little better God’s heart for the nations.

So, whether you are moving to a new country or a new town or you are coming to the holidays missing a loved one, and you recognize that this year’s traditions may look a little different, know that there can be such beauty in creating something new. I hope you will try a new food, listen to others’ stories, learn a new game, visit breathtaking places, and open your heart new people. Some of God’s greatest blessings are in those unfamiliar places. Cherish the traditions of your past and be brave as you create new traditions for your future. There can be great beauty in what lies ahead.