McNicholas Family Traditions
Current traditions and ones I hope to instill in my family
Current Traditions
The following traditions are ones that my family and I carry out together every year or just in general. There are probably a bunch more, but these are just a few of the good ones that I could think of...
Tradition #1 - The Christman Tree
Every year it is a tradition in my immediate family to go the day after Thanksgiving to the Christmas tree farm and cut down our tree for Christmas. We have been doing this tradition for as long as I can remember, I don't think we have ever done it any differently. When I was asking my family members about traditions that we have, my dad was the person who suggested this tradition.
Christmas tree
Christmas tree farm
Christmas tree tagged to be cut down at the tree farm
Tradition #2 - Thanksgiving Basketball
Every Thanksgiving, it is a tradition for my family and all my extended family to come to my aunt and uncle's house for a late lunch together and then always after lunch, we play a game of basketball all together. I have only been playing in the game since I was 12, but my older family members have been doing this tradition for years. My aunt was the person who suggested this tradition to me.
This is a family basketball game
Tradition #3 - College Bound
It is a family tradition, or almost an expectation, to graduate high school and then go to college and graduate. All of the members in my family have done this and they set the example for us kids to follow in their footsteps. I have known this tradition since I knew what college was, so maybe since I was about 5 years old. My dad was the person who suggested this tradition to me.
These are a few colleges
Tradition #4 - Sharing Holidays
It is a family tradition for us that each family in our big, overall family hosts a holiday and then the rest of the families in the family come over a celebrate together at the hosts house. For example, my immediate family hosts Christmas eve and then my aunt and uncle's family hosts Easter. I have been partaking in this tradition since I was a baby. My dad was the person who suggested this tradition to me.
Tradition #5 - Christmas Eve
It is a tradition that we have in my family to have both my brother and me open a present on Christmas eve. It is always a little present of something jokey. We have been doing this tradition forever, since I believed in Santa when I was younger to even now. My mom was the one who suggested this tradition to me.
My brother and I always open one present on Christmas eve
Tradition #6 - State Fair
Every year, it is a tradition in my family that at least one day, my mom, my dad, my brother, and I go to the state fair together as like a family day. We have been doing this for as long I can remember, even when we lived in Bloomington, we would come down for one day to go to the fair together. My mom was the person who suggested this tradition to me.
Tradition #7 - Pumpkin Carving
Every Halloween, my family and I carve pumpkins together as a tradition and then we light them with candles on Halloween night. This has been a tradition since I was maybe 3 or 4 and then I started carving my own pumpkin when I was about 10 and I wouldn't chop my fingers off! My mom was the person who suggested this tradition to me.
Tradition #8 - March Madness
A tradition in my family is that every year, my whole family, immediate and extended, pay five dollars and then fill out an NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket and then the person who has the closest bracket to the actual tournament wins the money. I have been participating in this since I knew what a bracket was, so maybe for about 6 years. My dad suggested this tradition to me
March Madness is what the basketball in the tournament is referred to
Tradition #9 - Football after Food
A tradition we have as a family is that every Thanksgiving, my family all watched whatever NFL games are on after we eat lunch and let our food digest before we play basketball together. I have been doing this tradition since I was 12 I think because that was when I started to understand football. My dad suggested this tradition to me.
In our family, Thanksgiving and football go hand in hand
Tradition #10 - 7:00 am Christmas Morning
It is a tradition that every Christmas, my brother and I have to wait until 7 in the morning to wake my parents up. This tradition started because my brother and I used to try and wake them up at like 4 in the morning so this tradition began for us and has stuck around ever since. I think that this tradition started when I was 6 or so. My mom suggested this tradition to me.
The Christmas tree on Christmas morning
Future Traditions
The following traditions are things that I hope to have as traditions in my future family when I grow up and have one of my own....
Future Tradition #1 - Off to College
In the future, I hope to continue the tradition of each kid going to high school and then college and graduating. I like this tradition and want to keep it going in a family of my own because I think it is a good route for success of the family and the kids, which is always a good thing.
Future Tradition #2 - Christmas Kick Off
When I get older, I am going to keep the tradition of going to the Christmas tree farm the day after Thanksgiving as a family to cut down the Christmas tree because I think it is a good bonding activity for a family to do and also, I feel like it is the perfect was to kick off Christmas because it isn't overshadowing Thanksgiving since you get the tree the day after.
A Christmas tree
Connections to Chapter 3
The following points are connections to chapter 3 that I can make between chapter 3 vocabulary words from the book and my traditions...
Connection #1 - Culture
The first vocab word that I have chosen to relate these traditions to it the word culture. Culture is the knowledge, values, customs, and physical objects that are shared by members of a society. I think that traditions that my family shares with each other is a big part of our family culture because these traditions are shared by all members of my family, as we do these traditions together. Also, some of these traditions, such as the one about going to college after high school has been passed down from previous generations and instilled in the younger generations.
Connection #2 - Folkways
Folkways is another vocab word that relates to these traditions from chapter 3. Folkways are norms that lack moral significance. In my opinion, a lot of the traditions that my family and I carry out are folkways because they are norms in the sense that we do them annually or however often; but they are also not so significant that if we stopped doing them something bad would happen or we would be missing a big part of our lives or anything like that. Instead most of these traditions are just simply folkways.
Connection #3 - Norms
Norms is another word that relates to these traditions. Norms are rules defining appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Norms apply to these traditions because it is a norm that we celebrate these traditions as a family, so if someone in my family refused to celebrate them with us, it would be out of the norm. Also, it is a norm for families all over to have their own traditions and even though these traditions might seem weird to other people, they are the norm for that particular family because they are a tradition that they have.