Tradition Training

Earlier this school year, my son had to do a report about his heritage. During dinner one night he asked us which traditions we celebrated that were part of our heritage. We were hard pressed to come up with anything. We told him that he was such a mixture that our traditions had been watered down through the years. Our children are mainly Irish, German, and French, so in the end he listed Irish Fest, Oktoberfest, and Bastille Days as our traditions. I felt kinda bad about it.

The other night I was out with my friends and the discussion came up again. We talked about how families acknowledge and celebrate where they came from. It got me to thinking that I really needed to do some research and find some things we could do to start teaching our kids about their heritage. What my research uncovered is that a lot of what we already do is steeped in tradition and I just never realized it.
The best example is Christmas. Both the German and French celebrate St. Nicholas (la fête de Saint Nicolas) on December 6th. The Germans put their shoes by the fireplace and if they had been good they were filled with treats and if they were bad they would be filled with twigs. Similarly the French put their shoes in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve in hopes that Père Noël (aka Papa Noël) would fill them with candy, fruit, and nuts. If you had not been good, Père Fouettard would hand out spankings. Now we hang stockings by the fireplace which also goes back to the story of St. Nicholas. He wanted to help out a poor family by giving them money. He threw coins in their window while they slept and they landed in the stockings that were hung above the fireplace to dry.

Mistletoe is a French decoration which hung above the door during the Christmas season is said to bring good fortune throughout the year. The nativity (or crèche) is also found in French homes as a way to tell the Christmas story. The Christmas tree comes from Germany and traditionally was not presented until Christmas Eve. Placing a ring of holly on doors originated in Ireland as holly was one of the main plants that flourished at Christmas time and gave the poor ample means to decorate their dwellings. Both the French and Irish place a candle in the front window on Christmas Eve as a symbol of welcome to Mary and Joseph as they travelled looking for shelter.

While the Germans would celebrate the days leading up to Christmas through the advent calendar, it was the Irish who celebrated the twelve days of Christmas. During the centuries when it was a crime to be Catholic and to practice one's faith in public or private, The Twelve Days of Christmas was written as a catechism song to help learn the beliefs of their faith.

So I guess what I've learned is this, while my kids are a mixture of a lot of cultures, our traditions are not watered down, they are just not well understood.