Ship of Traditions
Ahoy, mates! All aboard?
All ye explorers ready to set sail on the ship of traditions?
Ship of traditions…that sounds a bit heavy and serious…ye? Well, I don’t want to make it too gloomy but I did feel a necessity to write on this topic.
Children are like sponges who absorb all the information given to them. They are curious, inquisitive, explorers who accept the facts as they are. They also learn to adapt the culture around them.
Having our kids grow up in America, it is very easy for them to assimilate with the American culture. Since America is a melting pot of all cultures, kids and adults are drawn to American culture as they feel welcomed and accepted.
“Think salad bowl, rather than melting pot: Each ingredient keeps its flavor, even as it mixes with others. Whichever model they prefer, Americans pride themselves on being a nation of immigrants.” – according to an article in New York Times, “What does it take to ‘Assimilate’ in America?” I couldn’t agree more to this quote because you do see people of different cultures and races living together under one roof.
When I ask my kids, what are they, their initial reaction is ‘I am American.’ Then they pause and say ‘I am Indian-American.’ However, I am not surprised when they say ‘I am American’ because that is the culture they are exposed to such as American cartoons, T.V. shows, education and many more aspects.
Yet, I have this fear in me that what if my kids forget my culture and do not want to be associated with it when they grow up. While growing up in Japan, I remember my parents making sure that we learn all the traditions and celebrate all the Indian festivals. However, there was a point in my life where I felt I was Japanese and not Indian because I was naturally exposed to Japanese culture and lifestyle just by living there.
That is the same with kids who tend to grow up in a different country other than their origin culture whether it be Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Mexican and many more.
As my kids are growing up, I realized it was very necessary to pass on all the traditions and rituals. I feel it is very pivotal for parents to take that initiative to teach your kids year after year the traditions and in an fun, innovative way.
Traditions are rituals families engage in over and over. There is a reason we intentionally maintain and create traditions – it’s because they bring meaning to our celebrations and help bond us to those we love. They lend a certain spirit that nurtures the family connection, giving us a sense of belonging and helping us celebrate generations of family.
“How Important is Thanksgiving Soup to a Child’s Wellbeing?” – Child Help
Recently, we celebrated our Diwali and Indian New Year. Now, gearing up to the new year, there are quite a lot of traditional activities we do such as creating rangoli (colorful design patterns), we light the house with candles or diyas (lamps), we make all the yummy snacks, do small fireworks and get to wear traditional clothes.
One of the days, we worship money ‘Dhanteras.’ Then we do ‘Chopda Poojan’ where we worships books or more so your accounts or bank balance. Then the last day, we usually go to friend’s or relatives house and celebrate by having a feast.
By doing such rituals every year, even the kids now look forward to Diwali. Usually, Halloween and Diwali tend to fall around the same time. Therefore, in my frontyard, along with ghosts and spiders webs hanging during Halloween, they make sure that they have rangoli powders, fireworks, sweets and everything ready for Diwali.
You may feel why should parents take the initiative to teach your culture? Well, here are some reasons:
- Kids feel a sense of identity – It gives them a sense of proof of where they belong to or what is their background.
- Memories – It creates warm and positive memories that kids look forward to every year. Even when they grow up, they look forward to being home on such holidays.
- Lessons – It reinforces values and teachings that may help your child in the future to succeed ahead in life.
- Family bond – It makes family bonding stronger amongst parents and kids and amongst siblings too.
Yeah..yeah…yeah… enough school talk…you must be wondering…but how to do it in practical life?
- Teach using art – Help create artwork which is fun, engaging and is an easier form to teach them.
- Storytelling – If you have family history or a certain reason as why some traditions are done in a particular way, then share that with your kids in a story telling form. They are for sure to remember it for life. You never know, pretty soon they might be telling you the story.
- Cultural activities – By having your kids play cultural related sports (eg. cricket, badminton), having them in cultural dances/performances or watching cultural shows with them or cooking their favorite food – you never know how much information they are absorbing in.
- Start a Tradition – You can start a tradition with family and friends where annually you meet for lunch or dinner like Diwali lunch, Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas eve dinner.
Traditions are the key to a family heritage so before y’all leave the ship, what are your traditions you do and like to pass on to your kids?
