Are you celebrating any holidays this time of year? If so, which ones? If not, is there another holiday that you look forward to each year?
What do you most enjoy about these celebrations? Does your family have any special rituals for them, such as giving gifts, hosting a big party, watching a favorite movie or attending a religious service of some kind? How important are these traditions to you?
In the Opinion essay “What My Children Taught Me About Interfaith Tradition,” Jessica Grose describes the way her interfaith Jewish-Christian household celebrates the holiday season:
On Sunday night, my family decorated our Christmas tree while “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” played in the background. Earlier in the day, my older daughter was practicing her Torah portion, and my younger daughter was working on a school slide show about the menorah we use every year, which was one of the few things my great-grandmother brought with her when she fled Vienna in the late 1930s.
I surveyed my living room as the movie reached its absurd crescendo, with our twinkling tree, menorah and twerking Christmas cat (don’t ask), I realized that my husband and I had finally integrated our interfaith household in a way that felt satisfying to all of us.
She also shares some of the favorite traditions readers submitted:
When I asked readers for their holiday rituals in a previous newsletter, I loved hearing about all the weird, warm and wonderful ways you were celebrating. Lots of you have a particular movie you rewatch (“Love, Actually,” “The Holiday,” and “The Muppet Christmas Carol” were mentioned). I laughed out loud at this message from Connor Chauveaux, of Opelika, Ala., who told me, “Our rather unusual tradition is that when we decorate the tree, we also watch ‘Silence of the Lambs.’” She reports that she has no idea how this got started but she relishes it nonetheless.
Valerie Hodgskiss of Concord, Calif., has a Christmas Eve tradition that includes church and fondue. “The attendance at church is the ‘gift’ that my kids give me that costs them next to nothing — they are free to arrive there under their own power, in time to sing the carols, and they are free to leave when it’s over. And then we all head home to my house to a late-night dinner that is probably the most relaxed, casual and low-stress gathering I do all year.” She says she cherishes the memories of her four children illuminated by candles at church and dinner all year long.
Many readers had holiday traditions that involved reflecting on the past year together. Ryen Salo of Gladstone, Ore., wrote, “Each year, my mom selects an ornament that embodies something each of our family members were excited about during the year, and gifts it to us on Thanksgiving. For example, when my son was 2, he was really into bubbles, so we now have a bottle of bubbles ornament on our tree.” Salo says that she loves the way her mother is paying such close attention to each family member: “She gives us a way to have a tangible piece of our pasts.”
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
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What is one of your favorite traditions for any holiday you celebrate? How did this tradition start? What does it mean to you?
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Do you belong to an interfaith or multicultural family like Ms. Grose’s that observes different holidays? How does your family navigate or integrate these differences?
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Ms. Grose shares research that shows family rituals improve the holidays, increasing enjoyment and feelings of closeness. Is this true for your family? Why do you think ritual and tradition make us feel closer?
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If your family doesn’t have holiday traditions that you enjoy, what is one you might like to start? What is meaningful or fun about it to you?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
Natalie Proulx is an editor at The Learning Network, a Times free teaching resource.
The post What Are Your Favorite Holiday Traditions? appeared first on New York Times.
