traditions-related stories

Has your family caught Olympic fever? Ours sure has. The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are taking place right here in Canada, and even though our family won't be travelling to see events live, Cabin Fever plans to mark the occasion in a special way. The official symbol of the Vancouver 2010 Games is the Inuksuk, and to celebrate the opening, we're going to build our own. You can too! Two beautiful books by artist and art educator Mary Wallace provide inspiration and guidance: I is for Inuksuk: An Arctic Celebration, and Make Your Own Inuksuk.

Perhaps you are wondering: what is an Inuksuk? (It's pronounced: Ee-nook-sook). Simply put, an Inuksuk is a stone tower. It can be very large, or very small, or any size in between. And though the shape most associated with the Inuksuk is a human-like form, it can take other shapes, too. For thousands of years, these towers have been built by people living in the Arctic.

Constructed out of available stones, and without adhesive material, an Inuksuk can stand for centuries. On the bare and vast Tundra, the Inuksuk acts as a visual guide, and as a way of communicating important information to others.

Swine flu is definitely not on Santa's Christmas list this year, and actors who play the jolly old elf in malls across the country are asking for priority when it comes to getting the H1N1 vaccination.

The Boston Herald reports that Ernest Berger of the group Santa America is pushing heath authorities to give Santas first dibs on the sought-after and rationed vaccination not only because they are exposed to a large group of children, but also because research suggests that obesity is a risk factor for swine flu. Berger asserts that many of the men who play St. Nick are at least 100 pounds overweight.

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This Christmas Eve, though, the kids are with your ex. After all, you have to take turns. Now it's just you, the TV and those classic Christmas movies, which remind you that you're alone. You always loved watching "Miracle on 34th Street" before. It was part of your family holiday tradition. This year, the characters makes you weep, but not in a good way. There is no joy, just painful memories.

Being a noncustodial parent hurts. Being one during the holidays can be even worse.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, the holiday has officially begun. Whether you're working today, anticipating tomorrow's fun, or you already have a houseful of company, Christmas Eve is the kick-off for what is probably your kids' (and maybe your own) favorite day of the year.

For children, Christmas is all about Santa and toys, toys, toys, but whether they realize it or not, it's also about family togetherness. Make this Christmas especially memorable with one of these five holiday activities.

Ah, the World Wide Web. It brings people, information and cultures together like nothing else ever has, and probably ever will. The mysteries and magic of the unknown cease to be, replaced by the infinite possibilities of knowledge. The Internet can also cure boredom and wreak havoc on parents, especially around the holiday season. This Christmas (like those of the past ten years, apparently), kids who simply can't wait to get the holiday season started can set up a Christmas Countdown through the site A North Pole Christmas with Santa.

For those of you who eschew traditions like the nativity thingee I can't remember the name of right now (you know, that thing where you open each day and there's a piece of cheap and therefore not-so-tasty chocolate under there -- oh, right -- an ADVENT CALENDAR!) the site offers kids the chance to count down to Christmas Day with their own personalized calendar. Not only that, but kids can also take a quiz to see if they've been naughty or nice and even get a print out document to prove so! One would hope by this time of year kids knew if they'd been naughty or nice, but you never know--and there's always that one kid who thinks everything has to be notorized to have merit. The site also offers kids a chance to check out Rudolph's hijinks via a Rudolph Cam, send an email to Santa and print our Christmas coloring pages.

To be honest, I didn't attempt to set up the personal countdown myself as my computer is still considered unsecure from my move, so I don't know how easy or difficult it is for a kid or an adult to set it up. Still, it might be worth the effort and trouble to keep your child (or yourself) occupied until the big day. I know as a kid I wanted Christmas to last the whole month of December, so this is one way of doing that. Plus, for adults, it serves as a gentle reminder to get those holiday cards out, buy the presents, clean the house, plan Christmas dinner and all that other stuff that makes us dread Christmas instead of relish it like kids do. Seriously, with all that you have to do, how can you afford NOT to show this site to your kids? Hey--maybe this nifty countdown, or the North Pole Christmas with Santa site, can bring your holiday spirits back up. I'm going to go check out the Rudolph Cam right now!

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Traditions are an important part of family life. Traditions not only create positive feelings and a sense of belonging, they help parents pass their values on to their children. There's a good reason why, as parents, we often find ourselves repeating some of our favorite family traditions with our own children.

Today was my older daughter's first day of kindergarten, so we're just starting to form our own back-to-school traditions. Ours are pretty simple -- a shopping day spent just with Mom, a special breakfast that first morning, and a picture taken on our front porch, where all milestone pictures are staged. Then, we all walk to school together as a family. It's only our second year of school, but I particularly hope that we can keep that last one up.

Tip Junkie has collected an interesting list of back-to-school traditions from other parents, and Family Fun has some great ideas for celebrating that first day of school. Real Simple has tips for creating family traditions any time of year.

Of course, the best parenting tips usually come from other parents, so let's hear it: What do you do to make the first day of school special?

He's simply a boy anxious to start kindergarten, but even at age five, Adriel Arocha is learning that, sometimes, things just aren't that simple. Adriel's dad is Apache and believes that Adriel's hair should remain uncut for traditional reasons. Adriel himself says that he needs his long braids because,"they tell me how long I've been here."

But when the family made plans to move to Needville, Texas and enroll their child in kindergarten, they didn't exactly receive a warm welcome. Adriel's mom emailed the school to inquire about enrollment and to mention his long hair, which, she explained, was always neatly kept in two long braids. The school emailed back that their dress code did not allow boys' hair to touch their collars. After a flurry of emails, phone calls, and meetings, the district decided that they were unwilling to budge on their rules for Adriel and his family.

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Beyond hot dogs and fireworks, have you taught your child the meaning behind Independence Day? I'll admit that I haven't even started. We have our Fourth of July traditions, but even my older daughter has only the vaguest grasp on what the holiday is all about.

One of our traditions is meeting our in-laws in a town in between ours and theirs for a road race early in the day. My husband's brother is a runner, and he does a 10K there every year. This year, he and my husband took our girls in the 2K fun run as well. As we stood watching the runners go by, a group of racers carrying flags and wearing t-shirts emblazoned with "support our troops" went by. The crowd went wild as they passed, and my older daughter asked me, "Why are they clapping for them?" Not the most perfect place for a civic lesson, but I did my best.

CNN asked their readers to share their own thoughts on patriotism today, and the responses are interesting. I'd like to go one step further and ask ParentDish readers: How do you teach your own children about patriotism and what traditions do you have that help teach your kids more about this holiday?

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Earlier this week, Angie wrote about Japan's crying baby contest. Though that contest may not be something you'd see in America, it's obvious that it's a fun, loving tradition for the families involved and that the babies aren't harmed or traumatized by it.

Today, however, I came across the Indian baby dropping ritual, and I think it falls (no pun intended) in a completely different category. Muslims of Western India practice a 500-year-old ritual of dropping their babies off a 15 meter building, to be caught on a white sheet. They say that the tradition helps their babies to be strong and healthy.

Participants claim that no baby has ever been hurt during the ritual, which is surprising to me. I can't imagine being a mom and watching my child go through this, tradition or not.

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I came across this very interesting little piece that appeared in the New York Times the other day about American families raising adopted children from China and exposing both the child and the family to Chinese traditions. This is done basically to give the child a sense of identity of where they are from and their culture, as well as giving the adoptive family the opportunity to learn more about their child's roots.

This is a really great concept and as we see more families adopting from overseas, it really does give a child a good sense of self and an understanding of where they come from. There are times when we seem too quick to "Americanize" these kids, but we need to remember that all of us come from somewhere else, and we celebrate our own traditions and customs, whether we are of Italian, Irish, Jewish, German, African-American, Asian, etc., descent. We as adoptive parents should allow our children that same opportunity to celebrate their own inherent traditions.

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When I was growing up, I was the only one in my large group of friends who had divorced parents. I called myself a "divorced kid."

While most of my friends got to hang out with each other on weekends and holidays, I spent my time shuffling between parents that lived two hours away from each other.

Now, as an adult, I have in-laws, which means we now have three sets of parents to shuffle between on holidays. Yes, I'm 27 and still dealing with the repercussions of a divorce 17 years ago.

If you're a divorced parent, try to think of ways that you can help your child through the holiday season. Here are some tips about how to make the holiday season sane for both you and your kids.

First, be civil. Yes, you've gone through a divorce but your ex is still your child's parent. Don't argue over someone dropping the kids off 15 minutes late. These things happen and screaming at each other isn't exactly spreading the holiday spirit.

Also, if it is at all possible, think about doing something together during the holiday, even if it is just eating dinner together. My parents never did this and, honestly, I've never felt comfortable having my parents in the same room, which definitely comes in handy for grandchildren's birthday parties or weddings.

Even if having dinner with your ex is about as high on your "to do" list as having a colonoscopy, try and remember the kids. This season is hard enough, having to shuffle between parents and dealing with their feelings. Make it the best (and most civil) that you can.

Ahh, Christmas. If we believe the people inside the talking box, it is a time of family togetherness, presents, songs and good memories. And, perhaps it is, until you have teenagers.

Here's a funny column from a father of four teenagers. Every year, since his kids were little, they'd drive out to the countryside and pick out a tree. You know, the Normal Rockwell version of Christmas that the aforementioned television presents.

But then...he had teenagers.

So long are the days of excitement over finding a good tree. Now he has two whining teenage girls who'd rather text-message from a tree farm than have anything to do with cutting down a tree. His boys are cold and more interested in the teenage girls out with their families.

And his wife? Poor thing, she has that "mommy syndrome" of "okay, kids, you can play with the chainsaw...just don't cut off any fingers."

So next time the teens are itching to hit the movies with their friends instead of hanging up stockings, remember, you're not alone. I, too, was once one of those teens that preferred hanging with my friends over my family. And now? Now I drive my own kids to look at Christmas lights.

Keeping with tradition (and, by "tradition," I mean something we came up with a few years ago) my husband and I pulled out the Christmas tree for decorating on Friday night. Since we have a 2-year-old and a 10-month-old, we weren't sure how things would work. Would the kids try to climb the tree? Pull things down?

Nope! (Well, not yet anyway.) My daughter helped put ornaments on the tree, though I did have to rearrange a few when she wasn't looking. Even my son, whose favorite activity is eating things off the floor, took time out from crawling to stop and stare at the tree.

The best part? Every time my daughter walks into our living room, she points at the tree and says "I made it!"

Since my kids are young, we're still working on the whole Christmas tradition thing. Since family is very important to me, I want for my kids to have good memories of the Christmas season once they are older.

What holiday traditions does your family do? Do you remember anything from when you were younger? Any tips on creating traditions for young children?

This year marks a new beginning for my family. Since my father died in June, we are all trying to pick ourselves up, function without his leadership and breathe through the days. As the holidays are approaching, we are also trying to accept that he will not be here for the celebrations; we are simply trying to find bits of happiness in all of it. Neither my mother nor I had given Thanksgiving much thought, I know I was simply hoping it would pass without either of us having to deal with it. However, the other day one of our dearest friends called and informed us that we would be sharing dinner at their house. Better for us, I thought, no cooking or cleaning. Then our friend told us that we would be shucking the turkey and stuffing in favor of a Cajun Boil, complete with fresh shrimp, craw fish, crab and ice cold beers. Hey, hey, I though, even better. No turkey, no tradition.

I find myself truly looking forward to the dinner. It will be something we have never done before, but with people we truly love and who's company we enjoy. We will all miss my father, it would be impossible not to think of him. But by setting aside traditions and acknowledging that we all need a change, I believe we are making a good decision.

Has your family made changes in your traditions?

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