What are your NEW traditions since being posted OUTCAN?
Being away from friends and family can be particularly challenging as the holiday season approaches. The MFS (Europe) Coordinator Team challenges you to create new traditions while you are posted OUTCAN. Holiday traditions are important for building strong family connections, instilling values, creating a sense of identity, and fostering positive emotions. They contribute to overall well-being and create a foundation for curiosity and adventure.
Keep reading for the top ten reasons why new traditions are important and take a glance at some of the favorite traditions of the Military Family Services (Europe) Coordinator Team.
Why are holiday traditions essential?
Builds Stronger Bonds: Engaging in traditions fosters a sense of togetherness and strengthens family bonds. Shared experiences create lasting memories and contribute to a sense of unity among family members.
Creates a Sense of Stability: Traditions provide a sense of predictability and stability, especially during times of change or uncertainty. Knowing that certain activities will be repeated each year can offer a comforting and grounding influence on family members.
Passing Down Values: Many holiday traditions carry cultural, religious, or personal significance. By participating in these activities, families have the opportunity to pass down important values, beliefs, and customs from one generation to the next.
Promotes Self or Family Identity: Establishing and maintaining traditions helps to shape and define a family's unique identity. Whether it's a specific meal, a ritual, or a particular way of celebrating, these traditions contribute to the distinct culture of the family.
Creates Anticipation and Excitement: Traditions often come with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Whether it's opening presents on Christmas morning, preparing a special meal, or going on a family vacation, the anticipation leading up to these events can be a source of joy for family members.
Encourages Connection and Communication: Engaging in traditions provides opportunities for family members to connect and communicate with one another. Whether it's through shared activities, storytelling, or collaborative tasks, traditions facilitate meaningful interactions.
Fosters a Sense of Belonging: Traditions create a shared history and narrative for a family. By participating in these activities, family members feel a sense of belonging and connection to something greater than themselves.
Promotes Emotional Well-being: Holidays and traditions often bring joy and positive emotions. Engaging in enjoyable activities as a family can contribute to the emotional well-being of individuals, fostering happiness, and reducing stress.
Counteracts Commercialization: In a world where commercialization is prevalent, holiday traditions provide an opportunity to focus on non-material aspects of the season. This can help families shift their focus away from consumerism and emphasize the importance of relationships and shared experiences.
Creates Lasting Memories: Many people have fond memories of holiday traditions from their childhood. These memories often carry a sense of nostalgia and can be cherished throughout a person's life. Establishing traditions creates a legacy that can be passed down through generations.
What are interesting and creative holiday traditions that you have for yourself, or with friends and family?
Joany Beauregard, MFS(Europe) Manager
For sure advent calendars! With our son, we unwrap 1x Christmas/Holiday book every day of the month. We love reading and this is a way of connecting before bedtime. We have a mix of old (recurring) books and some new books each year, as he grows up, we adapt to his age group. It’s a perfect way to revisit classics and it really puts us in the Holiday spirit right from the beginning. Our son’s favourite book from last year is the Polar Express and he can’t wait to read it again comes December 😊
Kristy Fallon, MFS Program Specialist
Every year, we go for a walk on Christmas Eve together, and when we are gone, the elves sneak in and leave a gift for each of us to open when we get back. My girls are so excited to unwrap their gift knowing that they will be matching pajamas. They ask questions on the walk, wondering will the pajamas be one piece or two? What pattern will they be? By the time we get home from our walk, they are practically vibrating with excitement about opening that one gift. Once everyone has opened their pajamas, we all put them on and take pictures together as a family in front of our tree. Then, we all cuddle and take turns reading pages from Twas the Night Before Christmas while wearing our holiday finest.
Amanda Ager, Community Coordinator
The holidays in our house are about spending time with loved ones, being grateful and reflecting on the past year. Our holidays are about putting our feet up, having small adventures and eating outstanding food. Leading up to the 25th, we light a holiday advent calendar candle and take a moment to share our gratitude checks (what are we most grateful for). On the evening of the 24th, we gather with the community at the local church and then head to a neighbor's house for nibbles and company. We open stockings the morning of the 25th (including one for our four-legged friend, Rupert), have a lovely cup of coffee and tuck into a hot-crossed bun with orange marmalade. As we are in the United Kingdom, we will then head to the local pub for some social time. We do not put a great deal of emphasis on gifts, as we spoil each other (and our friends and family) throughout the year. The holidays are about rest, relaxing, recharging, and have I mentioned great food?
Anick Masse, French Language Coordinator
We are different as we don’t eat turkey for Christmas dinner. We never did! We change the menu almost every year.
We have developed a new tradition in attending the Christmas Mass in our neighborhood even if we don’t understand a word as it is in Latvian. We find it nice because we get to meet locals and experience their way of celebrating. No heating in the church, no lights, only candles and a lot of nice songs!!!
Andrea Mahoney, Child & Youth Coordinator
Every Christmas Eve, the girls sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn (to remind the reindeer that we’ve moved), got to open one gift, put their stockings out for Santa to fill and left milk and cookies (carrots for the reindeer if it was too cold/snowy out). On Christmas morning, the girls have to wait together to go to the tree until the lights were on and Boney M Christmas was playing (the one morning they never slept in … neither did we). They always opened their stockings first and any of the unwrapped gifts were from Santa. Christmas day has always been a Pj day with new games, movies, turkey dinner and calls/video chats with family and friends.
Chloé Tate-Marion, Employment, Education and Training Coordinator
Every Christmas Eve we attend mass and watch the nativity play and then get together with family to feast on all sorts of hors d’oeuvres. The boys each get to open one present that is already under the tree (not from Santa). We always end the evening off with the book ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas' and preparing a snack for Santa (a treat that Daddy will like) and the reindeer (throwing carrots out in the yard!).
We’ve started a new tradition since living in Germany that we picked up from our children's schools. On the night of December 5th, we have the boys clean up a pair of shoes and place them at the door before going to sleep. The next morning, they find their shoes filled with treats from St. Nicholas.
Angela Enman, Virtual Program Coordinator
For years, when we would make it back to see our families in PEI for the holidays, we would attend midnight mass with our families on Christmas Eve, and then go back to the home of an extended family member where the men in the family would cook a huge breakfast, to be served around 2:00 am. Bacon, sausage, eggs, meat pie, cheese, sweets, homemade bread and biscuits. All the cholesterol you can imagine. Then we would head home to nestle the kids into bed (instead of where they eventually dozed off) only to wake up with all the Santa excitement a few short hours later.
Kristine Breton, Virtual Program Coordinator
During our OUTCAN time in Italy, our family adopted the tradition of La Befana (much to the delight of our children). Italian folklore tells the story of an old witch who delivers gifts to children across Italy on the night of January 5th (the eve of Epiphany). There are numerous variations on the story of Befana, but the central theme is the same: The biblical magi (the three wise men) came to the house of Befana on their way to see baby Jesus, and they invited Befana to join them. Befana chose not to go with the magi, but then later regretted this decision. Filled with regret, Befana then gathered baked goods and gifts for baby Jesus and packed a broom to help the new mother clean. Befana then traveled from house to house searching for baby Jesus. This origin story results in the lore of Befana travelling from house to house on the night of January 5th to leave sweets and gifts for “good” children, and coal for “naughty” children. Legend also says that Befana will give you a smack with her broom if she sees you, so children across Italy know to never get out of bed to see Befana when she comes to their home. Our children loved learning about the story of La Befana, and now on the eve of January 5th, our children follow tradition and put out a pair of boots in front of the fire, to see if Befana will fill them with a surprise. Happy Holidays!
What are YOUR best holiday traditions? Do you have some in common with our Coordinator Team? Do you have something new you will try this year? Don’t be shy and reach out with your best holiday traditions (old, new and adventurous!). Happy Holidays from the Military Family Services Coordinator Team. MFSE.Europe@cfmws.com