Family Culture

Culture is our values, beliefs (like religion), and practices. It’s the art and music that we enjoy and even the food that we eat. Culture can vary by nation, city, ethnicity, or family. Families pass on their culture through traditions. These are passed on to their children. Each family has a different culture and beliefs. For example, every Thanksgiving, my family and I would go camping and cut down a Christmas tree. We would have a tinfoil dinner, roast marshmallows, and look at the stars. I have been up at college for the past two Thanksgivings, so I was not able to go. I miss doing that with my family.

My family also has lots of Christmas traditions. We LOVE Christmas. We decorate sugar cookies, watch Christmas videos and enact the Nativity every year on Christmas Eve while our Dad reads Luke 2. Now that my brother and I are not little kids, we do not act it out, unless our nieces and nephews are spending Christmas with us. Since I love these traditions, I will pass them on to my future family.

If there is a tradition that I don’t like, I can take it out. How can you tell if a tradition or part of your culture is bad? I believe that we can all agree that hurting someone physically, emotionally, spiritually, or socially is not humane. Therefore, we need to get rid of traditions that hurt others. We should not foster bullying and belittling others (including ourselves).

Or I could add new ones in. I love how Mexicans have a holiday to remember their ancestors and loved ones! In my future family, I would love to add in a day where my family could celebrate loved ones and learn about their stories. I am inspired by the stories of my ancestors who sacrificed everything that they had to cross the plains for their religious beliefs. I learned so many life lessons from the stories that my mom and dad would tell me. I remember my mom telling me stories about one of my great, great, great, great-something Grandpa Chester Loveland. She told me how he would stand up for what was right even when others did not believe him. His example helps me stand for what I believe is right even when I stand alone. I feel so much closer to the ancestors that I have been told stories about. (There’s this awesome website called Family Search, where you can make your family tree and add memories and pictures for free. That is where my family puts stories of our ancestors.)

Culture helps to shape us. I grew up in a family where religion was very important to us. Had I grown up in a different family, that did not value religion, then I would not be as religious as I am today. Culture helps shape our needs and wants. One thing that everyone desires is to belong to someone, something, somewhere. How do we fill this sense of belonging? Through my experiences, I would say love. Some get it through their marriage and family. Others get it from their job, while yet others get it from their hobbies or friends. Religion can also be a source of belonging. Our talents and abilities can make us feel as if we are part of a group. We all want to belong and feel like we are contributing to a purposeful cause.

I feel like I belong to my family because of the relationships that I have with them and the traditions that my family celebrates. I love to dance, because I feel like am graceful and I can do anything that I can set my mind to. I feel like I belong with tap dancers, because that is where I have made many of my friends.

Does your family have any traditions that you have passed on? Is there any that you want to add? Do you know any stories about your ancestors? Where do you feel like you belong?

Keep on Dancing!

💙

Emily