The Deviation from Tradition

Traditions in everyone’s families vary, but typically people like to stay on the same plane. My family however, does the exact opposite. I think our tradition is being nontraditional. Take Christmas for example, a fairly religious, conservative holiday; also one occasion where my family is bound to become unpredictable.

Growing up my mom came from a very strict, religious family with six other siblings. They went to church and all got their first communion. What was served for dinner was your only option, if you do not like it, then you are going to bed hungry. It may sound harsh, but it was typical back then. Plus as expected with that many kids, things needed to be in order to avoid utter chaos. Maybe this is the reason why my family ambiance is completely different. My mom always likes to say that kids who are not allowed to explore when they are younger are more likely to rebel when they are older. Although my mom was not like that as a child, this is probably why her choice to not be such a traditional parent wavered from her parents.

I grew up with three older brothers, two of which were, and still are, those rebellious kids. In no means did my mother not parent them, but she also was not forcing church communions and religious practices on them. We were still raised with rules and expectations, one of which was to be a respectful person among many other things.

The great part about not being held to old traditions is ability to relax more than if we were to follow through with tradition. My two oldest brothers are spitballs of fire. More specifically, the oldest. He is one of those people that walks to the beat of his own drum no matter what people are around, or what those people might think. This leads to situations that would not be included in most other family occasions.

For example, Christmas in my family is always a holiday that is unpredictable. Yes, we plan out a time on Christmas Eve for everyone to come together, and activities for the kids and the adults to play, but we never truly know what to expect. I can remember one Christmas when my grandmother, the traditional one, came over for a while before we did my family’s Christmas. While she was there everyone was calm, cool, and collected; she would not accept any other type of behavior. But when my parents left to bring her home, my Aunt, and cousin, along with my three older brothers decided that moonshine and Fireball were a great way to celebrate Jesus. Needless to say, by the time my parents came back home to begin our Christmas, everyone was a little tipsy. So of course the right thing to do was try and play “Hedbanz” with my motley crew of a family. Long story short, it was a hilarious mess of chaos that ended in us having to move all the gifts into a different room to open because my aunt and brother were sick and puking in the initial room where the gifts were.

Some people might judge and say that the way we celebrate Christmas is not what is supposed to happen, just as my Grandmother would; but it is what makes our family gatherings unique. We do not do the same thing every year, there is always something unexpected that happens and every Christmas turns out great. Plus, each year we always have some new remark that we refer back to from a previous occasion. It allows for never-ending family jokes.

Being nontraditional has taught me that it is okay to vary from the traditional norm. Just because someone celebrates or does something one way, does not mean that another person has to do that too. A traditional Christmas is just not for my family. We are the types of people who like to play weird games and be unorthodox because that is who we are. We still appreciate traditional things, like the true meaning of Christmas, or other traditional practices that occur in weddings, etc. But having parents who let go of the traditional rules like going to church, or working as soon as you are old enough, or being strictly dedicated to religion on Sundays and holidays is something I admire. Being nontraditional allows for a sense of individuality and as unpredictable as my family can be, I would not want it any other way. The tradition of being nontraditional is one that I plan on keeping as I begin my own family in the future because walking to the beat of your own drum is a valuable thing.

Photo on Foter.com