Home & Garden Tips
A Tradition is Savored
By Roosevelt McWilliams County Extension Agent

The holiday season is a time to reflect about life in general. I caught myself thinking about the years of early childhood in the small community of Dooly County where I grew up. Life seemed simple to me in those days growing up on our family farm. The rural people I remember had their ways as people do today.

Tradition was important especially around this time of year. There was always a Christmas play at church which was a special occasion because the building was filled to capacity.

There was the tradition of country stores stocking up on oranges, apples, Brazil nuts, grapes, and tangerines. People who were farming, logging and pulp-wooding had shut down their operations by this time of the year because of the winter wet weather. Groups of men would gather around the country stores just for the warmth of wood and coal heaters, conversation and the sake of tradition.

Tradition was a lot of family gatherings and special food. I can remember gifts, but most children that I grew up with only received one gift. Christmas morning was a special tradition in our family because my mom always prepared a special breakfast.

When I reflect on memories and traditions of the past, it's usually people I remember. We really don't have any say-so of what families we are born into and where we grow up because that is beyond our control. Life has a way of putting a stamp on us before we get started. We are a product of where we are born, the influence of our parents and family and the traditions we grow up with. Some of the family traditions are the fibers we hold onto when it looks like our world is falling apart.

Even though this is the time of year we celebrate the birth of our Savior, it is a difficult time for many. Because some of the traditions of the past are gone and can only be celebrated in memories, as loneliness creeps into our minds. That's why we should savor what was good and hold each that was dear to us to our hearts.

We need to make traditions special, so they can be carried on in the minds of family and our children and enacted for years to come. Traditions give us an identity of who we are and memories we can savor when all else is gone.

I hope that each of you enjoy the holiday season.