There’s something about traditions that just feels good.
Maybe you have family traditions you look forward to every year. The kind that brings back memories, makes you smile, and reminds you of the people and moments that mean so much.
I’d love to share one of our family traditions…
For over fifty-five years, my mom has been baking gingerbread cookies to give out on Halloween.
She was telling me last week that when we were younger, there were so many children in our neighbourhood that she would bake well over a hundred gingerbread cookies.
And they were delicious!
But what I love most about this story is that the tradition became something much bigger than cookies.
As the children on our street grew up and had children of their own, they would come back to Mom’s house with their little ones to get their gingerbread.
How sweet is that?
A tradition that had become part of their childhood was now something they wanted to share with the next generation.
My mom is now 94 and, for the past two years, hasn’t been able to bake the gingerbread herself. So, my sister Deb has taken over the Halloween baking, while my sister Shell has also carried on the gingerbread tradition. They are both fabulous bakers. And I get to help keep Mom’s Halloween tradition alive by handing out the cookies at her home.
Mom never went out and bought bags of candy to hand out. She made something herself. She put time, care, and love into it.
So she feels really good about knowing that something she started so many years ago is continuing. And honestly, it feels special to us, too.
And then there’s my friend Paul, who grew up on the same street as me and absolutely LOVES Mom’s gingerbread. Even as an adult, Mom always made sure he received a bag of cookies after Halloween.
Paul has lived in London all these years, but he recently moved away. So, of course, we’re keeping the tradition going. This year, we’ll be mailing Paul his very own goodie bag.
As I said, it feels really good to keep the tradition going.
Because long after the last cookie has been eaten, the love behind it remains.
Now, tell me… is there a tradition in your family that you look forward to every year?
With love,
Diane