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Family traditions are the glue that connects one generation to the next. We pass down traditions that have been the way of doing things for years and years by our family members. These traditions bind us to our past. Typical family traditions revolve around holidays and special events. For example, many families have special ways of celebrating Thanksgiving and or Christmas. For some it may be a tradition to open their home to homeless individuals and serve them a warm meal. Others may spend the day helping out at a soup kitchen or visiting patients in a hospital or nursing home. When it comes to events, family traditions can be very important. This is particularly true of such times as weddings, births, deaths, and religious milestones. Many families have particular celebrations that include gift giving. In fact, when it comes to family traditions and gifts, there often seem to be traditions within traditions. A perfect example of this can be demonstrated with some information about a family that owns thousands of acres of land in West Virginia. The land has been in the family for many, many generations, and throughout those years, numerous weddings have been held on the lawn that is surrounded by a beautiful flower garden. A wedding dress has been passed down through four generations. And in this particular family it is a tradition that the father of the bride buys the happy couple a family Bible. The Bibles are then passed down to the first-born son. So not only does this family respect family tradition, but they also value family heirlooms. Of course, basically anything at all can be considered a family heirloom, but most of us think of family heirlooms as things of value. However, in the example given, the wedding dress is an heirloom, as well as the Bibles. Many family heirlooms are religious in nature. Religious artifacts passed down through the generations can make us feel a real bond with our past. Part of this may be related to the importance that we place on our faith. We hold our religious beliefs close to our hearts – it is sacred to us, and therefore items that connect us to our religion are also important to us. So when that religious item is passed down it seems as though a part of us is passed down with it, which provides a real connection, or glue that binds the generations. About The Author: Andy Weiss is a freelance writer that recently did some work tracing his ancestry. He was able to locate a forgotten uncle that shared some family heirlooms with him that included Prayer Cards and a Cross Necklace that belonged to Mr. Weiss’ great-grandmother. Since Andy had never met his great-grandmother these heirlooms were meaningful to him. Since then Mr. Weiss tells everyone about the importance of passing along family heirlooms and how grateful he is to have items that were meaningful to his great-grandmother. Address: Discount Catholic Products 84 Mohegan Road Shelton, CT 06484 Phone #: 1.203.944.9531
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