Life has changed much in the last few years. Kids going to college, moving to my mother’s home, my sister moving to The Netherlands, the addition of new family members have meant nearly constant change to 25 years of family tradition.

I have learned that celebration is a state of mind and not a set of circumstances. I think that too often when it comes to holidays we center our joy in traditions  instead of on the actual purpose of the holiday itself. When the traditions change as all traditions must in time we experience a sense of loss and many times instead of reinventing the day we just give up on it.

I have determined not to do that. I am sold on the idea that as I am in a new place in life I must make new traditions and rejoice in the making.

For instance I have discovered that I really enjoy cooking the meals myself. The size of the meal or the number of guests doesn’t matter. It is the joy of cooking. I also love cleaning in preparation of the arrival of guests.

This year my daughter asked if we could play a game after dinner. We played a pick up game of Pictionary on the Thanksgiving table cloth (not to worry it was disposable). And then we played this game I got for Pastor’s Appreciation Day called Storymatic.  Four of us took turns writing a line of a story at a time. It was great fun. The results are found in my next post called Thanksgiving  Storymatic II.

I guess my point in writing here is that holidays are about celebration first and then tradition. Traditions come and go but do not let their passing steal the joy that the holiday is meant to communicate. I rediscovered one of my holidays in a game called Storymatic. What new tradition is your holiday hiding in?