Reflections

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  1. Mary Pat

    Evening prayer. I miss it. We have a vespers service at our Unitarian church once a month and I find that helpful. We use Ubi Caritas as one of the hymns and I just love it, so sometimes I open youtube and do it myself here at home. There is also one from the Taize Community itself in France here, https://www.taize.fr/en_article28227.html that is nice, but not the same I grew up with.
    The one I grew up with is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9zvDBPkgOk
    Also, every year before January 1st, I sit in silence and ask for a new word or a phrase for the New Year ahead to guide me. This year is was Be still, go deep within. Truly I needed that!

    11 months ago
  2. Don Jones

    Each New Year’s eve I would reflect upon the year that was and the possibilities that lie in the year ahead. That has evolved a bit now to self-reflection.

    12 months ago
  3. Robin Ann

    My sister in law introduced “Christmas crackers which is British tradition dating back to Victorian times. It is something we do after Christmas dinner and a lot of fun.

    12 months ago
  4. luv-1-nutter

    For me it’s a beer a joke and a belly roll.

    12 months ago
  5. Barb C

    I used to have more traditions, based on ones I grew up with. Many of those are gone or have evolved.

    One that I created that brings a smile: I created the tradition that on Christmas morning my daughters weren’t to leave their rooms until I came in with hot chocolate for them (exceptions as needed to run to the bathroom and go straight back). This gave me time to get up, deal with any last-minute things I hadn’t done the night before, and make coffee for myself before the hurly-burly of opening stockings began.

    We’ve started a new tradition with my sister-in-law, who lives about an hour away. She lives alone since my brother died in 2016. We go up on Christmas Eve, go out to dinner somewhere, sit by the fire talking and watching Christmas movies, and on Christmas Day we open stockings and watch more Christmas movies. Last Christmas my 27-year-old younger daughter was there as well. She didn’t come out of her room Christmas morning and we thought she was sleeping in until she finally texted me saying “Mom, are you bringing me hot chocolate?”

    Another new thing that we plan to make a tradition: My husband and I had our 15-year wedding anniversary last year. I came up with the idea of going on 15 dates for 15 years. We did all kinds of things: went out for meals at restaurants we hadn’t tried before (we just moved here 2 years ago), went to a nearby wildlife refuge and walked through it, took a picnic on a bike ride to another wildlife refuge, walked downtown and got coffee. It was delightful and we’re going to do this every year, so the longer we’re married the more dates we’ll go on around our anniversary.

    12 months ago
  6. T
    TaraMichele

    My mom always watches the movie Twister whenever there’s a tornado warning😂 I’ll probably continue it on…it makes those moments more fun & less scary.

    12 months ago
    1. Joseph McCann

      The last time we heard a tornado siren (Cheryl’s first) was in Springfield, Missouri November 2010 eating in a barbeque joint. It went east of the area we were in. My wife was terrified…I kept eating!

      12 months ago
    2. Barb C

      Love this! I used to tell my daughters that thunderstorms were exciting and we’d watch them from our windows. I didn’t want them to be afraid of them so I made what could have been scary into a special event.

      12 months ago
  7. Charlie T

    I’m not sure what the difference is
    between tradition and ritual. These two
    come to mind.
    My morning cup of coffee and
    my Sunday bike ride.

    12 months ago
  8. devy

    Celebration of Christmas on Christmas Eve and. Patrick’s Day. Both cover my German and Irish ancestry

    12 months ago
  9. Carol

    What came to mind when I read today’s question is the tradition of cooking holiday dinners with my husband, especially Thanksgiving Dinner. He always mixed a lot of herbs and marinated the very large turkey we always purchased as the kids( our son JJ and daughter Shannon) would be coming home and my son would be bringing his mother-in-law and three of his wife’s siblings, there was always a few strays at our table because we lived close to an army post and young soldiers far from home were always welcome. I baked pies, he chopped celery and onions for the massive amount of stuffing we always made. He made home made rolls and I boiled sweet potatoes that I would glaze with butter and brown sugar on Thanksgiving Day. We cleaned broccoli and made cheese sauce. On Thanksgiving Day we arose about 4:30 a.m. to put some of the stuffing in the turkey and the rest in a casserole to bake separately. You can’t have too much stuffing! We crawled back in bed fro a couple of hours and arose for fresh made coffee and a piece of Pie for breakfast. I always made an extra pie for that purpose. Folks started arriving around one in that afternoon. My husband was slicing the turkey; I was glazing the sweet potatoes. Many times we had to set up an extra table to accommodate everyone in our large country kitchen. Everyone had their fill and conversation was lively. Late that evening we put the turkey bones to simmer in a big pot. Tomorrow we would make turkey soup. One year our daughter spent Thanksgiving with her boyfriends family and she came home upset. She said, Mama, they didn’t start cooking the Turkey until noon. They used stove top stuffing. The pies weren’t homemade. The sweet potatoes were canned, etc., etc. It was then that I realized the meaning of tradition.

    12 months ago
  10. Yram

    I am answering my question. A routine is an action of habit. A tradition has purpose and designed to create a moment.

    12 months ago
    1. Carol

      Yram, Beautifully said.

      12 months ago
  11. Yram

    My first question was, what is the difference between a routine and a tradition?
    My morning quiet on this site, making a nut roll on Christmas, eating corned beef on St. Patrick’s day, and buying a lily for my husband on March 19th.

    12 months ago
  12. Antoinette

    Being able to move my body and breath is something I cherish. It’s wonderful to be well and walk in the fresh air ! Thank you !

    12 months ago
  13. Laura

    I don’t go to work on my birthday. I always take it off and spend the day shopping for books, treating myself to a long, leisurely walk, and enjoying a favorite meal.

    12 months ago
    1. Mary Pat

      I never thought of that! I am going to start that this year…what a great idea. Thank you.

      11 months ago
    2. Robin Ann

      Same here Laura! I am treating myself to an overnight on cape cod this year!

      12 months ago
      1. Laura

        Sounds like a great trip!

        12 months ago
    3. Nannette

      Laura, What a wonderful tradition!!! Thank you for sharing it!!

      12 months ago
      1. Laura

        😎

        12 months ago
  14. Michele

    Cooking family recipes – Nanny’s German Potato salad, Mom-Mom’s choc chip cookies, my own – chili, St. Patrick’s meal
    Seasonal decorating -> October -Hills Creek State Park camping, carving pumpkins, haunted hayrides (Winding Brook Farm)
    xmas time- love watching Elf, never gets old, lol or It’s A Wonderful Life

    Happy National Joseph Day Joseph!

    12 months ago
    1. Joseph McCann

      Thank You Michele.

      12 months ago
  15. Sheila

    Every morning I text my sister and she texts me. It is a beautiful way to start my day. I am blessed to have such a caring and kind sister and friend. Sunday blessings to all 🌟🌈

    12 months ago
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