As I sit here on this Palm Sunday, hearing the church bells toll, seemingly right outside my window, images of bygone times pop into my head. Ruminating about the past, and the Easter holiday customs we enjoyed in my family bring melancholy and a sense of guilt for not continuing these age old traditions.
I remember each year on Good Friday, walking with my Mother, GrandMother and Sister to visit three churches that were within a few blocks of each other in our neighborhood. In later years, after my Grand-Mother had passed my Mom and Aunt along with my GrandFather would visit the cemetery to plant around my GrandMother’s grave. This wasn’t something I personally did but many people including my relatives visited the cemetery on Palm Sundays. Okay, this particular custom might seem morbid to some but it was and is a way to remember those who were very important in our lives. In fact as I am writing this article, my Father just called and mentioned that my cousin had sent him a picture of his parents’ grave as she too had recently made a trip to the cemetery.
On a more upbeat note, who could forget the intricate braids of palm that my GrandMother would weave each year, or the Italian Easter specialty dishes that my Father would prepare. One image after another comes to mind. Easter baskets, home-made ravioli, pizzelle made with a hand held iron over an open flame, ricotta pie, pizza rustica, lamb, even Mass -- they all seem a thing of the past.
It’s so easy to make excuses, convincing myself that at least some of these traditions are outdated, or that as a vegan I won’t eat any of these foods now, or that my Grandparents are gone, or that my Mom lives almost three hours away, or my Father is in Florida. And my Sister has no time with three kids to encourage these age-old customs.
But then I ask myself, if I had children of my own, would I foster these traditions or any at all? I would hope the answer would be yes. That I too would make a practice of honoring or celebrating the people and days that should be special.
I ask myself, why is tradition so important? And is it only a practice reserved for families? The answer that always comes to mind is that tradition connects us. It gives us a sense of who we are, where we come from and offers us a way to remember the special people and days in our lives! It also allows us to leave a legacy to be inherited by future generations.
And I remind myself that we don’t need to be a parent to foster tradition. And it doesn’t necessarily have to remain the exact same. As long as the spirit of the tradition is in tact, it can live on.
So with that said, this year I will try to keep at least one tradition in one way or another! May you too continue to honor cultural or religious customs of the past in an original or adapted way.
Wishing you peace and love!