Thanksgiving Traditions
Froggy just turned two and this is our first Thanksgiving in our own house. My in-laws joined us for the holiday. That being the case traditions have been a tremendous focus of my thoughts and conversations for the past week. I need to meld two families worth of very contraditory traditions as well as try to create some special traditions for my daughter.
In my family, most of the traditions revolve around food and it is the woman's job (for good or bad) to make that food. I love our family traditions but I don't want my daughter to feel bound to the kitchen as the only way to special memories. But Thanksgiving and many other holidays are not the same without the traditional foods. And I love to make those traditional foods and teach my daughter to make those traditional foods. But while teaching her to cook, I try desperately to teach her that I cook because I love to cook not because it is a woman's job to cook.
As well, it is important to me that every holiday has traditions that do not involve food. This year we added a Thankful Tree to our holiday. It brings a bit of nature indoors and focus our attention on the meaning of the holiday. Each guest added one or more leaves to the tree showing what they are thankful for. Here is a picture of our leafy tree.
In my family, most of the traditions revolve around food and it is the woman's job (for good or bad) to make that food. I love our family traditions but I don't want my daughter to feel bound to the kitchen as the only way to special memories. But Thanksgiving and many other holidays are not the same without the traditional foods. And I love to make those traditional foods and teach my daughter to make those traditional foods. But while teaching her to cook, I try desperately to teach her that I cook because I love to cook not because it is a woman's job to cook.
As well, it is important to me that every holiday has traditions that do not involve food. This year we added a Thankful Tree to our holiday. It brings a bit of nature indoors and focus our attention on the meaning of the holiday. Each guest added one or more leaves to the tree showing what they are thankful for. Here is a picture of our leafy tree.
So true! I love the focus on spending time together cooking, rather than the actual food. Those of us who struggle with eating issues also need to have traditions that don't involve food.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good post! My husbands family is very stratified toward women in the kitchen, unless its grilled then the men sit out by the grill drinking soda & pretending to cook. I told my husband he'd never find me helping in his mom's kitchen unless he's in there too-even though his family members set a bad example, my kids are learning that in our family, we ALL help out. Its a good lesson for both boys & girls to learn.
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