Ishara's+Mosaic

Traditions
There are lots of different types of traditions, some big, some small, but all having special meanings to the people who celebrate them. Traditions can be anything, such as eating chicken every Friday, or pasta every Wednesday, as long as it’s consistent. In the Dictionary the word tradition means a //continuing pattern of culture, beliefs or practices//. Although a tradition is a continuing pattern, it is not always a belief. For instance, my family has a reunion every year in August. The reunion is a tradition for us. However, a family reunion isn’t a belief. Anyone can make a tradition. Some traditions are h olidays that everyone knows about, but a tradition can be something that a person created that no one knows else knows about, but he or she cares about. A tradition can also be a habit.

There were many traditions in Roald Dahl’s family. For example, he and his family would always go to Norway during summer vacation from 1920-1932. On that vacation, they had a big feast with a huge fish every year. Another tradition was that he had to learn to swim at an early age. This was not only their tradition, it was a Norwegian tradition. One other tradition was during the summer they took out a boat and paddled to an island. Once they got to the island, they would collect seashells, swim, and relax. The traditions I mentioned were those Dahl mentioned in the book ; I’m sure there were traditions that he omitted. I am very certain that the traditions he wrote about in his book were the ones that were most important to him. Roald Dahl was all about family, and that’s what his traditions were, and that’s why they were most important to him. These traditions helped his family to bond. In my family, there are both large and small traditions that help us to bond: m y family reunion and my mom's and my goodnight ritual.

Every summer in August, I go to New Jersey with my dad to hang with my family. My grandfather and his siblings, all my aunts and uncles, all my cousins, my dad’s cousins and their children, and of course, my dad and I, all get together and stay in a hotel. But before we go to the hotel, we have a huge barbecue in a park. Then we spend the night at the hotel. When we wake up, we all enjoy different activities. We go to the pool, run around, and just hang out. We do this until around 7 or 8 pm. Then we go to a party. Everyone goes in and eats except for my cousins, Brianna, Tiffany, Chenee, Jasmine, and me. That's because of another tradition. Every year, after a few minutes of changing, my cousins and I all perform a few dances. Every year we top ourselves, probably because we get better at dancing each year. Then we change back and eat, and then start the dance party. Usually the youngest generation is the highlight of the party. Last time, Brianna and I were the first ones to dance when no one, not even our other cousins, danced. I think the song was "The Electric Slide." We motivated everyone else to dance. We are kind of the center attention. Maybe because we are some of the youngest kids there, but still mature. When the family reunion takes place it is a way I learn about family I didn't even know existed. Our family is very energetic, so we always have the biggest and hottest party of the year.

The family reunion is a huge tradition that only happens once a year, whereas I have a tradition I share with my mom that is a small tradition and happens every night. To this day, my mom and I have a goodnight ritual. Every night when I go to bed, she tucks me in, and we say: “Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite! But if they do, hit them with a shoe and they’ll turn black and blue.” And then we say this (the underlined being me):

“I love you to the moon.”

__“And back again.”__

“I love you more.”

__“I love you most.”__

“I love you more than the most.”

__“I love you to infinity, and beyond.”__

“Boomerang.”

It is soothing to me because we do it every night and it gives me a sense of protection. It’s also soothing because I've always been doing this; I never go to sleep without having mom say this to me. Once I did and I had a bad day the next day and a bad dream that night. When mom and I say this to each other, I feel our bond with each other, and when we didn’t say it, I felt uneven. This tradition is important to me because it makes me feel balanced and connected. This tradition is small and it’s only celebrated between two people, whereas there are some traditions that are celebrated all around the world, like holidays.

Holidays come on the same day once a year, it is a pattern. Kwanzaa is an African holiday. The dictionary’s definition of Kwanzaa is //a harvest festival celebrated from Dec. 26th until Jan. 1st in some African-American communities.// The meaning of the word Kwanzaa is “the first” or “the first fruits of the harvest. ” The way this holiday works is you take seven candles (one black, 3 red , and 3 green) and put them in a special order on a seven candle holder. The black is in the middle, the red is on the left side, and the green is on the right. You light a candle each day, starting with the black. The candles represent the people (black), the blood of the people (red), and Africa, the land of the people, (green). The principles of Kwanzaa and the name Kwanzaa are Swahili, an African language. Also, each day, you cook, give gifts and talk. It is not a religious holiday and is nothing like Christmas. It is just a //tradition// that became a holiday.

During enslavement, as Africans were captured from their homes they were separated from their family and friends and mixed with Africans from other places. Therefore, they could not speak to each other because they all spoke different languages. They soon had to learn English so that they could connect and talk with each other. They were not allowed to practice their religions and were taught to be Christians. A long time after enslavement was ended, African Americans began to see how their African past was lost. They wanted to feel connected to Africa. So a man named Maulana Korenga created Kwanzaa so that people could celebrate during that time a year, but still be connected to their African roots.

A continuing pattern, that's a tradition. Whether they're big or small, all the events I have mentioned are traditions. Some may be celebrated all around the world by many other people, and some maybe small that know one knows about.

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