[dropcap]M[/dropcap]any of us – especially those of us who come from communities where traditional culture is still quite strong – grew up celebrating and participating in traditional holidays of various sorts, only to lose our connection to those traditions as we got older.
Life, as they say, gets in the way, and with age comes the need to focus on things like career and romantic life, and to put some of the more apparently “arbitrary” stuff on the backburner.
This is a completely understandable state of affairs – but it’s pretty unfortunate, all the same.
If you’ve been neglecting your traditional holidays for some time now, it may be time to go pick up that color powder for Holi, or stock up on candlewax for Andrzejki.
Here are some reasons to start celebrating traditional holidays again.
Traditions that have endured until the present day, and that have been going on for centuries, typically survive because they offer at least some benefits to the people who practice them and keep them alive.
It’s common for people today to live in cities, and be a bit detached from their families or the communities they grew up in. Traditional holidays are a great occasion and excuse for reconnecting and sharing some good times.
At the very least, you can reminisce with your loved ones, and eat some delicious food.
Because many of these traditions have been passed on down the centuries, because there is something to them that brings people together
Because it is easy to feel nihilistic and detached in today’s world, so a bit of respect for cultural customs isn’t a bad idea
The world becomes more cosmopolitan and globalised with each passing year, and one knock-on effect of this is that increasing numbers of people begin to feel that they lack a sense of their place in the world, and aren’t properly fulfilled by McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Hollywood blockbusters.
Nihilism – in other words, the sense of apathy and hopelessness that comes with feeling that there is a void of meaning in your life – all too often befalls people who are too detached from their traditional cultural environment.
Traditional cultures can certainly include elements that are destructive or harmful, but they will also typically contain a lot of nourishing elements that have helped people to maintain a sense of positive meaning over the ages.
Participating in traditional holidays is a way of showing a bit of respect for those cultural customs, and regaining a sense of your roots.
Traditional holidays of various sorts are often especially popular with children, who are typically fully in tune with the magical ritual and atmosphere of the occasion.
As we get older, it’s normal for us to become more jaded, and sceptical about such things.
If you can participate in traditional holidays with a sense of relaxed openness, however, you may be able to recapture some of that magic and joy that you felt as a child. And that’s something special in and of itself.
