I was chatting with someone recently who was surprised to hear their young adult son say something along the lines, “We don’t have any family traditions.” She was like, “Excuse me? Yes, we do. What about ______, ______, and even _____ that we do every year?” He said, “Oh, those are traditions?” Haha!
That’s the funny thing about traditions. Whether you decide they are or they aren’t, if you continue to choose something again and again, and that something means something to you or to someone else, whelp, that’s a tradition.
Last year, I bought every person on the district office teaching and learning team (roughly 20) a candle from Bath and Body Works. I catered lunch, and we enjoyed time together before I passed out the wrapped candles. I actually worried that this was a lame gift. Sure, most of us like candles, but I felt guilty that this gift didn’t carry a special significance nor was it personalized to each member of the team. I was entertained to watch them smell each other’s candles and before we knew it, they were swapping candles, trading them out for one that suited each of them. They sheepishly asked me if we could open the other candles that were left over for attendees who were unable to make it. I was so amused by all of it that I said sure, and they went on to smelling those candles too, picking out the candles they wanted to give to those who were not present.
They enjoyed this so much that I couldn’t picture doing anything different this year. Once again, wrapped candles with no names on them. Once again, amusement as they traded candles and opened the leftovers too. I listened as they explained to a new teammate how this works as if this had always been our holiday celebration.
It seems we’ve found a holiday tradition and one birthed from a gift that felt unoriginal to me yet sparked so much joy and connection for them.
In a world that seems to value the personalized and on-demand, traditions and shared experiences seem rare anymore and all the more special. Traditions can connect us, nurture belonging, invite reflection and gratitude for the present moment, and encourage us to find the significance of seemingly small moments.
Anyone can start a tradition. You just never know when something like wrapped candles will inspire the start of one. That’s the funny thing about traditions. The long lasting ones aren’t always the ones you start on purpose, and they aren’t even the ones that feel grand or extravagant in nature.
Sometimes, the people in the room turn a little thing into a special something.
And I think that’s the power of community. The power of us.
Wishing you and yours a beautiful holiday season, filled with traditions of old and untapped potential of new traditions too.
MEGHAN LAWSON 
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