Traditions : The Unspoken Language of Love

A few days ago, my father called me downstairs and handed me the most random bundle of photographs he found just laying around in a packet. As I opened the set of almost 200 something photographs with ‘All I want for Christmas is You’ looped unavoidably in my head, it surprised me to find prints that one doesn’t find anymore. With round edges and the vintage yellow tint to them, some were my mother’s childhood pictures that I saw for the very first time. Among those were some I couldn’t even recognize. On flipping them, another thing I saw for the very first time were notes at the back by the sender themselves. One was my mother’s college mate, another an aunt- all wishing Merry Christmas or a Happy New Year  to her. Shocking as it may sound, I had not seen a real, physical Christmas card sent from far away before. And as I started sorting these precious memories sitting beside my Christmas tree, the importance of traditions hit me.

Holidays are never the same for everyone. While some eagerly await the reunion of a large family, others might just be too happy to set up new decorations at home. Some snuggle with each other and some with their cozy blankets. Some party hard with friends and some watch the ‘Home Alone’ series for the umpteenth time. As varied as these may be, all are a tradition that make holidays a comforting reminder of home for people. One may sit miles away and a tradition as simple as eating a chocolate cake at midnight will be enough to feel that familiar warmth inside of doing something one does every year.

Is it not incredible how something so general is always so personal to every single individual at the same time? The cinnamon cake that reminds one of their granny’s recipe, reminds the other how their cousin always picks out the raisins from it. Same holidays but different traditions and different feelings that these traditions elicit in people. In the continuum of life these traditions are not just something one does every year as a ritual but a standpoint of recognizing change. The same you who did the same thing last year is very different today. One’s relation to their traditional Christmas tree or the dear group of friends seems different as time goes by. And those similar feelings then felt by a comparatively newer version of the same person makes one reflect on how they have changed. 

More connected to self or less, more outgoing or not, a bigger fan of Mariah Carey as the years pass or not- traditions make one see themselves in the warm light of familiarity. And here is where we try to accept ourselves amidst the nostalgia of the past and apprehension of the future. Whether we like what’s changed or not, we reflect and find parts that add to our essence as we grow each year and wish for a future that brings us closer to ourselves.

So as you scroll through the 2022 recap reels on instagram and the January that seems distant stand at your doorstep again, may these traditions be your soothing lullaby through it all. May the love of home in whatever way it exists ( may one of those ways be gajar ka halwa), reach you and reassure you that another year of this unexpected life will perhaps turn out to be just fine.

Happy New Year!

Written by- Mansi Chauhan