It originated in the UK in the Middle Ages as the day when the church collection boxes for the poor were opened and the money inside distributed to the poor. It became the annual day off for servants when they would receive a Christmas box from their employers containing money and small gifts and for tradespeople to travel round their delivery places and collect their Christmas box or tip. It remains a public holiday to this day.
Understanding the traditions of your customers has never been so important. Understanding how these impact your brand is critical to adding authenticity to your story and long term viability for your brand.
Understanding these cultural nuances and idiosyncrasies could be your key differentiating factor in building customer relationships.
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Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Boiled Down Christmas and the holiday season brings with it a variety of cultural and familial traditions.
Every nation and culture in the world has its traditions. Tradition is a belief, principle, custom or behaviour with symbolic meaning or special significance that people in a particular group or society have continued to follow for a long time often being handed down from one generation to the next.
Traditions are constant, give us something to look forward to and are fun and enjoyable while, keeping us grounded and focused on what really matters in life. Being — our sense of inner peace and self-acceptance of our strengths and weaknesses and feeling grounded in our core identity. Belonging — our sense of comfort from being part of a group of people such as a family or team that share our values and provide support, respect and friendship. Children love routine and consistency; a family tradition provides this year after year.
It also helps the children manage the changes in the year and gives them something to look forward to. In addition, family traditions enhance family and personal well-being and can also add to the family identity. Strong family bonds are created and reinforced with traditions that are upheld and maintained. For example, perhaps a family with young children has a tradition of singing Christmas carols around their Christmas tree. As the children age, their tradition could evolve into caroling around their neighborhood.
In recent years my family has added time to make video calls with our relatives after Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We call our family members who may not have been able to travel in for the holidays or are stationed out of state or overseas due to military commitments.
But, the essence of who we are as humans - our struggles, our fears, our needs and desires - has largely remained the same due to the inherent characteristics that define human nature.
Tradition, then, seems to be a subtle reminder of this, heightening our awareness of self and others , cultivating a sense of belonging and stability, and acting as a guiding force in our lives and society. It is in this sense that tradition is always developing - calling us to "receive it, enrich it, and humanize it. Each generation must take nourishment from the other and give knowledge to the one that comes after.
And so, it is not that tradition is saying stop, or halt or "think no more. Question, but remember. Grow and change, but remember. Remember who we are as humans, where we came from and how we can take the knowledge, wisdom and experiences transmitted to us from generations afar to live a life more beautiful - and more meaningful.
But, you may ask, what of the changes, improvements and progress we have made? Surely they couldn't have been made by sticking solely to traditional ways. Yes - and they certainly shouldn't be overlooked. I'd be willing to bet, however, that somewhere deep inside, each one of us has a yearning for a sense of consistency, simplicity, stability and predictability.
Is that not a natural human tendency? And is that not what tradition can offer us? Be sure to check out some of the most interesting Easter traditions from around the world, along with some delicious Spring recipes , both "old" and new.
See also a similar reflection on the wisdom and teachings of Mister Rogers , "America's Favorite Neighbor.
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