Take a Bite out of Tradition

Traditions are important.  The rituals that we pass down from generation to generation form the glue that binds families and that memories are made of.  Customs of days gone by help us to understand our heritage and revel in its ability to somewhat remember from year to year what had been done previously, albeit with some modification.  There are old rituals that will stand the test of time and new practices that parents and grandparents will want to incorporate into their legacy and burden their children (who will, in turn, be able to saddle their children with, and so on).

Holidays and birthdays are the fore runners in the family institution hall of fame, but I am a firm believer that if there are presents to be had, any day provides the opportunity to be endearing and enduring.  The sheer thrill of a small gift-wrapped blue box on a nondescript third Thursday in March (why not celebrate Spring?) sent chills down my spine and has, in my opinion, the essential components that could make it a valuable new tradition and can enter into consideration for that esteemed position after just one year.

Gifts, of course, are nice (and should be graciously accepted at any and all times), but should not always be associated with tradition.  Things can get out of control, be expensive and the expectations are sometimes difficult to live up to.  Unless you go the “white elephant” gift exchange route (this deserves its own dedicated column), which has the potential of a protracted, blissful, almost to the folklore level, of tradition life.

However, my general rule of thumb for a true “tradition” experience is when chocolate is involved (and honestly, when shouldn’t it be?).

Let’s take the proverbial Easter Bunny (I like this guy, he is cute, furry and squeezable… somewhat akin to my love muffin).  Face the facts; the bunny, Santa and Cupid, who all have the candy and sweet “thing” down to a fine art have the memories market pretty well sewed up.  Much to his chagrin, the bunny is perceived that he is running a distant third to the others.  All the better for us that this rascal rabbit rises to the challenge and pulls out all the stops and infiltrates the auspices and camouflage of the humble Easter basket.

The annual hunt for the basket, hidden in the house by the bunny, builds anxiety in young and old alike.  My child was blessed with innate Easter basket search abilities.  Along with his inherited sense of chocolate smell, he is able to sniff out and track down his Easter stash with ease… I am so proud.  The glee of fresh jellybeans (picking out your favorite colors to pop into your mouth), the squish and crackle of chocolate marshmallow shaped eggs and the aroma that swirls happily around a newly opened giant chocolate bunny will reset your Easter memories faster than you can blink.

After 45 years of having my own (note: DO NOT BE FOOLED, the sharing of YOUR chocolate IS NOT part of any tradition) Easter basket – even when I had to fill it up and hide it myself – has built its own little empire of my spring time traditions.  One of the biggest single challenges and decisions of one’s own tradition building has to be where to bite, first, into a chocolate bunny.  Whether you nibble at the ears, the feet or the tail…9 out of 10 times, for the rest of your eating chocolate bunny life, you will always begin there.  Now if that isn’t a tidbit of trivial tradition… something definitely worthy of handing down.

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-