Traditions touch us, they connect us, and they expand us. — Rita Barrett Craig
Any parent can tell you that the likelihood of a young child’s cup of hot cocoa getting spilled on dad’s new khaki pants is indirectly proportional to the temperature outside. Despite this fact, families continue to flock to annual light shows in the freezing cold, to Photo with Santa stands at overcrowded malls, multiple course Hanukka dinners, and to end of summer cow-pie-studded 4-H fairs. Traditions are the ties that bind siblings, parents, friends, and extended relatives from generation to generation.
Imagine what a lack of traditions would mean for a character, such as someone who grew up in a variety of foster care homes or in abject poverty. What would this character not understand? What traditions would this character make of their own accord?
What holiday traditions are important to your character? Are there traditions they wish they no longer had to engage in?
If you’ve created a fantasy world, what traditions exist there? Have they evolved or changed? How are those traditions seen by different factions in this world?
If you’re writing a historical novel, what traditions were popular at the time?
Describe the traditions you choose using all the senses.