Emma told me yesterday about a conversation she had with her Korean friend about Groundhog Day.
Emma: Maybe it will be cloudy tomorrow and spring will come.
Friend: What are you talking about?
Emma: Well, in American we have a tradition where this one particular groundhog determines the weather for the next six weeks.
Friend: Why?
Emma: I don’t know … I never said it out loud before. It sounds kind of stupid when you say it out loud …
Traditions are funny things. Sometimes we carry on traditions for decades and we don’t even remember why. Maybe you’ve heard the Pot Roast Story. A mother was teaching her daughter, a new bride, how to cook pot roast. She showed her how to season it, add the vegetables, and then just before she put it in the pan, she lopped off a chunk at the end. The daughter asked why; the mom didn’t know. “That’s the way my mother showed me.”
Some months later the mom asked her mom. Turns out, the grandmother only did that for a period of time when her pan was too short. The mother never got the update, much less the original reason behind the action, and continued to do it her whole life, as well as pass it down to her daughter.
Weddings are full of traditions that for most people have largely lost their original meanings, and now are just part of the package. Presenting the couple, feeding each other cake (not smearing it all over their faces), a reception meal, the receiving line, even the guest book—all are symbols of a covenant. If you don’t believe in Christ, if you don’t even know what a covenant is, if you don’t believe marriage is for life—why bother with a church wedding and rings and vows? For some people, tradition just makes them feel good.
Traditions are important. They’re fun. They can bind us together as a people and lend stability in uncertain times. Not all of them need to have a deep spiritual meaning, but those that do shouldn’t be lost. Search your memory. What customs and traditions are part of your family and heritage that you don’t want to lose? What provisions have you made to ensure they are passed down intact, meanings and purposes as well as step-by-step instructions?
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 2 Thessalonians 2:15