Written by Jane Scupham, principal
Main Entry: tra·di·tion Pronunciation: tr-di-shn Function: noun Etymology: Middle English tradicioun, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French tradicion, from Latin tradition-, traditio action of handing over, tradition
Traditions abound at this time of year. I’m sure your family has their share of them. I know my family has many traditions that have developed over the years. My husband and I have our traditional (sometimes heated) discussion about how many strings of lights should be on the Christmas tree—I always want more, he less. We purchase a live tree every year and manage to always go to get one on the coldest, windiest, sleetiest day during Advent. And then there was the year we waited too long to get a live tree at the nursery and my husband decided to go to Home Depot and buy the last tree they had. The children and I sat in the car and watched in horror as he fought off an old lady for it. To this day he insists it was a nice tree, although a tad small and a little bare. There’s the tradition of opening the Advent calendar windows—one child opens the even days, the other the odds--the method devised 15-plus years ago to keep them from fighting over whose turn it was to open the window. The Christmas china comes out of storage and is used throughout Advent and the Christmas season, even though it has to be washed by hand. The children set up the crèche with the zillions of characters that have been accumulated over the years, including the sleeping shepherd boy and the cats that are as big as cows.
We have traditions at this time of year at school too. The students learn how to make paper snowflakes that aren’t square. The fifth graders create elaborate plans for gingerbread houses and then spend a day making their candy creations. Mrs. Olson and Mrs. Funk take their classes caroling downtown and distribute cookies. Mrs. Czekaj and Mrs. Franz decorate the office with seasonal displays. We started a new activity that we hope will become a tradition. Our Christmas tree in the school lobby has begun to be decorated with ornaments sent in from families in the school. Each day this week more and more ornaments have been arriving in the school office to adorn our tree. What a beautiful sight to see the lights twinkling (I told Mr. Rickman we need more of them) and the ornaments hanging there. The students come and look and point out their family’s ornament or talk about their favorite ornament. Our intent is to store the ornaments and every year bring them out and decorate our school Christmas tree. Traditions— they are the memories that bind us all together.