This past weekend was Halloween and the start of the “tradition” season for my family. Every year for Halloween my kids and I have a tradition of eating hotdogs and Doritos in a delusional effort to have “real food” before gorging on miniature candies and treats gathered from generous neighbors and friendly churches.
Over the years this ritual has varied a bit and morphed from big, elaborate backyard fire pits and roasted hotdogs warmed by the fire to rushed school night Halloweens where we throw the hotdogs in the microwave and eat communally out of the family-sized bag of Cool Ranch Doritos in the car on the way to an event. But the bigger picture has been established in the minds of my children. They know on Halloween night dinner will be served, and it will have those hotdogs and chips. It’s just the way things are for our family. To my kids, it’s something special, and I hope they’ll continue it well into adulthood.
See, that’s what I did. As far back into my childhood that I can remember, I ate hotdogs and Doritos on Halloween with my mom. I asked her once, why she started this practice. She honestly said she thought it came about because she hadn’t had time to grocery shop or cook one holiday evening and our only option were those dogs made famous at the ballpark. So an accident. This grand tradition that I valued as a child and looked forward to sharing with my family every year, began as a simple oversight by my mom. Yet, here we are working on a second-generation tradition with my kids. A solid, valued celebration all started by a mistake.
Isn’t it funny how life works? Some of the sweetest and most treasured memories are often made because of a simple twist of fate. With that logic, it makes me wonder what grand traditions will spring up this year with all the upheavals caused by the onset of COVID-19. In an effort to slow the spread of the virus, several communities still have laws and mandates set in place to prevent gatherings of different households. The State of California is perhaps the most glaring with their restrictions on Thanksgiving including one mandate that serving platters of food shouldn’t be passed around the table. How will families facing these new challenges make the holidays special? What new traditions and practices might arise?
Here in Mississippi, I don’t see laws like those in California standing for more than a few seconds. I feel like our local legislatures would be bombarded with calls from their mamas, aunts, cousins and kin demanding an explanation and would cave under the pressure and promise of “Aunt Mildred’s homemade pie”. But I think that speaks more to how the south values family and family traditions. Now, I’m not saying the good folks in Cali don’t love their families, but here in the South, we’ve been at this a bit longer. By the time California was getting around to being a named a state in 1850, Mississippi had an established culture and way of life. It’s a given there have been corrections, changes and modifications to the way of life and treatment of people over the years, but the folks of this Magnolia State know that family values and connections are important. All that to say, I don’t think we have to fear a day where we can’t pass the mashed potatoes around the dinner table. However, I do think there is always room to grow. Perhaps 2020 will be a major contributor to families developing new traditions for their loved ones.
This past Saturday, my kids and I opted to not go door to door, but I’ll let you guess what we ate for dinner. A solid celebration all started from a simple mistake.
Yes, I’ll wager a large number of new traditions will pop up as a result of 2020.
