tradition with imagination

It just seemed appropriate given our discussion at sol cafe last evening.

What is "tradition"?  And how do I "hand on" to another what is of value?  It is another one of those words which sometimes stagger under the weight of baggage.

Sometimes we create tradition on a smaller scale;  in our own family we have a few traditions which we've established as part of celebrating who our kids are in Christ.   Maybe they will keep the rituals we've devised, or maybe they will abandon them when they have their own families.  But I hope that they will carry on the tradition  of celebrating our life in God, in whatever form they choose.

I sometimes think of tradition in its best sense as an awareness and connection with our spiritual heritage - knowing our roots. 

Those few who follow this blog on a regular basis know that Mrs. Felix and some of the kids spent a few weeks vacationing in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, earlier this summer.  It is a well-known local joke in Cape Breton that every conversation between strangers begins with the phrase "What's yer fahther's name?"  I am told that in Newfoundland there is another sort of greeting.  They don't ask a person "Where are you from?"  Instead they ask "Where do you belong?"

An awareness of our roots has some bearing on the direction of our growth.

At about this time of day I usually have something caffeine based, a ritual which has become traditional, and in which I must engage...

Image found via ron, taken by jonny , who has a body of work on flickr

Comments

[Susan]

I've always liked G.K. Chesterton's definition of "tradition", from his Orthodoxy:
"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about."
This gives me great comfort in troubled times. Taking the Long View. The Communion of the Saints and all that.