Holidays always have a way of feeling different with age. It is a shift felt when the holiday arrives; we might not feel the same feelings of excitement and anticipation. Another holiday passing in the pandemic allows this shift to feel even more peculiar. Nonetheless, hints of normalcy bring some of this magic back. Holiday traditions help keep the spirit going. They allow feelings of childhood magic to remain, providing normalcy in the process. Continuing holiday traditions, big or small, can help to keep this magic and contribute to the feeling of normalcy.
Holiday traditions may change as we change. Growing older allows you both to miss out on certain elements of holidays and begin others. Easter egg hunting used to be one tradition that my brother and I took part in. Easter baskets, and even a note to the Easter Bunny were always essential to ring in the holiday. As these traditions no longer carry on, others do and help to keep a holiday feeling like a holiday.
One tradition that my family has for Easter that we were able to continue is our yearly egg fight. To prepare before the meal, we color hard-boiled eggs and write our names in white crayon to decipher whose egg belongs to who. Once it’s time to start, each person holds their egg and we go around the table hitting our eggs into each other to determine whose egg will be the last one uncracked. Whoever wins gets not only the satisfaction of having the best egg, but also good luck. Although not a personal tradition as this game has been around in different variations for centuries, our egg fight tradition provides normalcy and familiarity, feelings that can be very hard to come by during this time.
Our yearly egg fights are a small tradition that has remained constant throughout my entire life. They are in good fun and bring everyone together in the process. Keeping this tradition has allowed for Easter to not feel all that different. It has allowed for a sense of pattern, and any ounce of normality should be clung to and celebrated. The ability to carry out our egg fight this year allowed for a sense of normality and closeness.
It is important to carry out holiday traditions when possible to create these feelings. Incorporating holiday traditions virtually through platforms such as Zoom or Facetime can also still be a way to maintain closeness and can be helpful. While everything constantly changes, a solace in familiarity may be found in continuing traditions.
As we continue to navigate life throughout the pandemic, alternative ways of going about doing things are constantly presented. As eligibility for vaccination continues to increase, we are experiencing even more beneficial changes. Holiday traditions are able to roll with these changes, and should be kept and carried out in order to aid in spirit and regularity.
Lauren Patterson is a sophomore studying journalism. Please note that the views and ideas of columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Lauren? Tweet her @lpaatt.
