Pass On Your Culture
by Gerhild Fulson
It is so important to remember our roots and celebrate our cultural history. Do you have traditions driven by your heritage? Are you sharing these with your family? Consider this article written by Gerhild Fulson on how she continues to pass on her culture to her grandchildren.
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Having 'finished' raising our children and now with grandchildren, I realize how important it is to pass on our family traditions as well as our culture. When our children (three boys) were younger, we had fun in celebrating our holidays the way we had been brought up.
My family immigrated from Germany when I was a little girl. My parents continued to celebrate holidays in the German style, while at the same time incorporating the Canadian lifestyle. It made for interesting times. Imagine Christmas. Not only did we celebrate on December 25, but we also had a chance to get extra goodies on St. Nicolas Day, December 6. On top of that, we got to open our Christmas presents early - on Christmas Eve! That made us the envy of all the kids on the block! That was one tradition that we still keep to this day. Now, having grandchildren, we get to remind them of their German heritage by doing so.
One of the many ways of passing on tradition is through the food. Each country and each nationality have special food, that only they know and appreciate. For us, that's things like rouladen (beef rolls), rotkohl (sweet & sour red spiced red cabbage), kloesse (potato dumplings), and, of course, German Black Forest Cake! These traditional foods - for me, bring back memories. For the grandchildren, they are a chance to share some of the foods that make being of German heritage special. It also is a time to practice some of the German language. Ja!
It is interesting to note that as our own children got older, they were interested themselves in having the foods that they grew up with. So, phone calls home for recipes are common. Their spouses, though not of German heritage, are desirous to please their hubbies, and are learning to make their special foods, such as that German Black Forest Cake. Sometimes it's those special foods that bring back memories - comfort foods that are usually easy to make.
Why not look back in your family tree and see what nationalities are there. Then do some research into the foods that are traditional and plan a theme night. Perhaps it's Jamaican, or French, or Japanese. Go all out. Do costumes, music, the whole thing. Perhaps learn some of the words and play some games that reflect the culture.
What an awesome thing it is to continue your own culture, share it with your grandchildren -- and blend it with where you live today.
Gerhild Fulson
http://www.quick-german-recipes.com
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Having 'finished' raising our children and now with grandchildren, I realize how important it is to pass on our family traditions as well as our culture. When our children (three boys) were younger, we had fun in celebrating our holidays the way we had been brought up.
My family immigrated from Germany when I was a little girl. My parents continued to celebrate holidays in the German style, while at the same time incorporating the Canadian lifestyle. It made for interesting times. Imagine Christmas. Not only did we celebrate on December 25, but we also had a chance to get extra goodies on St. Nicolas Day, December 6. On top of that, we got to open our Christmas presents early - on Christmas Eve! That made us the envy of all the kids on the block! That was one tradition that we still keep to this day. Now, having grandchildren, we get to remind them of their German heritage by doing so.
One of the many ways of passing on tradition is through the food. Each country and each nationality have special food, that only they know and appreciate. For us, that's things like rouladen (beef rolls), rotkohl (sweet & sour red spiced red cabbage), kloesse (potato dumplings), and, of course, German Black Forest Cake! These traditional foods - for me, bring back memories. For the grandchildren, they are a chance to share some of the foods that make being of German heritage special. It also is a time to practice some of the German language. Ja!
It is interesting to note that as our own children got older, they were interested themselves in having the foods that they grew up with. So, phone calls home for recipes are common. Their spouses, though not of German heritage, are desirous to please their hubbies, and are learning to make their special foods, such as that German Black Forest Cake. Sometimes it's those special foods that bring back memories - comfort foods that are usually easy to make.
Why not look back in your family tree and see what nationalities are there. Then do some research into the foods that are traditional and plan a theme night. Perhaps it's Jamaican, or French, or Japanese. Go all out. Do costumes, music, the whole thing. Perhaps learn some of the words and play some games that reflect the culture.
What an awesome thing it is to continue your own culture, share it with your grandchildren -- and blend it with where you live today.
Gerhild Fulson
http://www.quick-german-recipes.com