Find joy and connection this season by celebrating holiday traditions

Do you have a beloved holiday memory from your childhood? Odds are, it involved holiday traditions. These routines and rituals help us come together and celebrate.

As you’ve walked through life, you may have left some holiday traditions behind—and added others. These traditional rituals evolve as our lives do, but they serve a crucial role in keeping us grounded during the busyness of the season.

This year, our LCMC Health team encourages everyone to spend quality time with family and other loved ones, celebrating the traditions you love most.

The benefits of holiday traditions

Merriam-Webster defines “tradition” as “an inherited, established or customary pattern of thought, action or behavior.” That perfectly describes holiday traditions, which are annual activities that have become part of our established routines.

If you ever spent time at a friend’s house during the holidays when you were a kid, you probably recognize that different families have different holiday traditions. If you’re married, you were likely also reminded of that when you joined your spouse’s family for a holiday celebration for the first time.

No matter what holiday traditions you hold dear, they can benefit your health and well-being this time of year. That’s right! Participating in traditional activities (and even partaking in traditional holiday foods) can be a form of self-care.

When you pause during holiday chaos and participate in a family or church activity, it can help relieve stress and promote well-being by connecting with the people you love. Beyond boosting your relationships, holiday traditions provide you with a respite from busyness, giving you much-needed time for fun and joy.

We should also note that sometimes holiday traditions have the opposite effect and cause stress. If traditions that have been a mainstay in your life become too ritualistic, painful, and tedious, it’s more than OK to skip a year—or leave them behind and build new ones in their place.

In fact, it’s entirely normal for holiday traditions to ebb and flow throughout life, with old ones replaced by new activities and rituals that bring you joy. Your traditions may also change as new loved ones enter your life and your family changes.

Holiday traditions: Food edition

It’s no secret that we love our food here in NOLA! Culinary traditions are a huge part of life here—and an even more vital part of our lives during the holidays.

Many of the foods we eat throughout the year also make an appearance during the holiday season, but they may be fancied up a notch or two.

A New Orleans holiday table may feature deep-fried turkey, glazed ham, oyster dressing spiked with spicy sausage, candied yams, meat pies, shrimp etouffee, jambalaya, gumbo and an array of desserts like bread pudding and pecan pie. What’s served up in your family’s holiday spread?

If you have a favorite recipe that’s a holiday tradition in your family, we’d love for you to share it with us!