Family rituals

What Are Family Traditions and Family Rituals?

Family traditions and rituals are special things your family does.

Family traditions

These are often customs that are handed down from older generations or other relatives, like always opening Christmas crackers with the person on your left. You might create your own family traditions to hand down.

Your family’s traditions might include celebrating religious festivals like Christmas, Chanukah or Ramadan. Or your family might have traditions for birthdays, sporting events, national days or cultural festivals like Diwali or Halloween. At these special events, you might invite extended family or friends to share in your traditions.

Your traditions might also involve common interests, like going to the local football derby every winter, camping at the same beach every summer, or watching the same movie every holiday season.

Family rituals

These are special daily or weekly activities that are unique to your family, like:

• a special morning kiss or silly handshake

• code words for things or special names you use for each other

• a special wink for your child at school drop-off

• yum cha on Sunday mornings

• your own rules for sports or board games.