Breathe Magazine Issue 069 Back Issue

The decision might have seemed insignificant, innocuous – why reserve the same table at the same restaurant at the same time for yet another year? Let’s go somewhere new. But then the cries – or WhatsApp notifications – began… ‘It’s tradition! Local Italian. Fourth Thursday in December, come rain, hail or snow!! What were you thinking?!’ Maybe that everyone’s dishes had got mixed up last time, the service was erratic, that several friends had said it’d be good to try the place down the road?
No matter all of that. Unspoken, unwritten, unacknowledged maybe, stood one overriding factor – it’s tradition. And traditions can’t be broken, can they? The answer for many will be straightforward – yes, absolutely. For others, the thought of tweaking a tradition, let alone dropping it altogether, could be an emotional wrench.
Traditions are, after all, often linked to significant life moments, be they celebratory or sombre, as well as symbolic cultural events and holidays. A decision to zhush up or even drop them requires sensitivity and understanding, even if they’re solo affairs. It’s important, too, to question if change really is needed – maybe the eccentric service and pot-luck mains of the local eaterie are part of its charm despite friends’ protestations to the contrary in the face of an unwanted veggie lasagne.
Loved, loathed or benignly tolerated, however, cultural, familial and societal traditions are hard to avoid. So, whatever yours are – be that getting together with extended family to watch another holiday airing of The Snowman on TV, catching up with a close friend for the annual winter stroll by the seaside or quietly lighting a candle for a much-missed
loved one while looking out at the night sky, try to include a small moment that will always ring true to you.