In a modern society like South Africa, it can be hard to keep your traditional values alive within the family. With outside influences from children’s friends and your own circle of peers, some might tell you that they are outdated and serve no real purpose anymore. But, that’s just not true. Culture and traditions help form who we are and through rituals and events can help bring families closer together.
Godfrey Madanhire, a professional motivational speaker and life coach, shares his top tips on how to keep traditions alive and use them to bring the family closer together.
Every tradition has its human value
No matter how outdated to others your traditional values may seem, they were all created for reason – to bring people closer or to build strength, and this is true for all cultural practices. If a loved one in your family is having a problem with a certain belief and thinks it’s irrelevant, tell them what your ancestors believed, whether it has to do with a certain day or event. Many things change, but human nature and our need to connect isn’t one of them. Once they understand why they’re taking part, they will be keen to do it again.
Prepare an old recipe
The way to a man’s heart is through their stomach. This can actually be said for anyone. Look up an old recipe of what your mother or grandmother used to prepare and share it with the family. The story about the ingredients in the meals sometimes can give your children a better understanding of where you’ve come from. Meals were prepared with certain ingredients because of the location of where your family came from. Not only can this be an exercise into how you came about, but it can also be extremely delicious.
Help others to understand
In our world, where most are too quick to Google rather than asking a real person for the answer, you need to be willing to share your traditions with others. When people get the opportunity to experience something new, the majority are more than willing to try it out. This isn’t a mission to convert others, but to simply give them perspective. If you’re having a traditional evening at your home, invite your children’s friends over. Once they’ve seen the value of your culture they’ll be less willing to mock.
