The movie ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ was released in 1971, but a few years later there was a holiday re-release of the film. And my parents decided to take me and my sister to see it along with some of our extended family. It was being shown at a beautiful, historic theatre with long curtains framing the screen that stayed closed until it was time for the movie to start. That only enhanced our anticipation and, since going to the movies was a rare treat, we were so excited for the show to begin.
Outside, the rain that had started earlier in the day had turned into a full fledged raging storm and we could hear the wind whipping around the theatre and the huge rain drops pummeling the roof. But, since we were midwestern transplants now living in Southern California, we were completely unphased.
As the lights dimmed, the curtains began to slide open and it was time for the show to start. I was just a little girl at the time, but from the first few lines I was hooked. The nuances of the story of the humble milkman, Tevye, and his family may have been slightly over my head. But the songs? The songs were to be forever etched in my mind.
About 30 minutes into the movie, we began to hear rustling in the audience. And then we felt them. Drops of water falling on our heads. As we looked around, we noticed people pointing at the ceiling and realized that it should most definitely NOT be sagging like that. The beautiful curtains framing the screen began opening and closing over and over again and my parents quickly grabbed us and raced out of the building with the other movie goers. It was definitely a memorable experience! And the irony of the roof beginning to cave in as we watched a film with the word ‘roof’ in it was not lost on us.
But, while we may have missed out on seeing the rest of Fiddler on the Roof that day, we managed to hear the most recognizable song from the film before our escape from the theatre.
‘Tradition’ is sung by Tevye and the villagers and, while it is very upbeat and VERY catchy, it gives us a glimpse into the main tension in the story. A Jewish father, clinging to the traditions of his faith and heritage while his daughters push the boundaries of what he deems acceptable and change becomes unavoidable.
This year I realized that the older I get, the more I relate to Tevye.
No, we won’t be selecting our children’s spouses for them (although I think I would do a pretty awesome job!). I won’t force them into a certain type of job or demand that they live in our town for the rest of their lives.
But, the traditions? Well, the traditions I’ll fight for. Not all of them, of course. Because life has a tendency to force us to make adjustments to the way we’ve always done things. We welcome new family members, come up with creative solutions for celebrating long-distance and try to be understanding when, for some reason, our teenagers don’t want to ride the Santa train anymore. Go figure!
Traditions are like an invisible thread that connects the past, present and future together. They provide us with a sense of continuity in a world that is ever-changing.
Traditions bring us so much comfort and stability when everything around us feels as though it’s anything but stable.
And maybe that’s why this year, more than ever, I’ve been clinging to our traditions.
While the world around us is tugging and pulling and trying to break us apart, traditions serve as an opportunity to bring us together and act as an anchor, connecting us to something solid and enduring.
We drive around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights, we bake homemade goodies for our neighbors and find ways to give to our community.
My kids are given their special yearly ornament to add to the small Christmas trees in their rooms.
We practice Advent and light a candle each Sunday leading up to Christmas.
I bake my husband’s favorite orange cranberry bread and buy him his own jar of lemon curd so he can slather it on every slice.
Our kids open a special gift on Christmas eve that is just from dad. This is a tradition carried over from my own childhood when my dad realized that he rarely knew what was wrapped in the boxes under the tree since my mom did all of the shopping.
The list of Christmas traditions in our household is long. But, each one is a piece of a puzzle that we slowly put together all month long. Oh, and we LOVE doing Christmas puzzles too!
The reality is, though, that the cookies and the lights and the gifts and the Christmas countdowns don’t really matter all that much without the greatest tradition of all.
The remembrance of the Child born fully God and fully human. The One who came to save us from our wretchedness and offer us redemption.
The One who IS Christmas.
My prayer for you this season, dear friends, is that your traditions will remind you of how God has carried you through your past, will give you encouragement to sustain you in your present, and will give you hope for how He will fulfill His promises for your future.
“Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as… as a fiddler on the roof!”
Merry Christmas to you with love,
Thank you Vanessa opening up your beautiful home and sharing it with your viewers. I enjoy your blog and become enthusiastic with decorating ideas.
Also thank you for reminding us of the true gift of Christmas. May you and your family have a Blessed Christmas and 2021.
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words! I hope you and yours have a truly joy-filled season! 🙂
Love this, Vanessa!
Thank you so much Diane! I know this will be a special Christmas for you with your sweet new grandbaby! 🙂
Your home is beautiful and your traditions are lovely. So sad that we all have a different Christmas in store for us this year. I like e in. Anaya and my husband and I will be eating dinner ourselves. But that night we are having a bonfire and all our grown up kids and grandchildren are coming to sit outside. We live on a farm so that is possible. Blessings for a lovely Christmas.
Thank you so much Darlene! I hope you have a wonderful joy-filled Christmas with your family!
Very well said, Vanessa! I love the simplicity of your decorations without being “minimalist”. Just beautiful.
Thank you so much Kathy! Merry Christmas!
Simple elegance!! I enjoyed your home tour so very much!! Merry Christmas Vanessa!
Thank you so much Peg! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
Thank you, Vanessa, for your sweet words. I love your Christmas story about the theater. I pray you and your family have peace and joy this Christmas. You are a beautiful person.❤️
Thank you so much for your kind words Cindy! I hope you and your family have a joy filled season as well! <3
Beautiful! Holding on to those traditions and adding a few new is absolutely needed this year! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Thank you so much Lin! Merry Christmas! 🙂
Enjoyed your post! Vanessa, your home is decorated so beautifully. Traditions are so precious and especially this year with everything being so different. May God Bless you and your dear family.
Thank you so much sweet friend!! I pray you have a joy filled season with your family! xoxo
What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing your heart and your home. Merry Christmas!
Thank you Shirley! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
This is one of the most beautiful posts I have read and I felt such peace while reading it. Thank you for sharing your lovely home and the peace that is within it.
This is one of the best compliments you could give me Dee!! I’m so glad that you felt peace while reading my story and I hope you have a truly joy-filled Christmas season. 🙂
Just beautiful! Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
Thank you so much Terry! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Just absolutely beautiful and elegant.
Thank you so much Ann-Marie!! May you have a truly joy-filled season!
As I read your post, I took several sighs. What divinely written words of truth and encouragement. Thank you, Vanessa, for the time you spent compiling this. Your home is by far one that obviously speaks your heart. I so enjoyed the peaceful tour. Absolutely beautiful. God bless you throughout the season. May you feel His love and His peace in all your traditions. May you be blessed as you bless others.
Sherry, your kind and thoughtful words brought tears to my eyes! It means more to me than I can express that you enjoyed the tour and that it blessed you. That is always my goal and I pray that you and your family have a truly joy-filled season as we celebrate our Savior’s birth!
Well said. I think I needed a little reminder of the many traditions we are able to continue this year despite the fact that COVID has robbed us others, most importantly, COVID took my mom’s life in April. She was Christmas’s biggest fan and her absence looms painfully large but as a family we are choosing to grow and change by creating some NEW traditions that weren’t possible when I was caring for her in these last years even in the face of COVID restrictions. I’m even adopting some of her annoying Grandma habits like asking for Christmas lists in September! Growing into her role, haha. Truthfully, traditions and temporal things will one day all end…but our source of rejoicing, Christ our Lord, never will.