Everyone has a tradition that they have, or their family has. Traditions and customs have been around probably since the beginning of time. You see athletes do all kinds of things before and during a game, but most of that is only superstition. Traditions are like picnics and fireworks on the Fourth of July or the whole family getting together to sing Christmas carols every year, even yearly family reunions. The tradition of having fireworks goes all the way back to John Adams on July 2,1776 as he wrote “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this Continent to the other from this time forward forever more.” So we have kept this tradition for almost 250 years. We find customs in line with traditions, but mostly according to religions or nationalities. These things are great to have. They not only create memories, but they also hold families together. They have kept us in the faith and also as proud Americans. You take the famous song from Fiddler on the Roof, “Tradition,” a song about the Jewish faith, it says, “Because of our traditions, we’ve kept our balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka we have traditions for everything… how to eat, how to sleep, even, how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered and always wear a little prayer shawl… This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, how did this tradition start? I’ll tell you – I don’t know. But it’s a tradition… Because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.”
Today we want to break away from these traditions and customs. We want to let go of the past and all of its memories, and we even want to go so far that we want to forget our history. But all of these things are what plants us and roots us in who we are as a people, or as a religion or even as a country. The things our forefathers taught their children and they taught their children, and so forth, have meaning and purpose. If we are not rooted and grounded, like a tree that stands tall, we will not become a society that will see many days. We will fall when a storm comes. We must be like that tree that stands tall, that has purpose, and has been there for many generations. Years past parents taught their children about God, and family and country, now our schools teach our children about their god and that they are family and that our country is not the greatest country. If our country was not great then why are so many people running to come here? Why do they make such a trip that could cost them their lives if it was not so? They know that America, with its freedoms and opportunities, will allow them to be who they are in their traditions and customs. This is why for centuries people have come to America. This is why God allowed a people who were farmers and store owners, common folk , to win such a great victory over the British. All odds said that we should have lost. But we had victory over victory in every war, and the world thanks God for America. Tradition and customs are who we are, and we are who we are, because of our forefathers, and their great faith in God. People like George Washington, William Penn, Fredrick Douglas and how about Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and so many more who were all people of traditions and customs and love for God, family and country. We may go through trials and storms, but we stand tall as Americans holding onto our traditions and customs and this is what keeps America strong and committed to each other. We help our neighbor in times of trouble, because God says we must love one another. United we stand divided we fall, never let anyone tell you that this country is not great. To divide us is to take away our beliefs, our traditions and our customs, and most of all our history. It is by our history that we grow, and if we do not grow together, we will grow apart, and then, this will be the unraveling of this country for no other reason. Let’s learn from it all and not reject it, for we have been growing for over 245 years, let’s not stop now because a new generation tells us about something they know nothing about.