The Importance of Family Vacations And Traditions You Can't Ignore

Beyond a booming professional and social life, what man needs is something of substance and integrity - a family. This Buzzle post highlights the importance of family vacations and traditions.

The Impact of Family Vacations

A 9-year study conducted by the American Psychology Association (APA), in Nov. 2013, revealed that people who spend time with their families on vacations were almost 30% less likely to die from a heart-related disorders as compared to people who did not take family vacations.

A world inside a world, families are what make your life complete and worthwhile. In today's fast-paced world, people are becoming more and more embroiled in their careers, striving to establish a position of security and power in their professional life. While the dedication to work is commendable, the flip side is the weakening of human bonds. There is hardly anyone who spends quality time with their families as of today. Work, school, extra-curricular activities, responsibilities, and bills have given way to a standstill in one's personal life.

Family vacations bring the family members together, as one unit. The happiness and peace that one experiences when spending quality time with one's family is beyond words. Following family traditions and rituals imparts a sense of belonging, a feeling of being cared and nurtured. The paragraphs below explain how important family vacations are as well as the importance of family traditions.

The Importance of Traditions

A tradition is something that is handed down and followed in a particular way, a particular method. We have been handed down several traditions and rituals by our ancestors, that were once followed for a specific reason, and which later became traditions. Every family does have a tradition, be it celebrating a festival together, or having a family dinner once a month, or an annual family vacation. This is what binds the family together. You can create your own traditions as well―perhaps, the youngest generation of the family would like to go to a skiing trip, or a bike tour, etc. The reasons why family traditions are so significant are as follows:

Culture

Many family traditions are inherently based on their culture. A family could be following a particular ritual since ages, and every member of the family is expected to adhere to the same. Following rituals you don't even understand may seem ridiculous to some, but with time, those rituals get deeply ingrained, and you may begin to miss them while you are away from home or family. Celebrating festivals together, having the oldest member of the family raise a toast first, a family dance around the bonfire, etc., are some examples of family culture that every generation is expected to follow. Your culture plays a very important role here as most of the traditions in the family are invariably linked with your culture and lineage. This gives you a feeling of importance and recognition.

Strong Bonding

Following family traditions makes you feel connected to each other as one unit. It strengthens the bond between family members―parents, children, in-laws, siblings, and more. It provides a sense that there are people who care about you, people who speak the same language, who are connected by blood, and who teach you to grow into fine human beings. These traditions also act as perfect occasions to sort out differences and settle animosities, if any, and rebuild relationships. As you focus more on your professional life, there is a lot you tend to overlook when it comes to spending time with your family. Following family traditions enables you to reconnect and strengthen the existing bonds with your near and dear ones even further.

Values and Morals

Family traditions also teach you important values that are carried forward to the next generation. After you grow up, you may or may not remember these morals; however, a family tradition will help you remember what you have forgotten, remind you what you had learned and why, and help strengthen your value system. They teach you to pass the values to those younger than you. Thus, establishing a bond of familiar comfort and predictability.

Quality Life

An extravagant or busy life most certainly lacks quality. Clubbing, shopping, and partying all night do not represent the essence of a quality life, following traditions does. For instance, a family that has a tradition to experiment with a new eating joint every fortnight or have a fundraiser every month is more likely to enjoy their life more than a family where every member spends their time on their own.

The Blood Connection

Family traditions remind you that you are all connected by blood. This bonding is more powerful than you may realize―it is not something that requires validation. It is timeless and strong, and is strengthened further through family traditions. A tradition like a family get-together, once in 2 months, remind you of the relationship you share with everyone, the precious moments you spent together, and the incredible fun you had with your immediate and extended family.

The Significance of Family Vacations

Taking family vacations is one of the many traditions that most families follow. A vacation does not just help you unwind, but with family, it gives you a sense of love and familiarity and enjoyment.

Enriched Relationships

Taking a vacation with your family serves to enrich your relationship. While you are all together, there is only fun and enjoyment, and whatever conflicts or differences there are, tend to get resolved immediately, because you do realize that time is precious, and should not be wasted in petty arguments. Perhaps, if you have had a tiff with your cousins, you tend to resolve it while vacationing, and eventually, you can hardly remember the reason why the tiff started in the first place. Thus, erasing the feeling of animosity and argument.

Safety and Security

While traveling with family, you feel safe and sound. You have the incredible feeling that you are not alone in this world, there are people around who care about you, who are concerned about you. You have the security that if you ever fall, there are people to hold you and help you get back. This feeling is realized and strengthened further when you vacation with your family.

Warm, Homely Environment

With your family, there are no pretenses. After all, you are a family member, a part of the same world, why is there any need to hide anything or don a cloak of pretense? When you spend a holiday with people you love, you only tend to enjoy to the fullest, because the very feeling of spending time with your loved ones is enough to light your face. And why not, when you have such a homely atmosphere? No table manners need to be followed, no language considerations (with cousins of course), no artifice. Just pure bliss and contentment in a warm, hospitable atmosphere.

Less Stress

Any vacation is aimed at de-stressing yourself and getting rejuvenated. But with family, this is even more obvious. Irrespective of whether you vacation with your immediate or extended family, stress levels are sure to go down, for you are with the people you love and share your lives with. Your memories and experiences are linked to one another, and reinventing those memories again is a pleasure in itself. As proven by the APA, having a vacation with family reduces stress to a great extent.

New Experiences

Assume that you are meeting you extended family after 2 years. Your cousins may have learned something new, say surfboarding, or your aunt may have learned to cook something delicious, and what not. A vacation gives you a chance to share these new experiences. You learn something every time you plan a holiday with your family, and this promotes a feeling of pride, self-importance, respect, and togetherness.

Creating Lasting Memories

One of the major aims of family vacations is creating beautiful memories. You may have heard of the adage, 'Distance makes the heart grow fonder'. How true. When you meet your family after a long time, there is so much to talk about, so much to discuss, and so much to think and plan. Playing, singing, and laughing together, you learn to forge new bonds, reaffirm the already established ones, to create lovely memories that you will reminisce about your life, and cry and laugh at the same time.

There is no safer haven than caring people waiting for you at the end of a hard day. The joy that is experienced when you know there is someone who has your back is inexplicable. So just switch off those idiot boxes and computers and start planning to enjoy a great family vacation! Undoubtedly, you'll return rejuvenated and feel a thousand times better about yourself.