People Share Dying Traditions That They Wish We'd Do More To Try To Preserve
What's your favorite tradition that you've done your best to keep alive?
Some traditions fade quietly, and others disappear so slowly that people barely notice until they are already gone. In this collection, readers shared the old customs, habits, and community rituals they still miss most.
From family routines and seasonal celebrations to simple everyday practices, the thread is full of nostalgia for things that once felt ordinary. A few of the examples are practical, some are sentimental, and others are just plain charming.
Here are the dying traditions people wish we would preserve a little longer.
1. Truth.
Traditional animation. Many of the big animation studios claim it’s too expensive and time-consuming, but if you look at their budgets and how long it can take to render CG animated films, the difference is about the same.Edit: I mean hand-drawn versus any computer animation, not necessarily 2D versus 3D.
Some of these traditions are hanging on by a thread.
2. ALL THE YES. This is my #1 reason why I want to homeschool, and why it's important to me that we live in the country.
Home economics.As it used to be called, learning the basics of cooking, baking, sewing, cleaning, and how to manage a household budget is useful and important, no matter who you are.
3. All. The. Yes. My husband has been fortunate enough to have a decently flexible schedule, but mostly fixed. Having days off during the week makes things so much easier for our family.
Fixed work weeks.I’m off on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I can plan things for those days.Every job I had before this would give me two days off each week, but I’d never know when they would be until the Sunday before. It’s no way to live, and it doesn’t make for happy employees.
That kind of schedule chaos clearly wears people down.
4. Yes. I wish they'd go back to this!
Stores being closed on holidays. It’s nearly dead already, but it was so much better.
5. I had no idea there was a name for this. But I love it so much.
Sobremesa.That time at the end of a big dinner with friends and loved ones when you just sit around the table drinking wine and chatting. Forget doing the dishes. Forget running off to do whatever. Just make some time to sit and enjoy good dessert and a nice glass of whatever without getting drunk for the sake of it.
6. FOR REAL THOUGH!
Castles.No one builds a good castle anymore. I mean, sure, there are “castle-like” buildings, but not a solid stone castle with 11-foot-thick walls.
A few people are clearly mourning the loss of dramatic architecture.
7. My daughter's dad likes to do this whenever he goes on vacation without her!
Whenever I travel, I love to send postcards to my young family members. Sometimes I go to an antique store and find vintage postcards from the area I’m visiting. I’ve received positive feedback; they all seem to think it’s neat to get them. Recently, I received one from a young family member, and it was a nice surprise!
8. They'd sure come in handy during quarantine, now wouldn't they?
Drive-in movie theaters.
9. I thrive on consistency.
RSVPing, saying you’ll be somewhere, and actually showing up-consistency, etc.
10. We are doing our best to keep this alive. Except, toddlers. Hello. LOL
Competitive board games with family; it’s a nice way to spend time with them.
11. So thankful to live where we do. These still exist in our neck of the woods!
Harvest festivals.They really only work in small to medium agricultural towns, but they ground one to the seasons and agricultural production. Right now in Lodi, California, we are having the annual Lodi Grape Festival, themed after the wine grape harvest season, and it’s been going for something like 60 years.
12. I love doing this as well!
Canning and preserving food.I grew up doing this, and it’s something I still do. There’s nothing like eating chili in the winter with tomato juice you made yourself or enjoying homemade strawberry jelly. My friends didn’t grow up in that lifestyle, but they enjoy it when I bring them fresh jelly in the spring.
13. My country home has absolutely GOT to have a front porch. It's a staple.
Sitting on your porch.
14. My husband and I still write each other love notes and letters. <3
Handwritten letters.I’m not sad to see the greeting card industry die (I mean, $6 for a card, and I say this as a former Hallmark employee), but I wish it were more common to send handwritten letters. They’re treasured in a way you can never treasure an email. Having something handwritten is also such a meaningful connection (and keepsake, if needed).
15. Although it terrifies me in this world we now live in, YES.
Trick-or-treating.It seems like a lot of families today are opting for the convenience of “trunk-or-treating,” where everyone gets their cars and parks in a cul-de-sac to hand out candy from their trunks. I’ve heard people call it “safer,” but honestly, walking around and seeing everyone’s house decorations and costumes was the fun part, not just getting the candy. I think it’s kind of sad that many kids are missing out on the experience. =(
Nostalgia is doing a lot of work in this thread.
Want another tradition-versus-competition fight? Read about refusing Grandma’s lasagna recipe to a rival cousin.
