Family Traditions: Unusual and Time-Honored
Every family has its quirks and unique traditions that set it apart. In my family, we have a few peculiar practices that have been passed down through the generations, making for some hilarious and endearing moments.
Keeping the Name, Fredrik
The name Fredrik or its variants has held a special place in my family for over 500 years. It is a tradition that has been passed down to the eldest son of every generation. If a child or person in the family did not have a son to carry on the name, it would be reused. The first recorded use can be traced back to 1483, which is quite a legacy to carry!
Our tradition took an interesting turn after 1815. It became an alternating pattern between the first and middle names. For instance, the first generation was named Fredrik Karl, his son was Karlsen Fredrik, and his grandson was Fredrik Olaf, just to give you an idea. When I transitioned and became a woman, no son in the family to carry the name, I chose to revive it by naming my youngest child Fredrik, thus continuing the chain.
While I technically ended the requirement with my mother's generation, since her brother died at 10 and she was the only surviving child of my papa, I kept the tradition going with my own child.
As for the name switching between first and middle? That tradition stopped with me as I decided to maintain a more traditional approach.
The "Poor and Needy" Tradition
One of our most quirky and enduring traditions is the "poor and needy" business. My father, a frugal Dutch farmer with a deep bass voice, would often put on a high-pitched, squeaky voice whenever one of his children received something good, like a promotion, raise, or windfall. He would mock himself by saying, "I’m so poor and needy..." This led to his children believing he was in dire straits and sent him small amounts of money in the mail to make the high-pitched voice and the complaint stop.
Eventually, my father's habit became so ingrained in our family's culture that not only did my siblings and I do it, but our children also adopted the same tradition. My mom couldn't quite reach the same pitch as my father, so her complaints were slightly different, but no less heartfelt. It's a silly and endearing way to bond over something trivial and delight in each other's laughter.
Interestingly, my parents jokingly believed that they were trying to teach us something through these mock complaints. In the Bible, the words "poor" and "needy" appear quite frequently, and my parents often used this phrase to remind us of these passages. We found it amusing and an easy way to connect the dots between scripture and our peculiar family tradition.
Now, we've continued this practice even into our children's lives, and we highly suspect they do the same with their own families. So, the "poor and needy" tradition lives on in our family and continues to bring us together with laughter and endearing moments.
These family traditions are not just about the weirdness or the silliness. They are the fabric of our family's culture, passed down through generations, and they bring us closer together in the most unique ways. Each tradition, though odd, holds a special place in our hearts and is a reminder of the love and shared history that binds us as a family.