Everyday Traditions: Simple Family Rituals for Connection and Comfort

by Nava Atlas

Book Overview

Illustrated and containing scores of simple ideas, this book contains topics which include daily dinner and other kitchen rituals, preserving family history, creating memories, building family... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 096302437X
• ISBN13: 9780963024374
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Amberwood Press
• Length: 158 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

"Everyday Traditions" is especially recommended for those just beginning to be a family,

The 2006 Grand Prize Winner of the 14th Annual Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards, "Everyday Traditions: Simple Family Rituals for Connection And Comfort" by Nava Atlas was written for parents wanting to create within their own families those simple, meaningful familial traditions that once were commonplace, but in our increasingly industrialized, urbanized, technologized, fragmented lifestyles are becoming a thing of the past. In "Everyday Traditions", Nava draws upon illustrative personal stories of many women to show how even today, ordinary family routines can be embellished to create celebration, fun, and remembrance for all family members. These little traditions can include daily dinners and kitchen activities, activities preserving family history, ways of building family identity, and more. Of special note are the wonderful illustrations embedded throughout, the scores of simple and 'user friendly' ideas to apply to any family, as well as pages set aside for the reader to record and develop their own favorite family traditions. "Everyday Traditions" is especially recommended for those just beginning to be a family, and for those wanting to reestablish their family bonds weakened by the conflicting demands of modern society upon the various family members.

practical and inspiring

This is a really cool book full of ideas for traditions and rituals for your family. There are suggestions for daily or weekly rituals like family dinner, reading together, family meetings; seasonal rituals like spring planting, summer relaxation, fall festivities and cozy winter traditions; as well as annual ideas for birthdays, anniversaries, and honoring the departed. Atlas also includes a section on friendship rituals including dates with friends, starting a women's book group, and my favorite - the lost art of letter writing. There are so many little tidbits that you'll be inspired to create your own special traditions that your children will remember and want to carry on.

Wonderful!

Everyday Traditions is a wonderful book! The personal stories in the book show us how to care for our soul in simple ways and to make meaning and art out of everyday activities. I highly recommend this book.

a surprising diversity of ideas to counter the hectic pace of life

I am a voracious reader who generally donates books to the library upon their completion, but with "Everyday Traditions" I'm making an exception. It is a book I expect to return to time and again. It is a book of ideas, so many and so good that I know I'll never contain in my brain all that it contains in its pages, so it's earned a slot on my small bookshelf. While many books will enrich your life while you read them, how many will enrich it in the days, weeks, and years that follow, and maybe even into the lives of your children and their children? This book truly offers this if you embrace the simple premise that many of our mundane tasks can be transformed with a minimum of added flourish and a different approach of attitude. The book is divided into large chapter categories dealing with rituals of memory, season, food, friendship, etc. Though family themes predominate, it is NOT a parenting book, because it deals with relationships which extend in all directions: parents, partners, friends, siblings, and yes, children. Within each chapter is some narrative by the author and examples drawn from her own experience, but also there are numerous and diverse ideas from many contributors. And for the cosmopolitan-minded, approaches to tradition and ritual from other cultures are included. Thanks to the very clean organization of each chapter, if certain ideas simply don't interest you, you can easily skip over them, making this an enjoyable cover-to-cover read if you choose to approach it that way. Alternatively, you could just go to an area of interest and peruse the possibilities in short order. Finally, as icing to the cake, the author is an accomplished artist who has illustrated the entire book, so it will please your eyes while leading you into new ways of expanding your life and those around you.

Traditions for every day of the year!

I originally looked to this book to help me find ways to make the holidays more meaningful and memorable for my children. We live across the country from our extended family, so there really are NO big family get-togethers. I did find ideas for creating holiday traditions for our little family, and so much more. Each chapter of this book is full of ideas for creating special moments with the special people in your life. There are ideas for bedtime, mealtime, birthdays, seasons, holidays and more. It is really a compilation of ideas from dozens of women who share their personal stories and customs. There are lots of resources suggested if you want to learn more about a specific tradition. The final section of the book is a workbook area for recording your own family traditons. If you are looking for ideas about how to make every day extraordinary, this book will not disappoint. Buy it, share it, you will love it!