Day 4,5 and 6- Culture, Traditions and Faith

Day 4- Culture

This weekend was such a fun time for our family. Since the kids are a little older, we have been starting to give them some experiences into different cultures. This weekend we ventured into my side of the family and exploring traditions from my Hispanic heritage.

I am 100% Hispanic, third generation, far removed from the roots of our heritage. I grew up in a home where my mother was so adamant that I spoke English and integrated into an American/English school. It wasn't until later in life that I found out that she based her importance of such things on her own experiences of being you in the 1960's and not speaking English. I am grateful for my upbringing and as much as I remember our Catholic/Hispanic traditions and folklore (Posadas, La Llorona, Pinatas...tamales☺) there are still celebrations of our culture that seem so foreign and removed from me yet they fascinate me.

One of these fascinations has been "Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead)

 

Julie and Sedona... two artists :)

 

 

To learn more about Dia de los Muertos click here.

We are blessed to have a beautiful Hispanic community in Ft. Collins. In attending this festival we became familiar with  a small part of who I am. I have been fortunate enough to make friends in my life and work that share their love for our culture and have encouraged me to dig deep into our heritage and culture and begin to make some family traditions of our own.

Day 5- Traditions

After attending our first Dia de los Muertos festival, it had me thinking of how we could integrate the traditions of both of our families together and also begin to start our own as the James Hicks family. We have through the years enjoyed special moments that we have began to celebrate every year. This is exactly what I feel is the heart of our families traditions. Finding something that we  hold so dear that the desire to experience that moment again and again ... together never ceases. I had to really hold tight to the idea of our family as we experienced this weekends festivities. Not everything of the folklore is easy to explain to young children, nor with a christian background but the festival made it a point to make the celebration of life. Life lived and Life promised. I was truly grateful for that. I am grateful to have a supportive community and family that continues to encourage us to celebrate who we are and where we came from.

Day 6- Faith

Day 6 just happens to be my birthday. It was a very simple day, which if you ask any mom they will agree that is the best way to spend your birthday. We started to day grabbing some cinnamon rolls from Vern's and heading to church.  Our church service was amazing. We had a guest pastor, Clay Peck from Grace Place in Berthoud, CO. He shared his story of adoption of his 16 year old daughter from the Ukraine. The struggle his family has overcome is just amazing. I encourage you to read his story, it is a true love story.


Altogether this post is an accumulation of my heart this weekend. I know it may seem like just little things, but these little things are building... building into bigger things each day. I embrace these little things, memories, moments, traditions and look forward to the legacy that even little things like these will leave for my children and so forth. I know that even these little things are BIG things to my children... things that they will remember and use to create their memories, moments and traditions with their family. I am just a small part of the bigger plan...and there is no greater joy than to be that small part. It's all about the legacy ♥