Memory and Tradition

My family and I have many traditions associated with holidays, which in return, brings many memories. 

We have so many traditions, like delivering flowers in the community for Valentine's Day, Easter egg dyeing, and then egg hunts. Halloween is one of our favorites. Then comes Thanksgiving with parade watching, cooking, and so many Christmas traditions like baking and Christmas lights. One of my favorite traditions we do every year is a trip to Hollywild. Hollywild Animal Reserve is located in Inman, South Carolina. It only operates during the Christmas season. They have a drive through light show, an animal park that you can drive through to feed animals, and a "Santa's Land" where you get to bottle feed more animals, have a bonfire, get Christmas treats, and so much more. 

Here's a video of Hollywild Animal Preserve if you want to check it out! 

Each year at Hollywild, during the drive-through light show, you can tune in to a certain radio station connected to the animal preserve to listen to music as you drive through to look at the lights. They always play a wide range of peaceful Christmas music. One piece of music they always seem to play is Mary Did You Know. I resonate with this song very much. My family and I began to take Mary Did You Know from our Hollywild tradition and listen to it in our home during Christmas baking, present wrapping, and so much more. It is a very meaningful song to us. It is peaceful, quiet, and takes the perspective of asking Jesus' mother, Mary, if she understood the full significance of her son as he would go on to perform miracles. As said in the song, ''walking on water, healing the blind, and raising the dead.'' 

Take a listen! 

Changing subjects, from tradition to a more serious memory. My grandmother unexpectedly passed away back in 2020 from a massive heart attack in her sleep. It was a very hard, low time for us as a family since we had just also lost my greatmother (her mom) and my great uncle (her brother), both due to more natural causes. It was hard to navigate through as a family, especially as young as my brother and I were. Instead of planning to go shopping with her the next day, we were planning her funeral. When we arrived at the funeral home the next day, we were to pick a few songs to play during her celebration of life. We had one picked out, but no one could seem to find another that fit perfectly for her and our emotions. Until a close family friend, unknowingly and suddenly, stumbled upon one. We, as a family, listened, and instantly, tears came racing down. It was like the song had been written for us, for my grandmother. It described her perfectly and even more so, described our emotions and how we felt, almost a sense of jealousy towards Heaven because she was there and not with us. Now, 5 years later, I still tear up every time I listen to Jealous of the Angels. It is a song that expresses profound grief, loss, and deep sorrow. It also talks about the hard pill of acceptance to swallow.

 Give it a listen. 

Both these songs provide a sense of peace in different ways. They both resonate with me very much, and I will forever hold both closely. I hope you have heard both songs before, and if not, I hope you will remember them and maybe they can leave an impact on you as they have me! There are so many memories and traditions!