Journal Entry 29: Your Family Traditions

I think there is a pretty big conflict in my family regarding heritage and tradition. Family traditions and heritage tell what is expected of me at all times, including my habits, work ethic, and moralities. My immediate family doesn't really celebrate any holidays, it is only when other family members like aunts and uncles invite us to do something that we join in. In these cases, the food served depends on the holiday. Being originally from Taiwan, my family celebrates a lot of important Taiwanese holidays. However, because much of my family is also in the US, we celebrate American ones too. During the American holidays, American food is served, and during the Taiwanese ones, Taiwanese food is served. We don't really tell stories that go too far into the past either, like when my parents were kids. The stories told are mainly what has happened since the last time we've met, and traditional stories are rare. The older members of my family are strictly traditional, with some Western influences, and the younger members are mostly Western, with some traditional influences.