two for one holiday tradition

Don’t you love a good sale, especially the buy one, get one free sales? You get twice as much for the price of one. At least sometimes. Unless the price is raised and then the product is sold as if it’s on sale! Even so, we love these sales. We are so excited to get more value and save money. But those two for one deals aren’t always as good as they seem. 

At times, we end up with more than we can use. Think about those large jars of mayonnaise that you couldn’t possibly pass up on a two for one sale. Can you use both by the expiration date? Not likely. We use so little mayo in our house that we can’t even use one before it expires. 

Too Much Mayo

Several years ago, I grabbed a big jar of mayo out of my mother-in-law’s pantry for my husband to quickly whip up some homemade dressing just in time to save his mom from grilling up reubens without their thousand island dressing zing. But, she bought the mayo on a two for one deal at our local big box store. It had expired a few years earlier. Yuck! Thankfully, we never opened it, but we all had a good laugh that day. 

Maybe you have never experienced the woes of a two for one deal, but we certainly have. More than once. In fact, for several years of our marriage, two for one deals had a big impact. But it wasn’t the kind of deal you find in the stores. It was that old classic two for one holiday tradition. You might be asking, “What’s a two for one holiday?

I guarantee if you are asking that question, you didn’t grow up with one. But for those of us who did, let me tell you, we sometimes felt gypped. 

In a time where our understanding of religions and cultures have grown and become intertwined, we have holidays for everything. There is always a reason to celebrate. But I’m thinking of the traditional and memorable holidays of my childhood growing up in small town America. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, President’s Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. These were most important because school was closed! To a lesser degree, but still very well celebrated both by families and stores were Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Halloween. 

These were holidays and a time to celebrate! The only problem with them, especially the gift giving holidays, was if you had a birthday that landed on, near, or around that holiday. What did you experience? That doggone two for one holiday tradition! A long accepted belief that when two holidays are close together, you can celebrate them both at once. Ridiculous!

For me it was Valentine’s Day. I was born minutes after Valentine’s Day on February 15th. Looking back, I think my parents were pretty great at having well defined lines around birthdays and holidays. 

Each year I would get some Valentine's chocolate and a card.  And my birthdays growing up were spectacular and well planned. Whatever theme I tossed at my parents, they always came through. Magicians and clowns came to my parties, and even my grade school teachers stopped by for the fun. My young friends never left the party bored or hungry.

One of Jody’s Fun Birthday Parties - 1976

Then, I grew up and got married. My husband, Bryce, had never experienced two celebratory days - like Valentine’s Day and my birthday - that close together. And he quickly realized the conundrum. One year, he tried the two for one holiday tradition by bringing flowers and chocolate to celebrate Valentine’s Day and my birthday together. Bryce quickly realized that one celebration was easy on the wallet, but two days of celebration kept him in the good graces of his wife. 

Why? Because two days of celebration are never about getting more tangible gifts. Gifts are fun and a joyful part of the experience when everything goes right, but it’s about building a tradition to experience a legacy of love. And two days of celebrating someone is better than one. Especially when it is done with Paul’s instruction from the Biblical book of Romans in mind. 

When you think about the word “love” in this passage, Paul is using it to mean brotherly love and is showing how the early church viewed Christians as extended family members. 

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.- Romans 12:10 NIV

Be loyal and loving.

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Romans 12:10 NLT

Be authentic. Take pleasure in honoring the ones you love.

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. - Romans 12:9-10 MSG

Dig deep. Be real. Love intensely. 

Do you see those words? Wow! That’s how God wants us to celebrate the people in our family. 

Traditions are an important part of our family stories. But even more important is building a legacy of love into our traditions and grabbing every moment we can to celebrate and honor those we love. It builds up our family members, gives our kids a practical way to see love in action, and gives us a legacy worth leaving. 

Celebrate well! I know we will. 

Searching for wisdom and asking for grace,

Jody

P.S. No pressure, Dad & Mom, you still have a little bit of time to celebrate with me twice!