Grade by Grade
A. Heritage and Identity · Changing Family and Community Traditions

How Traditions Change Over Time

A1About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can compare how a tradition was celebrated in the past and how it is celebrated today.
  • I can give reasons why traditions change.
  • I can tell what stayed the same and what changed.
  • I can explain that families also start new traditions.

Words to know

past
The time before now. Things that already happened.
present
Now, today.
change
To become different.
timeline
A line that shows events in the order they happened, from earliest to latest.
technology
Tools and machines people invent to help them, like phones, computers and kitchen machines.

Sunday pasta, then and now

Every Sunday, Marco and his nonna (grandma) make pasta together. Nonna says, "When I was your age, my mother made the dough all by hand. It took all morning!"

Today Marco and Nonna use a pasta machine. It is faster. But they still use Great-grandma's recipe, and they still eat together every Sunday.

The tradition changed a little, and it stayed the same a lot!

A metal pasta machine clamped to a floured wooden table, with a long sheet of pasta dough coming out of it, a ball of dough and a rolling pin nearby.
A pasta machine like Marco and Nonna's rolls the dough faster than doing it all by hand. The recipe and the Sunday meal stay the same! AI-generated image
Long ago When Nonna was 7 Today The recipe ispassed downin Italy Nonna's mothermakes the doughall by hand Nonna and Marcouse a pasta machine,same recipe
A timeline of Marco's family pasta tradition. It goes from long ago (left) to today (right). The recipe stayed the same; the tools changed.

Traditions change

Traditions are passed down, but they don't always stay exactly the same. Over time, families and groups change how they celebrate.

Often the meaning stays the same (being together, remembering, giving thanks), while how people do it changes.

Reason for changeExample
Moving to a new placeA family from Jamaica now celebrates Christmas in the snow and adds tobogganing to their traditions.
New technologyCousins far away join a birthday by video call. Photos are taken on a phone instead of a film camera.
Families changeWhen two people from different traditions marry, the family may celebrate both, like Hanukkah and Christmas. A new baby or a new step-parent can bring new traditions.
People live far apartGrandparents live in another country, so the family celebrates with friends or neighbours instead.
Health and safetyDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, many families celebrated by video call or outdoors to stay safe.
Learning new thingsA family uses reusable gift bags instead of wrapping paper to make less garbage.
Unfair rules (and fixing them)First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were not allowed to practise their traditions at residential schools. Today, communities are bringing those traditions back.
Some reasons traditions change

New traditions start all the time

Every tradition was new once! Families start new traditions when something special happens, when they move, or just because it's fun. If your family keeps doing it, it becomes a tradition.

Worked example

Example: Let's compare then and now

Grandpa Joe tells Maya about Halloween when he was 7, in Sudbury.

Then: "My mom made my costume from an old sheet. We carried pillowcases and walked around our street with my big brother. We got apples and homemade fudge."

Now: Maya's costume came from a store. She goes with her mom and uses a flashlight. She gets wrapped candy. She still walks around her street, and she still wears a snowsuit under her costume if it's cold!

  1. Find what changed: homemade costume → store costume; pillowcase → treat bag; homemade treats → wrapped candy; went with big brother → goes with mom.
  2. Find what stayed the same: dressing up, walking around the street, getting treats, sometimes wearing warm clothes.
  3. Think of a reason: stores now sell lots of costumes, and wrapped treats are what most people hand out today.

Changed: costumes, bags, treats and who goes along. Same: dressing up, walking the street and collecting treats.

Then (Grandpa Joe)Now (Maya)
Costumehomemade from a sheetfrom a store
Bagpillowcasetreat bag
Treatsapples and homemade fudgewrapped candy
Who went alongbig brothermom
Dressing up and walking the streetyesyes (same!)
A then-and-now chart
Then (Grandpa Joe)Now (Maya)homemadesheet costumepillowcaseapples andhomemade fudgewith big brotherstore costumetreat bagwrapped candywith MomBOTHdressing upwalking thestreetcollectingtreats
A Venn diagram of Halloween then and now. The outside parts changed. The middle shows what stayed the same.
Worked example

Example: Why did it change?

The Nguyen family used to celebrate Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) with Grandma in Vietnam. Now they live in Winnipeg. They celebrate at a community centre with other Vietnamese families, and they video call Grandma at midnight.

What changed? Why?

  1. What changed: where and with whom they celebrate, and how they see Grandma.
  2. Reason 1: the family moved to a new country.
  3. Reason 2: new technology (video calls) lets them still celebrate with Grandma.
  4. What stayed the same: they still celebrate Tết, with family and a community that shares their heritage.

It changed because the family moved and because of technology, but the celebration and its meaning stayed.

Funny but true

Before phones had cameras, people took photos on film. They had to wait days for the store to print the pictures, so nobody knew who had blinked until it was too late!

Hands-on activity

Then-and-now interview

  1. Choose a tradition or celebration your family has (a birthday, a holiday, a family outing).
  2. Ask an older person: "When you were 7, how did you celebrate this?" Ask about food, clothes, music, people and places.
  3. Fill in a chart with two columns: Then and Now.
  4. Circle the things that stayed the same.
  5. Ask: "Why do you think it changed?"

Bonus: draw a timeline with three dots: long ago, when my grown-up was 7, today.

Your turn

1

What does change mean?

2

What stayed the same in Marco's pasta tradition?

3

What changed in Marco's pasta tradition? Why?

4

Give two reasons traditions can change.

5

On a timeline, which side is usually the past?

6

Can a family start a new tradition?

7

A family moves from Mexico to Thunder Bay. Name one way their celebrations might change.

More practice: warm-up

1

Is "today" the past or the present?

2

Grandpa used a film camera. You use a phone. Is that a change in technology?

3

Fill in the blank: Every tradition was ______ once.

4

What tool helps cousins far away join a birthday party?

5

Do traditions always stay exactly the same?

More practice: on your own

1

Grandpa Joe got homemade fudge. Maya gets wrapped candy. Is this the same or a change?

2

Lucy's mom celebrates Diwali and her dad celebrates Christmas. What might their family do?

3

Why did many families celebrate by video call during the COVID-19 pandemic?

4

Why might a family's way of celebrating change when grandparents live far away?

5

In most traditions that change, what often stays the same?

Challenge

1

Pick one tradition in your family. Tell one thing that has changed and one thing that has stayed the same since your grown-up was 7.

2

Is it a bad thing when a tradition changes? Explain your thinking.

3

Put these in order on a timeline: Maya goes trick-or-treating today. Grandpa Joe trick-or-treated when he was 7. Grandpa Joe's dad trick-or-treated as a boy.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What does it mean when a tradition changes?

2.

Cousins in another country join a birthday by video call. What caused this change?

3.

Which reason could make a family's celebrations change?

4.

When a tradition changes, what often stays the same?

5.

On a timeline, what comes first?

6.

Grandma made costumes from old sheets. Now kids buy them in stores. This is...

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Traditions change over time for many reasons (moving, technology, family changes, distance, health and safety, new ideas, and, for First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, unfair laws and schools), but their meaning often stays the same. Families also create new traditions. This lesson covers the curriculum's focus on comparing traditions at different times and identifying reasons for change.

How to help at home:

  • Do the then-and-now interview with a grandparent or older relative; children remember stories told by people they know.
  • Look at old family photos and compare them to today's celebrations.
  • Start a new small tradition together and talk about how it might grow.

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking "change" means "bad". Show positive changes (video calls with faraway relatives) as well as unfair ones.
  • Timeline order. Use three family members of different ages and line them up oldest to youngest.
  • Noticing only changes. Always ask, "What stayed the same?"