‘Tis the season for traditions, right?
After all, it’s one of the things the holidays are all about.
For instance, this past weekend I followed my own time honored tradition by baking way too many cookies to pass out to family and friends, where after they’re consumed by said family and friends, I will have inadvertently added somewhere between ten to twelve pounds to the collective weight of Marquette County.
For that, I apologize in advance.
We all have our own way of marking this time of the year, many of us carrying on traditions that were passed down from previous generations who made their way to the UP from places like Finland or Sweden or Germany or Italy. That’s why some of those traditions involve an advent calendar or glogg or pizzelles, to go along with Santa Claus, fruitcake, and the annual family singalong of “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.”
And it’s not just traditions that have been passed down to us. Communities all over the UP have their own traditions in the form of parades or festivals or holiday celebrations.
For instance, just this weekend in Marquette I was able to see a Christmas tree extravaganza, attend a Yule Market, and see someone’s own personal Maori statue turned into one of the tin soldiers from “The Nutcracker.”
It’s Marquette.
Don’t ask.
I can’t say I’m surprised we mark the holidays with such vigor. After all, we’re a people who celebrate outhouses in the winter and giant mushrooms in the summer.
It’s in our blood.
So when you attend an event like Tinseltown, held this past weekend in Negaunee, you’re just carrying on a Yooper tradition. And that’s what this time of the year is all about, right?
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to help a few friends put on a few extra pounds by giving them dozens of cookies they probably don’t need.
Why?
Well, it’s a tradition.
