Family Therapy Podcast
Two cousins get together to discuss recent events & hot topics with insight from their generational differences and outlook on today's society & culture. Warren and Erica offer commentary on entertainment and music industry news. This podcast welcomes listeners a peak into their unique upbringing with hilarious stories and general life survival guides.
Family Therapy Podcast
Deep Dive | TRADITIONS & CULTURE
Remember those childhood Christmas Eves that stretched past midnight as presents were opened one by one with the entire extended family? We reminisce about these formative experiences and explore how they've influenced the traditions we've established in our adult lives. From hiding pickle ornaments in Christmas trees to preparing elaborate Valentine's Day seafood feasts, we reveal how these seemingly simple rituals provide structure, meaning, and joy in our families.
The conversation takes a deeply moving turn as we explore Day of the Dead celebrations and their profound perspective on the connection between the living and those who have passed. Through creating ofrendas adorned with marigolds, photographs, and favorite foods of deceased loved ones, this beautiful tradition teaches that death isn't an ending but a transition—that those we love remain with us as long as we remember and honor them.
Whether you're looking to deepen existing family traditions or create meaningful new ones, this episode offers both practical ideas and philosophical insights into how rituals large and small help us make sense of our place in the world. Subscribe now and join us next week when we dive into the transformative practice of journaling!
Hey, beautiful souls, welcome to our family therapy deep dive. Today we're going to be talking about traditions and cultures, the meaning behind it, so take my hand and let's go. Hey, warren, so how's it going? Hey?
Speaker 2:good, how are you?
Speaker 1:I'm doing well, thank you.
Speaker 2:Good, good to hear. Are you excited for today's topic?
Speaker 1:I am really excited because I have a few things that that you good to hear. Are you excited for today's topic?
Speaker 2:I am really excited because I have a few things that you want to say and I want to share yeah yeah, I'm excited to deep dive into traditions and culture yeah, I don't have any traditions specifically, but I'm interested to hear what you have to say. Yeah, yeah let's do it.
Speaker 1:Let's do it all, let's do it.
Speaker 2:All righty, okay. So, erica, if there was an alien invasion, okay, and aliens came to earth and then they just met you, they came to your door and they're just wanting to know more about the human race and they asked you, they wanted your advice. Erica, what is this tradition? What is that to you? How would you explain tradition to anybody?
Speaker 1:So I would aliens wow, I mean just to get you into that mindset. Yeah, into that mindset.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what's tradition? In your own words.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so tradition to me is something that your family practices like, certain beliefs that can be due to religion, cultural practices, just family traditions that you know. Yeah, it's kind of hard because I grew up not really having a family tradition or not much culture. I've learned over the years like culture because of the community we come from right, it's mostly Native Americans and so I've adapted to their culture and then as I travel and just find different places, I embrace, you know, the different cultures and traditions. But I've just come up with my own family traditions with my kids and I, uh, just so we can have something to you know do every year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. I. I think tradition is something that you do like. My definition is something you do every year, like it could be like an event or a celebration or a get-together, a game, right? You know something that you do like every year at a certain time.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know, like that's what a tradition might be.
Speaker 1:Yes, think so, yeah yeah, just kind of like a holiday right, yeah yeah like a holiday, yeah, but yeah. Like a holiday, yeah, um, but but yeah holiday, yeah, I mean, but there's a difference between holiday and a tradition. Absolutely, but it's just an example.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, like you could do a tradition around a certain holiday oh yeah before we go in any more into the silliness here, let me just say I don't want to make this a christmas episode, because some of my traditions are have to do with christmas. So, yeah, that's. That's not making christmas episode okay, we have two points each culture okay and christmas yeah anyway. But yeah, I mean like like food traditions one thing that does take me back, though.
Speaker 1:Um, I know this is not christmas, but one tradition that nana did have was every Christmas Eve. Do you remember when we were little and we would go and everybody would be there and it's like one present at a time. It's like midnight and that was. It was exciting, but it was like so time consuming if you think about it, because there's so many kids.
Speaker 2:Right, there was a lot of kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there was a lot of us.
Speaker 2:Yeah and waiting, yeah. Once one present present, one gift at a time yes, I remember that that was crazy it was crazy without what a tradition was. Yeah, that's what it was like. It was long, it was dreadful, but we were all there right and that's what a tradition was. Yes, you know waiting till uncle eskel gets there to hand out the gifts. You know waiting around. You know it's like it was a tradition.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that we all kind of knew. Exactly.
Speaker 2:And you know what's funny, like thinking back to that time, I don't think our parents knew what exactly they were like embedding in us at that time, like they were probably just getting together just because they had to, right. But to us kids, it kids it was like oh, it's a tradition, it's a tradition, oh, we like doing this every year. So when they started, like when our parents started like getting more independent, older, you know, we started like seeing that fade. You know we're like where is that old tradition feeling?
Speaker 2:exactly, so that's what blows my mind sometimes, like sometimes traditions just happen. You know, they just don't, they're not planned, they just happen.
Speaker 1:They're just there. Yeah, they just happen, and that's the only thing that I can remember as a child is what we celebrated. So I mean, at least we had one thing to look forward. I look forward to that every year, oh yeah, it was an event yeah, it was an event.
Speaker 1:So I've created my own. I mean, we'll just uh talk a little bit about christmas here, since you brought it up and because you know, just because I feel like a lot of traditions take place around the holidays right, they do and I just don't want to get this confused as a christmas episode.
Speaker 2:Right, you know, but yeah, um so for christmas, um, around christmas.
Speaker 1:So for Christmas, around Christmas time, we have a tradition of my dad. He makes bizcochitos. My mom, your mom and me I've started making tamales every year, Just things like that. Now we do not celebrate Christmas Eve. I feel like that's more of like the Mexican heritage or like side of things. And, Nana, I mean we did celebrate on Christmas Eve, but for me we celebrate Christmas morning. What I do is I hide a pickle, like a pickle ornament, in my, my Christmas tree and whoever finds it first gets to open up the first present and then they get to hand out the presents.
Speaker 1:So that's my tradition that I've started with well, there's Christmas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a tradition. That's a tradition yeah yeah, and if you do it every year, there you go yeah something to do, something, some that some. Yeah, yeah, my kids they really look forward to it.
Speaker 1:And it's so funny because we've moved and so we lost our pickle ornament, or it broke, or I can't remember. But, we used a real pickle one time and it was like we have the best time with that, and I try to be creative because it's like there's only you know. But, it blends in and it just it's so fun.
Speaker 2:My mom has the most random christmas ornaments ever. Yeah, like there's one like a little lamp, and then there's one like like a shoe, and then there's like weird stuff a bird like weird, weird stuff he wouldn't even know I get. Every year it's my tradition actually to sit there in front of that tree and look at like what kind of random stuff rolling this tree today like weird stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like I get like most random most random I've never seen her tree, I guess and it's the same every year.
Speaker 2:I don't know I shouldn't change it. She needs to change it yeah um, but yeah, I think a lot of more. A lot of fond traditions are around the holidays, right? I've heard of some people that, um, during the holidays, the whole family gets together and they do like this like like a quiz or like a trivia, like they divide the whole family up into two and they just do trivia and it seems it sounds fun that does you know, that sounds fun but you know, I don't think our families are real culture like that, like you, you know, like I think the more trivia is like, like movies or tvs or music I don't
Speaker 1:think a lot of our family they're not paying attention to that stuff like actors or whatever, like what, what year did this movie come out?
Speaker 2:blah, blah, blah, and I'd be like, oh yeah, you know, but I'd be the only one, I'd be the only one having fun yeah, so it'd be boring. Yeah, it would be boring, super boring anyway, but yeah, but yeah, yeah, I think that's, yeah, my point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, another thing that I do is around again. Another holiday, valentine's Day Every year. I've started well for the past, I believe I think seven to eight years I started doing a seafood broil for Valentine's Day just because it's so busy to go out. I feel like Valentine's Day is a Hallmark holiday. So I'm just like I'm not going to go out and fight the lovebirds that are going to be arguing tonight or tomorrow. Maybe I'm bitter, I don't know, maybe I need therapy, but um, I, uh, I do a seafood broil and that's we, my kids and I. We enjoy it, you know, just just us. We eat and just hang out, you know yeah, why?
Speaker 2:Why is seafood broil?
Speaker 1:My kids love seafood.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And seafood is so expensive, so I'm like it's a treat right. So I do like the whole nine yards, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 2:I'm not into seafood that much, but I did go one time to like an Angry Crab. Oh, okay. And it was so good. I got all kind of crab crap, all kind of shit that I would even get. I just I was there trying it with with friends and I just got one of everything and it was so good. I remember like digging, into all these legs yeah I don't like that creepy crawly under type. Yeah, that's like bugs underneath the sea, yeah it. That's like sea bugs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:They are, yeah, nine feet, like lobsters and crabs. Those are bugs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in the sea Exactly, but they're so good they are, they're good. They're good in butter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was good, it was good. I would love to go back.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I would love to go back corn in there the sausage. Is that what that is?
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly so I do crab legs, I do shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn mussels um I don't know what else Crawfish, sometimes I love crawfish. So yeah, just that's what I do, and I season it up and I mean we do sometimes go eat at Angry Crab, like you know, but that's like I like to make it and just you know, chill and eat, yeah that's good.
Speaker 2:That's good Around Valentine's Day, huh.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, that's a tradition indeed.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So let this little alien know why do people follow traditions in the first place?
Speaker 1:I would think, just to have that connection with family. Maybe Our lives are so busy, kids are growing up, so getting together and and uh just bonding and and uh just making memories, you know, is what I would think a very simple I don't have too much of a thought of, you know analysis of why, but I would.
Speaker 2:I would think, yeah, that's why, that's why I do it, you know a sense of comfort, um, remembering where you came from, I suppose, um, and just giving a sense of community, because traditions aren't really, you know, they're just not limited to family. You know, traditions can be extended to, like friends and neighbors and stuff exactly, yeah, and just like close friends and and things like that now.
Speaker 1:Um, when I was closer to to family and friends, like we would just get together too on sundays and just cook and eat, you know, and that was kind of like a family tradition, just unofficial getting together. Let's, what are we gonna eat today? What are we gonna barbecue, you know so? Yeah yeah, yeah, pretty good stuff it's. It's always fun to just conversate and and, uh, just catch up on life, you know do you have any traditions that you do on your own, like just you.
Speaker 2:That's a tough one, because I wasn't when I was thinking about that, when I was like what do I do for myself every year?
Speaker 1:or right and I couldn't think of one really yeah, that is, and it's important. I think you know and I know, after we're done recording this podcast, I'm gonna say, oh, I'm like, oh yeah, this is what I'm doing right now. It's a june yeah, exactly, yeah, um, what would I? I can't think of anything.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness yeah, me neither, me neither, and if I don't have anything.
Speaker 1:That's pretty sad and I'm gonna create one it's okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean that's, I gotta get one too. I gotta do something. Like I know some people like they go on, like like on trips by themselves or stuff, you know, like it's like damn, I don't do anything for that, you know. I don't do anything for myself, like that you know. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I love to travel.
Speaker 2:I don't buy myself stuff either. Like I don't buy myself material stuff. You know, yeah, you know, yeah, I just whatever comes my way, I just get it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, I in the moment, right like yeah, yeah, yeah, same. Yeah, I don't really do that. Some traditions that that we follow in my family. Like for the holidays we do make cookies, which is something that I look forward to, but it's phasing out. Nobody wants to make cookies with me anymore, like when I try to every year. Nobody wants to do it, but I feel like that's my tradition, I like doing it, it's fun. Yeah. So I think if I were to do like if I lived on my own or something, or if I like was on my own, whatever, I think that's what I would do to just feel closer to home, just, oh yeah, just to feel I don't know the holiday smell.
Speaker 2:Or the spirit, yeah, the holiday season, because that's something that we do every year or we used to do. Another tradition that we started is taking a family photo every year. We started that, I think, five years ago, oh that's cool. We just set up the camera, you know, set up a nice little background with our tree and make it look nice all our gifts and then take a picture every year oh yeah, we started out the first year with a with like a with the ring light, the real big one, because we have all that stuff handy in my family.
Speaker 2:We have cameras and lights and all this camera action, everything all these gadgets, it's all there yeah, the whole studio.
Speaker 2:So the first year we we started, we we did all that and then, as the years progressed, we got lazy. So now it's our iphone, like somebody's just taking it now, like on the phone. But I would like to go back to that because, like you were saying, I'm like what? What I mean? Because, like we were saying with, uh, with christ back in the day, like it was drawn out, it took time, but it was that's what the tradition was to spend time together.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So taking the time to do something, it's part of it. It's part of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it does change. I feel like, like you mentioned, as we get older, as people move and things like that, we're not in the same place as our family. My daughter don't live here anymore, so it's like trying to get her to come here work schedules, so it's going to be interesting to see how, moving forward, if we can keep the traditions alive or if, um, you know how we can compromise, I guess, or yeah, or adapt, or like try to try to, yeah, adapt to new circumstances.
Speaker 1:Right, like just make a new tradition or something exactly I was just gonna say that, yeah, make a new tradition where it's like you know. With the whole covid thing, a lot of people started using um, like the, what is it like? Zoom and things like that. So, and facetime, we all have iphones. So even if we have to do a tradition where you know because she's out of state, we can do that or you know so I forget about that.
Speaker 2:It's it's so it. This is off topic, but it amazes me that in our phones we could just facetime now and a lot of the times you don't I don't use it, but I know people that do like a lot like they call their family members every day on facetime and it's just their thing and it's just like, and they're younger, so it's kind of like in their brain, I guess.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But it's like damn, I wish I was in that Xenon life already. You know, yeah, but damn, I don't know why I just don't FaceTime. It's there.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:I should. We all have it.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, there's no reason. They love to FaceTime.
Speaker 2:Yeah, see, so it's in their like process, it's in their the younger generation.
Speaker 1:It's in their brain.
Speaker 2:Yes, and to us it's still like new, exactly. I haven't even like adapted to that yet. I'm still calling people, I'm still texting. Yeah. I'm still using T9, the whole keyboard huh.
Speaker 1:So another tradition, um, that is uh, is kind of known to me, is like um and and it's. It's unfortunate that I'm not mexican enough to celebrate um, but when a child, when a female, turns 15, they have a tradition of quinceanera, and so it's a very beautiful ceremony. It's kind of like almost like a wedding in a sense. You know the reception, everything the dress. The dress.
Speaker 1:And it's just a 15- a 15 year old just celebrating becoming a young woman and it's such a beautiful ceremony, but again I feel like I wasn't raised you know where. I'm not mexican or fully mexican, so I wouldn't feel right celebrating that, if that makes any sense.
Speaker 1:Um, in the native american culture, same, not native american yeah but they also have a beautiful ceremony when a young lady gets their menstrual cycle and so they do like a sunrise dance and they do a big like beautiful ceremony. But you know, I've gone to one, but I don't know like. It's a lot. There's a lot that's put into these traditions and they're just so beautiful, but we didn't. Unfortunately, we don't celebrate. I just did a sweet 16. Yeah, sweet 16. Yeah, very unfortunately we don't celebrate. Yeah, I just did a sweet 16.
Speaker 2:yeah, sweet 16, yeah very american, very white, yeah, very whitewashed. No, it's fine, it's totally fine. Yeah, every there's traditions, you know it's. It's totally fine. We all have our own right and you know, we we were both kind of raising that in in in that section with quinceaneras and that, what is that called that womanhood?
Speaker 1:The Native, so it's like a puberty celebration or tradition.
Speaker 2:I knew a girl in elementary school onward and then she had one of those and she was telling me about it.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, and.
Speaker 2:I was like, okay, that's cool. I don't know what you're talking about, but that's cool.
Speaker 1:Right, I don't know anything, you're talking about.
Speaker 2:But that's cool, right? I don't know anything about the native american culture culture. There's some things that I know just just because I was around it right but there was nobody in my family that taught me like why this, why that's? Right what colors, this color?
Speaker 1:you know, this feather, that feather, I don't know, I I don't know anything about that, so I wish I did yeah, same like I know from a distance, you know, but I don't know like in depth of like, why are they dancing like this, like ceremonial right you? Know we have all these different tribes come and they're dancing beautifully and they have their, their I don't know if it's right to say costume or their. Attire yeah attire, you know, but it's such a beautiful experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's like, okay, what do these dances mean? I know it's, like I can say, giving thanks to the creator, to Mother Nature, creating rain, to you know, right, yeah, like why the colors?
Speaker 2:I want to know. Why are you holding that stick? Why are you holding that blanket Like why? And I'm the kind of person that likes to go into those things.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Like, why does this happen? Why does that happen? Like into deep philosophical shit. Yes, yeah, you know stuff that takes deep thought into, like, for example, the harry potter universe. It's such a wide, open universe and its own history and stuff, same with other books and television shows that have complex backgrounds. Um, you know, it's interesting to me to know, but I never learned about that stuff.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So I'm not against it. I would love to learn. Yeah, yeah and same with the Quintanilla. Like you, you know of it. It's there, but it's not connecting with you on that level to where you would celebrate it with your own family and stuff.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, I just wouldn't feel right just being that. You know I, you know I just I just wouldn't feel right doing that. So sweet 16 was fine yep, fun and easy.
Speaker 2:It's one day exactly, yep um, okay, so we talked about tradition, about what it kind of means to you and me, and we talked about a little bit of what traditions that we do, that you and I do. But let's get a little bit more into culture, cultural tradition.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 2:I know from living with you, from being around you for the past year, that you've taken up a new not a new tradition, but you have. You've been celebrating something that is nice and unique, and I want you to tell me about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it is fairly new. I just started a couple years ago and that tradition is Day of the Dead.
Speaker 2:What is Day of the Dead? Can you tell me more about Day of the Dead? What?
Speaker 1:is Day of the Dead. Can you tell me more about Day of the Dead? Yeah, so it's a celebration of your deceased loved ones, your ancestors, and it's a connection between life and death. It's so meaningful and it just brings so much happiness to me to celebrate Day of the Dead.
Speaker 2:It's a nice celebration. It's all colorful.
Speaker 1:Correct.
Speaker 2:And I think it's misunderstood. Yeah, a lot.
Speaker 1:Because it's not meant to be sad or like sorrow. You know we've already gone through the pain when we lost our loved one. The tradition is fairly new for me. Um, I've always been interested in it, but I've never took the time to like practice it. Um, I did start practicing it once I lost my brother. Um, so what I do is um, there's again. It's a connection between life and death, and you're celebrating their new journey, because it's not an end, right, it's an end maybe in the physical world, but not necessarily in the spiritual world.
Speaker 1:So Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1st through 3rd 1st through through 3rd 1st through 3rd yeah, so just a few days, but what it brings is like each day you add stuff to your ofrenda. Yeah. And excuse me because I'm not very good at pronunciating- Spanish words. So I can barely say Dia de los Muertos.
Speaker 2:I can barely say it either, so I say Day of the Dead.
Speaker 1:Right, very Americanized, but that culture is like the Spanish-Mexican culture. It's also a Catholic culture or like religion. It's celebrated in mexico and uh, but now in the states, or you know, just throughout, um, we celebrate everything these days, right, um, so they have like dances and music, and you know it's really really neat, so it's like a three-day celebration right and would you say it's like a celebration of life, yeah, like that person's life right, it's a celebration of life and um so, basically, it's like each day.
Speaker 1:So like the first day, you light a candle and you place a flower and on the offender on your, on your, yeah, on the ofrenda.
Speaker 2:I can't even say it right now. You make that on the first day, right?
Speaker 1:So that's how you start it yeah, so that's how you start it. You put your pictures and then you like decorate it and then you place your one candle with your flower and then that's just saying you know, it's welcoming your loved ones back to visit yeah, to visit, and just um on their journey, and things like that. Um, so marigolds are very colorful and they are the flower of the dead and it's to guide the spirits back to. Back home, back home, back home to your family.
Speaker 2:Yes, Back home to your family. Awesome, the ofrenda, you put the picture up there. If you love the ones, you love the ones that I went on.
Speaker 1:Right. And you, every day you add something right, Every day you add something Every day, yeah, so I add, and then I add like bread.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like their favorite foods. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I do so that you add like pan bread, which is the bread of the dead, and then you add like water to have them be, you know just pure right. Pure souls. Have them be, you know just pure right. Pure souls, and then you add their favorite candy or food, drinks, things like that, but each day you're placing a cup of water or a fresh cup of water, and that's just again. As they are on their new journey, they stop to visit.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They come back and spend time with family and it's in, yeah, it's, it's an honor and remembrance, that's what's. That's what it's all about, um, and I just uh, I, I do have a picture of my brother, nana, and then my auntie. Yeah. So only have the three. I mean, we've lost so many along the way, but those three were like the closest to me yeah. So that's who I celebrate and remember.
Speaker 2:And yeah, I just, I just and it gives you a sense of like comfort, right, right, I just uh. And it gives you a sense of like comfort, right, like, like it helps you just I don't know, I don't want to say cope, but it helps you just like know that your family is just not gone, right, they're still here, in some way, shape or form, um, and it just it's, it's nice.
Speaker 2:I guess I think I will. That's something that I would like to apply to once I get more, a little more educated on it, you know, but I I see why it's something that people do.
Speaker 1:Yes, you know, yeah, it's, it's.
Speaker 2:It does bring peace and comfort, it does bring peace, and comfort that your loved one is still there watching you or still around.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Because I think I know for a fact that's. I mean not for a fact, but for me that's what I believe. I don't think our loved ones go anywhere. I mean, they go somewhere, right, but they could come back.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Our personalities don't just go away, go away yeah. You know they go somewhere. Yeah, go away, you know they go somewhere.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you're a believer that our souls don't go anywhere?
Speaker 2:I mean they, they just go somewhere, right, right, do you know where, or do you so?
Speaker 1:have an idea. So it's a connection between life and death and it's also the circle of life, right, you know, we are here in physical form, but when our souls leave our body, they're on to their next journey. Is what I believe, and that's another thing that, again, day of the Dead represents, right, that just because death is happens doesn't mean you're gone. It's a new beginning. It's a new beginning and it's I.
Speaker 1:I mean, I can't, they don't know what that new beginning is, of course, because I'm still here in physical form, but I I hear that it's just such a at peace and just. You know it's a beautiful journey, new journey, so I wish I knew had more to say about that. I'm like at a loss for words for some reason yeah, I mean, no, I mean not.
Speaker 2:None of us know what happens after we die right, I mean, but you believe, but you know that we, our souls, our souls go somewhere, though they move on we don't just go away right our souls go somewhere exactly you believe that?
Speaker 1:yeah, absolutely 100, and I know that. Um, you know, my brother comes to visit at times too, like you know, and I appreciate that, or send signs and things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I don't think your brother would send those signs if he didn't know that you would see them.
Speaker 1:Exactly Know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, something that only you would notice, and I think that's what makes it personal. You know what I'm saying Mm-hmm, something that only you would notice, and I think that's what makes it personal, you know. Like keeps it, like gives you those little like. Those are those signs of like certainty, like okay, I know. It just gives you like sense of comfort. I know he's there, like I know he's there, he's somewhere.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wherever our soul wanders off to. Yeah, it can be. Heaven, it can be in this universe.
Speaker 3:It can be a different plane, it can be yeah, it's a big mystery.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:It really is there's so many conspiracies out there about it, but none that we'll get into today. But yeah, I just wanted to touch on that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:On that belief.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I felt like I had a lot to say about it, but it's just very simple and sweet and a meaningful culture that I've adapted to and I thank my brother for that, like you know, and because he just you know the experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's a beautiful thing, yeah, yeah, and I think he would be all for it, right? He'd be like all for it. Yeah, all for it yeah, he'd be here for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I think it's it's, it's fitting, it's fitting yeah, so I think yeah, like, why not go for it? You know, make it a tradition, make, make it more than what it is. You know, make this special dish. You know, like, go all out, you know, yeah and then that's what I do like um for my brother.
Speaker 1:He loved dr and candy and so I do like Dr Pepper candy. Oh, and that does remind me I make pozole. Oh yeah, and I put a bowl of pozole there For Nana, same thing. I do like coffee or I get her. What did I put last time for her? I think I put last time for her. I think I put peach rings because that reminds me of Tata, because her and Tata used to like those and those peanut candies. I don't know if you remember those. They're like peanuts.
Speaker 2:Peanut shaped. Yeah, they're like yellow.
Speaker 1:Yellow, orange or something. Yeah, I don't know what color, but Nana used to always love to eat those.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know what color, but Nana used to always love to eat those. Yeah, I remember those.
Speaker 1:And then my auntie. I became very close to her when I met her, but she would always make me quesadillas. Oh yeah, yeah. So making just things like that, and I hope you're here living with me in november so you can experience that with me and it's more of like a filling rather than me talking about it, I guess yeah, it's more of like um it's more like you gotta be there, you gotta fill it and you fill the presence.
Speaker 1:You feel the love, you feel the peace and everything that, every emotion yeah during that time for some reason, and it just yeah, so I did have, I, I did write down the a meaning um, this was off of a website that I've, you know, pulled, but it at its heart. Day of the dead is about love, connection and continuity Between generations. It teaches that death is not an end but a new chapter, and that those we love live on as long as we remember and honor them. So that's pretty much. What is it just?
Speaker 2:kind of like what I said yeah, exactly, remembering people is what definitely keeps them alive. But yeah, when, when people forget about you, your your memory fades away nobody knows about you yeah and that's kind of what gets me a little bit freaked out about the people that came before us.
Speaker 1:I know exactly what you mean. I mean the technology back then was not as advanced as we do like now. Right, I mean we have. I don't know if you've seen a picture of our great grandma, nana's mom.
Speaker 2:I might have, but I probably just don't remember.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so ask your mom because it's pretty cool I might have, but I probably just don't remember.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so ask your mom because it's pretty cool and it's like it's very limited of our ancestors and our family and you know things like that. But it would be nice I did do like ancestry, just to see my background, my roots, and because I want to embrace my culture, which is very unique because I'm mixed. So it's like, okay, what do I consider myself and what am I? What can I celebrate? You know, I mean, I could celebrate anything, but I want to celebrate my culture, my heritage, you know just where I come from.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm close to home yeah you'd rather start with a tradition that's closer to home, that's made their mexican or native american? You wouldn't start to distance chinese first?
Speaker 1:exactly, yeah, exactly, because it's like, um, they would look at me like what the heck are you doing, girl?
Speaker 2:but some chinese traditions are pretty cool though they are like they're, like they're uh.
Speaker 1:Chinese new year yeah they really do, like a lot of cultures do a lot of different cultures have amazing things a lot of cool things that they do, um things that make me wish I was part of that exactly and and I do join like social events that if I'm, you know, out or I see something, um, but for me to celebrate it, I, I, I don't know. I just I don't want to be disrespectful to anybody, I don't know if that's a thing, or in 2025.
Speaker 2:Anything is offensive, anything is right could be, so you gotta like walk on eggshells on whatever you do right, you know and so I'd just rather celebrate in privacy, or if again, if it's like a public event, I would go yeah, if it's like a social event yeah, go for it, exactly like the hawaiian festival yeah, the hawaiian festival, uh festival um diwali, um that's a really cool tradition um in the indian culture in the indian culture.
Speaker 1:Like india, yeah, and it's like that's. I don't know if you've seen it, but it's like they um, it's really really colorful too oh yeah, like when they throw that powder and powder. Yes, yeah, yeah, I've seen that yeah, that's such a cool, that's pretty cool it's interesting what they do around the world. Yeah, and I want to do that. I just haven't. I always forget, or it's always like when I think about it and then it's already passed and I'm like dang it.
Speaker 2:Sometimes they do like a color run here in Phoenix and they do that. They throw that powder. Oh wow On the runners.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And you run with that. I think I've done that in new mexico. Yeah, either either the powder or the paint, I don't know. Yeah, I think it's powder, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's pretty cool, all righty. Well, that was a lot. That was definitely a lot. That was the most of what I could bring from culture and tradition. I don't have a lot of traditions and culture to talk about, so I couldn't really participate in this episode, but I think it was a good episode. But it's okay, don't you think? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Although I feel conflicted by celebrating other ethnicities, cultures or traditions, I still embrace them and if you're wanting to start Day of the Dead, I would definitely recommend it, especially if you've lost loved ones. It creates a sense of healing in you and just to be able to remember them in their life form and the light and the love and the laughter they brought and all the good memories the light and the love and the laughter they brought and all the good memories you know.
Speaker 1:Definitely look into Day of the Dead and celebrate in your own way, yeah.
Speaker 2:And just to know that they're not gone gone, completely Right, they're still here in some way.
Speaker 1:They're still part of you.
Speaker 2:They're still with you, I think, some words of wisdom that I would say, too is be open-minded. If something doesn't make sense to you, or if it doesn't look right to you, just don't jump to conclusions. Every celebration, every culture, every tradition has its own roots. As it's there for a reason, just be open-minded. Don't hesitate there for a reason, right, you know? Um, so just be open-minded. Don't, don't, uh, don't don't hesitate, don't hate something, if you haven't tried it or haven't like moved into it at least right, do your homework do your homework I guess, and you'll find, find something that will resonate with you and, uh again, just embrace it wholeheartedly.
Speaker 2:Alrighty. So I think that's it for traditions and culture this week. I think that was fun. Yes, that was fun. Right, I had fun, I had fun. So next week we're going to talk about journaling. Yes, next, deep dive with journaling and why it's important to journal. Now that one, I have some stuff to talk about, so that's going to be a good topic, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, very good topic. It'll definitely be a good deep dive.
Speaker 2:Do you journal at all, or do you keep any journals or anything?
Speaker 1:That's for.
Speaker 2:Or do you write at all? That's a no, that's a no, everybody Cool.
Speaker 1:You'll see.
Speaker 2:We'll talk about it next week. Um, everybody, thank you for listening. Um, of course, if you're listening to this podcast, this episode, that means that you have supported our show in some way, shape or form. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Let your friends know and, with that being said, we'll see you next week for journaling and if not, then we'll see you monday for family therapy family therapy.
Speaker 1:And don't forget to subscribe subscribe, I'll see you guys next time.