Whether you’re hosting a bar mitzvah or a huge cultural wedding, sometimes things can get bogged down in the details of ensuring it stays true to your roots. We all want to follow traditions when they’re essential and be thankful for where we came from, but more often than not, people find themself lost in how to make a party their own.
If you’re hosting a bit cultural event, and want to make it unique to you, here’s how to make it work without feeling like you’re disrespecting your cultural roots.
Lean Into the Cultural Entertainment
There’s a lot of pressure on culture for everything from weddings to baptism for many families. If your family is gathering and has a lot of pride in your Italian heritage, you may think that you have to lean away from conventions to make it your own: but you don’t have to stray far!
You can hire performers who are from your culture while still expanding on it. Italian singers can sing the classics everyone in your family knows and some twists on modern hits. Don’t be afraid to mix things up and get to enjoy evolving your culture with your family.
Give Things a Respectful Modern Twist
Classic Indian weddings can be large events that take weeks to unfold, from the critical wedding court of your most beloved friends to the beautiful fashion and music that’s put on during the ceremony itself. If your parents have wanted a classic Indian wedding for you since you were young, all of this tradition may feel a little smothering. You want to keep them happy, but you also wish to celebrate your love to be unique to you and your partner.
Make tiny changes that can make this day exactly what you want from it. You can change the dress line, get modern henna, or even consider changing up the music and decor. You don’t have to drop everything and make it a cliche Western wedding; make sure it’s something you’ll love to remember.
Experience It Through New Eyes
According to a lunar calendar, Lunar New Year is a celebration that welcomes the coming of the new year. Often referred to as Chinese New Year by Western media, this celebration gives people a chance to gather, eat great food, and bring hope in wealth and love in the new year.
If you go to this same celebration with your family every year, you may start to get tired of it. It could be that you’re tired of the same event or that you’ve forgotten what made it so special in the first place. Invite friends to whom you can teach the cultural significance. You don’t have to spend your whole new year as a cultural tour guide; give them the basics and tell them what it means to you.
Not only will you get to see a cultural celebration through how they react, but it will also remind you of while you got so excited about this holiday as a kid.
