Through the centuries of Christian heritage, liturgical customs of the Church made their mark on the customs of the Christian home. More than just the seasons of Advent and Christmas or Lent and Easter, the ins and outs of fasts and feasts, saints' days and commemorations permeated the traditional cultures of Europe and other Christian cultures. The monumental fact of the last few centuries, and especially the 20th, has been the erosion and dereliction of Christ-soaked heritage in favor of a godless, bland secularism that promises sensual pleasures founded on sand, smoke, and mirrors. More than ever, a return to the solid, rock-hard foundation of Catholic Tradition—as many have now called for—is not only about a return to liturgical heritage in the churches, but also in homes and families.
In Religious Customs in the Family: The Radiation of the Liturgy into Catholic Homes, Fr. Francis Weiser, S.J., covers the magnificent and manifold ways in which Catholic traditions have been thoroughly imbibed by our traditional, ancestral cultures as Catholics. Even many supposedly secular traditions really have their origin in the traditions of the Church. Such priceless treasures of our inheritance include things as widely varied as Easter Ham, Spring Cleaning, Christmas trees, pretzels, and hot cross buns. In the age where tradition is shunted aside and novelties and banalities have been given free rein, let us return to what is our true heritage in Christ: a culture thoroughly baptized and permeated by the truths of the Liturgical Calendar, which commemorates what it means to be a Christian and thus informs us of the best way to live our humanity.
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