This past weekend we held our annual “Turkey Bowl” where a group of us, ages ranging from 7 to 45, played a game of touch football at a local park. As each year passes I lose a step while my kids seem to gain a step (especially my football playing 15-year-old son and his friends). Age is still undefeated after all. As I glance at the smiling faces from the group picture on my phone I get a warm feeling when I think of the fond memories I’ll have of this year’s game. As we age (I am 44) we maintain little snippets of memorable moments from different times in our lives, many rooted to the holidays. One of the highlights of the Turkey Bowl this year was the seven-year-old son of one of my close friends scoring his first touchdown, something he and his dad will always remember.

Events like our annual Turkey Bowl are a reminder of the importance of tradition, especially during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s. These traditions can be little things like my middle daughter reading the Elf on the Shelf book to my 7-year-old (last night) or our family putting up our Christmas Tree and outside Christmas decorations this past weekend. These annual events are a reminder of how tradition is so important in maintaining culture and connections to the past— events our children will eventually pass down to future generations.

I’m a big believer in maintaining and creating new traditions. They serve an important purpose in maintaining families and forging new connections with friends and newer family members. Here are just a few of the benefits of traditions:

They remind us of the real reason for the holiday: As time passes the reason we celebrate specific holidays and moments in our lives are often lost. For many Thanksgiving turned into a Black Friday shopping spree or a chance to watch three NFL football games. Labor Day is the last big weekend of the summer to party. Veteran’s Day is that Monday in November that the kids are lucky to get off of school. Having traditional things that you do as a family or a friend group is a great vehicle to help your children understand why the particular holiday is important. Thanksgiving is a perfect example as it’s an opportunity to build values in your children centered around expressing gratitude and giving thanks. Tie in traditions such as volunteering at your local church or non-profit as a family in the morning, or perhaps donating a meal to a local in-need family or food bank with your kids playing a part in putting together and delivering the meal.

They are passed down through the generations: Many families have traditions they’ve done for generations, particularly when there is a religious or cultural aspect attached to it. My wife and I have really made an effort to maintain existing family traditions, from both sides, while creating new annual traditions. These annual events don’t have to be overly spectacular, just certain things that we always do as a family on certain days or times of year. The football game is a perfect example. We love football in our family and the thought of our kids coming home from college and playing each year, or even eventually having their own kids play in the annual game brings a smile to my face.

They help promote healthy family life: Great traditions create fond memories as we all can look back on the laughs and good times we had in years past. In a time where so many parents are frustrated by the new era of social media and the constant battle to better manage screen time, it’s nice to have traditions and activities where the phones can be put away and we can focus on spending quality time as a family.

They help promote connection to the past: Research has indicated that traditions are a key factor in helping maintain family connection and tying multiple generations together. A perfect example would be a mother and a daughter or even a father and son getting together to bake grandma’s apple pie recipe. Not only are you maintaining the tradition and connection to grandma, you’re also promoting a healthy activity that a parent and a child can do together, bringing up fond memories in the process. It’s all about maintaining and building strong family bonds that span generations.

They don’t have to be connected to the holidays: Many people connect tradition to activities that take place during specific holidays seasons or certain times of year. This doesn’t have to be the case, traditions can be something that is done on a weekly basis such as game night or something as simple as a “Taco Tuesday”. Weekly traditions can be as important as annual traditions because they help provide a sense of structure and consistency which is absolutely critical in all of our lives, especially children. We all love it when we have things to look forward to.

If you don’t have them, start them: If you have traditions from your past that you think are worth reclaiming, do it. If there are new traditions you’d like to start for your loved ones, do that. There is a treasure trove of information on the Internet if you need ideas. Here is a great list from the fantastic Art of Manliness website.