It’s that time of year again. The holiday season seems to always creep up and I find myself woefully unprepared for the big day.  

A couple of weeks ago, in preparation for the season, I decided to post a poll on our Facebook group Sullivan’s Legacy Review, where I asked, “What’s the one thing you miss most about Christmas when you were a kid?”  

Predictably, the top post was an overwhelming vote lamenting the lack of vibrant Christmas decorations on our neighbors’ homes.  

When I look back to when I was a young boy, we had a small tradition around Christmas where my mother would drive my sister and me the long way home just so that we could press our faces against the window and marvel at all the bright lights and decorations.  

Now when I drive home, I don’t see as many lights as I used to.  It’s something I’ve heard before: neighbors quietly lamenting that fewer and fewer homes every year put up lights and decorations for Christmas.  

I don’t think we realized it then, but at that time, we were actually participating in a small part of the cultural bonds we shared between our neighbors as Americans.  

The discussion of culture often gets lost between buzzwords and identity, but it’s important to remember that culture isn’t only relegated to personal identity.  An aspect often forgotten is how culture serves as messages from our founding fathers in the form of traditions, to remind us of what is successful in a functioning society.  

Words fade over time and books can be destroyed, but imparting celebrations, story telling and traditions through your children can last generations.

In recent days, as I’m sure many would agree, it seems as though little by little we are shedding our cultural threads that we held as Americans.  We watch as our neighbors seem bent to be fighting, statues are being removed, and holidays seem to be treated more like ancient relics from a time long ago.  

Sure, we all came from our different backgrounds and heritages, but there was always shared a core set of values and traditions that bonded us in our communities.  

This is something unique we all share as Americans—we can all participate and honor the same cultural traditions no matter where we come from or where we were born.

So, maybe this is the year to break the cycle.  Be part of the new counter-culture.  Go visit your family.  See your mother.  Show your father that cool thing you’ve been working on.  

And most importantly, from everyone here at Sullivan’s Legacy, we wish you all success in the New Year.

Nate Henderson is the founder of Sullivan’s Legacy, based in Neversink, NY. The group is named for Gen. John Sullivan, for whom Sullivan County was named. Sullivan’s Legacy is a patriotic group that also focuses on shared American values.