Traditions Around the County

Whether stringing lights, decorating a Christmas tree, setting up a nativity scene, baking holiday cookies and confections, competing in an ugly sweater contest, or engaging in some other ritual, most families have traditions that mark various seasons as culturally significant. For many, the holidays are a time when traditions help us connect to ourselves and others and bring us back to the memories that are part of our upbringing.

Around the county, holiday decorations began showing up on street lamps, in yards, and in various office buildings in late November. Stores have been running specials on Christmas gift and stocking stuffer ideas, and many are holding promotions. For example, ACE Hardware invites customers to take advantage of "Wrap It in Red" specials during the holiday season. And the owner of All Dahl'd Up Boutique in Chinook, Kadie Wilderness Dahl wanted to show her gratitude to all of her customers with a Twelve Days of Giveaways promotion.

Starting on December 1, every Wednesday-Saturday, Dahl posted on her Facebook Page the details of that day's giveaway. To enter each giveaway, participants acquired points. A shared social media post and comment earned the individual one entry point, as did filling out a giveaway slip in the store. If the shopper made a purchase, that transaction would earn him/her five entry points. From those entries, one winner was chosen per day. Some of the prizes included an advent calendar, gingerbread fuzzy socks, coal from the North Pole, and a sweater weather bath bomb. On the twelfth and final day of the promotion, December 18, a winner was drawn from the purchase entries for a $50 gift card to the boutique.

In Harlem at the Clothing Company, Kellie Rasmussen also reported being busy. "We get a lot of custom work for businesses this time of the year since businesses like to order coats, hats, polos, and things like that as gifts."

In another December 18 event, the Blaine County Fair Board held its Holiday Extravaganza Craft Show at the Fairgrounds. Additional county agencies like the Harlem Public Library reflect the spirit of the season, as well. Their book challenge in December is to read a book that conjures the holiday spirit. After people were invited during the week of November 29 to bring angels of all types to the library for display, the response was positive. Library personnel reported that approximately 30 crocheted, ceramic, beaded, and various other angels were on display from December 1-17.

Adding to the festive mood, Blaine County Library showed Dr. Seuss' The Grinch for their early out movie on Friday, December 10. The movie the following week was Chris van Allsburg's The Polar Express with Tom Hanks. And all month library personnel have been moving their Elf on the Shelf. According to legend, Elf on the Shelf is a special scout sent from the North Pole to monitor children's behavior. The idea is that Santa's little helper watches the children by day, and each night, the elf returns to the North Pole to report on whether the children were naughty or nice.

"We call our elf, Librarian Elf, and we just move him around for the kids to find," Assistant Librarian Kelsey Buhmann Brown reported. "During one of our special story times with Funshine Preschool, the kids kept pointing at our cameras. I let them know that Librarian Elf was watching them over the camera because he couldn't be in the meeting room with us or they would get distracted. They did really well with the remainder of that story time session!"

Harlem Public Library has their own version of Elf on the Shelf. Hermione not only helps Assistant Librarian Carly Vauthier check out books but moves around each day. "We encourage the kids to find her when they come in. She has no other purpose but fun," Vauthier said.

Traditions like these and the many others that abound remind us of our values and provide consistency in our ever-evolving lives. Although we perform these rituals repeatedly, they aren't routine or automatic. Instead, they are deliberate actions that connect us to our communities and provide a sense of identity and comfort. In times like these: riddled by pandemic variants, devastated by fire, drought, or deadly tornadoes, complicated by widespread supply-chain problems, and overwhelmed with political turmoil and the weaponization of cancel culture, we need traditions more than ever.

Traditions help form the structure and foundation of our families and our society. They remind us that we are part of a history that defines our past, shapes who we are and who we are likely to become. As a new year dawns, we would do well to remember that hope is never cancelled and that the most wide awake behavior reflects positivity and critical thinking.

According to Norman Vincent Peale in his book The Power of Positive Thinking, the way to happiness is to "keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by." That string of vows not only supplies a recipe for happiness but recommends resolutions for 2022. Those values might further provide a core around which to fashion new traditions.