Storytelling as Ritual

Thanksgiving is a time when relatives gather.  We share stories with the younger members,   There are usually peaceful about not reminding the older folks that they’ve heard that story before–like they enjoy hearing the tales of Nono selling fresh turkeys in his store, stacked high in   wooden crates and sawdust, not grocery store plastic.  They enjoy the story of creamed onions that grandma made year after year and no one would eat,  And the year Carter was president she made Rosalynn’s recipe with peanuts on top of the creamed onions.  I think it completes the picture of relatives now gone .  We retell the story of wine spilled all over the table.  The stories are a bond that we all share even though it was many years ago.  Family storytelling for us seems to be a holiday ritual. -Judy DiCristofaro (CLF)

What are the stories the elders in your life passed down to you?