When my aunt passed away in September 2020, my colleague Raul Arteaga, a Financial Services Specialist, reached out to me directly to pass on his condolences. He and I had never worked together in-person as I work remotely in Toronto, ON and he works in Indianapolis, IN. Despite the distance, he shared how deeply he understood the pain of grieving the passing of one’s elder and how much that loss represents the loss of life lessons as well.
Raul and I may live in different countries and have different backgrounds—his family originally comes from Mexico and mine from England and the Philippines—but I felt that he had an understanding that only immigrant families can have.
I have never forgotten the kindness he showed me, so in planning for National Hispanic Heritage Month, I asked Raul to share his experiences in his own words:
My parents passed down our cultural traditions, and my wife Erika and I work hard to carry on those customs with our three kids, especially during Christmas—my family’s favorite holiday. The entire family gathers with us for Christmas Eve, and sometimes relatives from Texas and California visit. Two nights before Christmas Eve, everyone helps make a traditional Mexican dish—tamales. Then, we eat them either before or after midnight mass. Afterwards, we let the children open their presents. We end the night by playing traditional games like loteria and rayuela.
Elders are extremely important in our culture. Their wisdom and emotional support carry a very strong weight within the family. We have a lot of respect and admiration for our elders. We value their support and their teachings about our family traditions. When it comes to their care, we don’t believe in placing them in a retirement home. We believe in family loyalty and prefer to keep our parents at home if we can because it’s important to maintain close family ties.
We invite you to share in the comments family traditions that have been passed down from your elders!