And there it was again, Christmas morning.
My dad was making waffles, just like he has every year since I was little. I watched as he whipped up the batter, adding cinnamon and “secret spices” to make his signature recipe. I watched as he threw the mix into the waffle maker, and in 4 minutes flat produced a waffle that – complete with melting butter square and maple syrup – would give any sane person at least a little bit of the warm-fuzzies on the inside. And as the waffles got eaten, I continued to do just that: just watch. The warm smell, the golden fluff doused in syrup, the entire waffle “experience” — I instinctually found myself reaching for an orange not out of hunger, but more for distraction. The truth was I didn’t want the waffles. What I did want was the tradition. I wanted to join in. I wanted to take part in the “family time.” And in this case, family time was waffles. Even my normal exuberance for a juicy seasonal orange served as no match for the social connection of syrupy breakfast.
I’m not alone in feeling this way. A recent LA Times article suggests that humoring this type of nostalgia is actually considered clinically therapeutic. Krystin Batcho, a professor of psychology at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. and leading researcher on the emotion, claims that nostalgia’s importance extends to feeling like one is maintaining a sense of identity. Batcho claims, “Nostalgia, is like looking in a rearview mirror. Do I still have the values and priorities I had before? It gives us stability when we live in a time of constant change.” Of course the real paradox is that my personal values of health and being fabulous (it’s a value, trust me) do not necessarily coincide with the empty calories and sugar rush of waffles. Traditions only work if they marry with your values; doing something “just for tradition” may be an empty excuse, even if people you love are egging on your participation.
So here’s my pitch. All traditions start somewhere. And we can be nostalgic about something we did just last week, if it’s fabulous enough. So in regards to the social connection food often takes on, why not simply make new traditions. Healthy traditions.
