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By Donnie Boursaw
One of my favorite movies, Fiddler on the Roof, opens at daybreak with a scene that sticks with you. The soft sounds of morning, a quiet village waking up, and a lone fiddler balanced on a rooftop. Below him, Tevye, the milkman prepares for his day, then turns and delivers a line that says it all; “We are all like that fiddler, trying to scratch out a simple tune in life without losing our balance. And what keeps us steady? Tradition.”
Traditions are the glue that holds life together. They shape who we are, connect us to those who came before us, and offer a sense of stability when everything else feels uncertain. They live in our celebrations, our values, our language, and even in the small, everyday habits we don’t think twice about, but would feel lost without.
They also bring people together. Traditions create a shared understanding that crosses generations and backgrounds. They foster respect, strengthen communities, and give us a sense of belonging, something we all need, whether we realize it or not. From honoring sacrifice to celebrating milestones, traditions remind us of what matters most.
Think about your own life for a moment. What traditions have been handed down to you? Which ones are you passing along? How do they shape your children and grandchildren? In many ways, traditions quietly define us.
I grew up with my own set of them, mom, apple pie, and John Wayne. In the South, it was always “yes ma’am” and “no sir,” and you never called an elder by their first name. Respect wasn’t optional, it was expected. My mother never once called her mother-in-law anything but “Miz Campbell”. That wasn’t written in any rulebook; it was simply the way things were done.
That’s the beauty of tradition. We may not always know where it started, but we know it carries meaning. As Tevye reminds us, traditions give us direction. They help us understand who we are and what’s expected of us.
And maybe, just maybe, they’re what keep us from falling off the roof.
