5 Życie rodzinne i towarzyskie

1.Członkowie rodziny, święta i uroczystości

Ćwiczenie 1.

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sumptuous - grand and expensive (wspaniały)

Holiday gatherings, celebrations, even simple meals together, play important roles in creating family connections. In today's hectic world when families are so frequently uprooted, it is difficult for children to acquire a sense of continuity and security. However, a very important and lasting way for them to attain these qualities is through family rituals. How families celebrate holidays, participate in seasonal activities, or interact at mealtime may seem unimportant. But according to many mental health authorities, rituals play a vital role in establishing and perpetuating a healthy lifestyle for families.

Holiday Rituals: Christmastime rituals could include caroling, delivering baskets to the poor, reading aloud from favorite holiday books, and a cookie exchange among friends. For some families Thanksgiving means special foods, and perhaps attendance at a Thanksgiving Day parade. Thanksgiving dinner at grandma's or with extended family helps children establish a sense of connection.

Religious Rituals: Religious rituals play an important part in many families. Saying grace before meals is one way for a family to connect with each other every day. Worshiping together, taking part in various church activities, and participating in religious affairs can enhance communication among family members.

Seasonal Rituals: Seasonal rituals dealing with camping, hunting and fishing, vacations, and sports generate their own special kind of memories. For many families, returning to familiar haunts at vacation time establishes connections and rites of passage for their children.

Mealtime Rituals: For many families, eating dinner together has become a thing of the past. With both parents working and kids whose schedules are filled with soccer practice, piano lessons, and many other extracurricular activities there isn't much time left for mealtime togetherness. Breakfast and lunch are often eaten on the run. However, more and more families find that, although it takes some doing, sharing the evening meal is one time when they can gather each day to connect.

Affectionate Rituals: Affectionate rituals are characteristic of happy families. Kissing your spouse when departing for or returning from work sometimes seems to have more effect on children than one would imagine. A bedtime ritual of bath and story time is popular in many households. Not only does it help prepare a child for bed at the proper hour, but it allows the child to expect some time alone with a parent.

Work Rituals: When parents are creative they are able to transform family chores into fun rituals. Every fall the Parker family in Ohio takes time out to work as a team raking up leaves on their three-quarter-acre city lot. Later, the family takes off for the local pizza shop.

Birthday Rituals: For some lucky children a birthday party with friends and relatives gathered takes place every year. Some families celebrate with a traditional cake for the birthday person. Others allow the birthday person to choose a favorite meal.

Milestone Rituab: Milestone rituals bring us together to celebrate, or mourn, in order to remind ourselves of who we are and what we've been through together. Wedding anniversaries or the date a loved one died looms large, but there are other less notable times that represent passages. The day you moved into your new house, for example. Others mark the day they quit smoking, or the day their family adopted a new puppy.

The effectiveness of family rituals is related to the degree that parents actively cultivate them. It's up to parents, therefore, to make a conscious effort to invest time, energy, and personal presence in order to celebrate rituals in ways that give a sense of belonging, build a binding link among the generations, and develop memories that can be enriching to children and parents alike.

Pytania

1. Describe the family rituals in which you participate. What is their role in your family?

2. The more rituals, the stronger the family ties. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Justify your opinion.

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