Supply the missing paragraph: The following passage is incomplete with one paragraph missing. Study the passage carefully and write the missing paragraph in about 100 words. Make sure that your tone and diction are in unity with the passage provided.
Why We Love Holiday Rituals and Traditions
The mere thought of holiday traditions brings smiles to most people's faces and elicits feelings of sweet anticipation and nostalgia. Holiday rituals are bursting with sensory pageantry. The fireworks or flowers signal to all of our senses that this is no common occasion. Such a sensory feast helps create lasting recollections of those occasions and marks them in our memory as special events worth cherishing. Indeed, there are plenty of reasons to value family rituals. They can help us take a respite from the daily grind, enjoy festive meals and connect with our loved ones.
Everyday life is stressful and full of uncertainty. Having a special time of the year when we know exactly what to do and how to do it provides a comfortable sense of structure, control and stability. Holiday traditions comprise rituals. The structured and repetitive actions in such rituals can act as a buffer against anxiety by making our world more predictable. For this reason, more people travel during the year-end holidays. Gathering together from remote locations helps people leave their worries behind, and at the same time lets them reconnect with time-honored family traditions.
The most important function of holiday rituals is their role in maintaining and strengthening family ties. In fact, for relatives who live far apart, holiday rituals may be the glue that holds the family together. Rituals are a powerful marker of identity and group membership. Taking part in collective rituals creates feelings of belonging and increased generosity toward other members of the group. It's no surprise, then, that spending the holidays with the in-laws for the first time is often regarded as a rite of passage—a sign of true family membership.
Holiday rituals strengthen family harmony. Sure, we might need to take three flights to get there. And our uncle might get drunk and start an argument with his son-in-law again.But when we evaluate past experiences, we tend to remember the best moments and the last moments. In other words, our memory of the family holiday will mostly consist of all the joyful rituals, the good food, and the warm goodbye hugs (after our uncle made up with his son-in-law). After getting back home, we'll have something to look forward to for next year.
NO HOLIDAY TRADITION WOULD BE COMPLETE WITHOUT A FESTIVE MEAL. SINCE THE FIRST HUMANS GATHERED AROUND THE FIRE TO ROAST THEIR HUNT, COOKING HAS BEEN ONE OF THE DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR SPECIES. SHARING A CEREMONIAL MEAL SYMBOLIZES COMMUNITY, BRINGS THE ENTIRE FAMILY TOGETHER AND FACILITATES CONVERSATION AND CONNECTION. IN FACT, PERFORMING A RITUAL BEFORE A MEAL IMPROVES THE OVERALL EATING EXPERIENCE AND MAKES THE FOOD SEEM TASTIER. THE LONGER WE SPEND PREPARING A MEAL, THE MORE WE COME TO APPRECIATE IT. IN THIS WAY, THE LABOR AND BUSTLE ASSOCIATED WITH HOLIDAY MEALS VIRTUALLY GUARANTEES AN ENHANCED EXPERIENCE.
