Family Tradition

ZetaLuvBunny · #1 01-12-2003, 01:12 AM

What are your traditions in your sorority/fraternity "family"? Like in my "family" we get little silver cardboard crowns (like the kind you would buy at a party store) along w/other presents after our Big/Lil ceremony. Another one of the "families" in my chapter has handed down the same lavalier for like 4 generations already. Anyhow, I'm trying to get some ideas to start another family tradition or two when I get a little, which will be either this semester or next Fall.

ChiOqt · #2 01-12-2003, 03:58 AM

My family hands down lavaliers...when I hand mine over to my new little in two weeks it will be the sixth generation (maybe 5th)! We also have our own "family" letters.

DietCoke43 · #3 01-12-2003, 05:22 AM

We have our own family letters and my line has given each other a lamp. I can't wait to make a lamp for my future littles. One of the other familes has a family necklace.

LeslieAGD · #4 01-12-2003, 08:55 AM

My family line's traditions are similar to ChiOqt's. I started our lavalier tradition. My big gave me a lavalier and from then on it's been passed down. It's now on it's sixth generation. We also have American Flag letters which are passed down.

Allie · #5 01-12-2003, 09:24 AM

My family has a stone that we pass from generation to generation. It is also tradition for the big to give the little her very first duck

Some families even require that this first duck quacks. My family has recently started that bigs also give littles their first set of letters. So when I got my lirttle this fall I had matching sweatshirts made for us

Energizer420 · #6 01-12-2003, 09:39 AM

my family tree has letters, the rest of our traditions usually have to do with our nicknames like my nickname is energizer so for me we pass down a tree ornament with an energizer bunny on it

AlphaGamGirlAY · #7 01-12-2003, 12:47 PM

In my chapter, we have family tree shirts. Mine is a green long-sleeved T-shirt and the letters are this goldish tan and green plaid (not my first choice...but I know it has something to do with ties to a fraternity, I wanna say the Crows b/c my grand-big bro is a Crow). We also have wooden letters (though they are the English letters) that the big paints and gives to the lil...my letters are on my wall back home and they are white and silver, not that the colors of these letters matter tho. It's tradition to that the big gives the lil her first lavalier...since our mascot is the squirrel, my big bought the squirrel beanie baby and put my lavalier between it's paws w/ tape...it's such a cute idea that I'm making it a family tradition...we now have a family squirrel.

HotDamnImAPhiMu · #8 01-12-2003, 04:33 PM

hey girl, sounds like you're asking for ideas, so I'm trying to think of traditions I've heard of.....

~ my big gave me a set of letters that matched hers
~ another girl in my sorority gave her twins her old lavileres. She hadn't really been able to afford twins, but she was such a sweet girl, and the pledges wanted her so bad.... but everyone LOVED the idea of passing down the lavileres, even though it was born out of necessity!
~ I have a box my grand big gave my big. She put my letters in it to give to me on initiation day. It's a light wooden black box with our letters on the top, enased in a half-bubble of plastic. Sounds stupid but it's cute.
~ there's a candle I plan on passing down that I had at my revealing (my big sis blew out my candle, and I plan to blow it out for my little.)

gphiangel624 · #9 01-12-2003, 05:04 PM

My family only has the tradition of family letters, which we're about to change now. Our letters are a black hooded sweatshirt with a blue and white gingham print and cherries over a red background. We're going to change them though because the cherry pattern is difficult to find now that our family has grown.

We did have a slight tradition that was broken two years ago. My big sis gave me her big's badge to wear after I was initiated (until I received my own). This is because her big had two badges and left the first with my big so that we could start this tradition. Well, I had my badge all through rush, had a little to pass it on to, and the pass-it-down badge was lost by one of my pledge sisters during Presents. Needless to say, I was very upset and never got it returned because this girl deactivated and no one ever sees her or knows were she is. :-( So no more passing the badge down. Maybe if I get some extra money in the next few months, I'll start that tradition with a new badge.

carnation · #10 01-12-2003, 07:41 PM

Family letters are such a neat tradition--I wish that'd been done back in the day! Ballerina's family has a precious bumblebee pattern that they put in their XO letters.

cntryZTA5 · #11 01-12-2003, 09:22 PM

My chapter also does family letters. Usually the big sis gives her lil sis the family letters as an initiation gift.

When I was a collegiate member, I also had a badge that was passed down through our family that the newly initiated family member wore until she received her own. However, the last member that had it left the chapter and took the badge with her.

xo_kathy · #12 01-14-2003, 06:36 PM

I had a sweatshirt with letters that my Owl Pal gave to me on Bid Night (your Owl Pal is a pseudo-big sis that switches from week to week until you get your actual big). When I got it it was like the 5th or 6th Bid night it had been used in. Rumor had it the original owner's mom got it for her when she was initiated, and the patern was pretty ugly, so she decided to pass it along to pledges, who would be happy to wear anything with CW letters on it!

Also, when I was in school we had to dig through food to find clues to where our big sis was for revealing (although I am sure that is considered hazing now...). Anyway, my little was really healthy, so I made her a salad, with Thousand Island dressing, covered it, and let it sit out all night. It was NASTY! She made that into a family tradition.

Pi Kapp 142 · #13 01-14-2003, 07:28 PM

About the second to last week of their Member Ed. program we all go out to Cha-Cha-Cha's in San Francisco, in the Haight District.

ZetaLuvBunny · #14 01-15-2003, 01:58 AM

I just found out tonight from some of my sisters that while I was away last semester, they started a new chapter tradition of having seperate animals for families. One family has a duck, and apparrently, my (Big sister's) family are lambs. Sounds like we have an Easter theme going on since our chapter mascot is the bunny. LOL. I think I'll still stick to giving mostly bunnies to my little b/c I have so many already.

AOII*Azra-elle · #15 01-15-2003, 03:21 AM

My family is pretty new, mostly b/c our chapter is only 2.5 years old. Anyway, we have family letters and the big get the lid'l an engraved box for their first christmas that is in the shape of our family mascot or symbol. Alot of the newer girls from the last 3 initiated classes have all decided when they become bigs that they will start giving the new members a rose necklace *our flower* and then when they are initiated then the new members would get a lavalier. Kind of makes for a nice idea. I can't wait to be a big *haha*. I want to do some spoiling!