A family tradition stays alive through people willing to do its unglamorous preparation.

Traditions look effortless and run on logistics. Somebody rings around about dates, buys the food, gets the room ready, and remembers which relative needs collecting. The warmth everyone feels on the day is real, and it is also the visible end of a week of unremarkable work by one or two people who rarely mention it. When those people stop, the tradition usually stops with them, not because anyone stopped caring but because nobody had noticed what it took.

Before the next gathering, ask who is doing the arranging and take one piece of it off them. Do the shopping, the phone calls, or the clearing up afterwards.