Questions · Family traditions

Questions about family traditions, old ones and new ones

Questions about the traditions your family already keeps, often without noticing, where they came from, how you do holidays and birthdays, and which new ones are worth starting.

  • 16 questions
  • EN + TL on every card
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Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.

Getting to know№ 33

Tell us about a small habit at home that you thought was normal for everyone.

Kuwento mo yung maliit na habit sa bahay na akala mo normal sa lahat.

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A note

Every home has its own normal. Sometimes you only notice it when another house does things differently.

Bawat bahay may sariling normal. Minsan doon mo lang napapansin kapag iba pala ang style sa ibang bahay.

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The questions

16 questions about family traditions

Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.

The ones we already have

5 questions

Small routines count. Most traditions start as a habit nobody named.

  1. What ordinary routine of ours would you miss if it disappeared?

    Anong ordinary routine natin ang mami-miss mo kung ito ay mawawala?

    Back of the card

    Routines can feel small until they are gone. They quietly hold the shape of your life together.

    Mukhang maliit ang routines hanggang mawala sila. Tahimik nilang binubuo yung feeling ng buhay ninyong magkasama.

  2. What playful little habit of ours do you hope we keep?

    Ano yung maliit na playful habit natin na sana hindi mawala?

    Back of the card

    Play helps protect a relationship from becoming only serious, busy, or practical with each other.

    Nakakatulong ang play para hindi lang maging seryoso, busy, o practical ang relationship ninyo.

  3. Tell us about a small habit at home that you thought was normal for everyone.

    Kuwento mo yung maliit na habit sa bahay na akala mo normal sa lahat.

    Back of the card

    Every home has its own normal. Sometimes you only notice it when another house does things differently.

    Bawat bahay may sariling normal. Minsan doon mo lang napapansin kapag iba pala ang style sa ibang bahay.

  4. Finish this: our barkada or family always laughs when ___.

    Tapusin yung line: Laging nauuwi sa tawanan kapag ___.

    Back of the card

    Shared laughter becomes part of a group's language. Sometimes one unfinished sentence is enough to bring everyone back there.

    Yung shared laughter, nagiging sariling language ng group. Minsan isang bitin na sentence lang, gets na agad.

  5. Name a topic your family or friends can discuss forever.

    Sabihin yung topic na kayang pag-usapan forever ng family o friends mo.

    Back of the card

    Every group has a topic that refuses to end. It keeps coming back because everyone has one more detail to add.

    May topic talaga na ayaw matapos. Paulit-ulit bumabalik kasi laging may dagdag na kwento ang bawat isa.

Where they came from

3 questions

Food and homes from a generation back.

  1. Tell us about a food that reminds you of someone taking care of you.

    Ikuwento yung pagkain na nagpapaalala sa'yo ng alaga ng isang tao.

    Back of the card

    Food can carry care without needing big words. Sometimes the simple act of feeding someone well becomes a memory by itself.

    Kayang magdala ng care ang pagkain kahit walang malaking salita. Minsan yung simpleng pag-alaga sa pagkain, nagiging memory na.

  2. When was the last time a meal became a good memory?

    Kailan huling naging magandang memory yung isang meal?

    Back of the card

    A good meal memory is rarely only about food. It can be the timing, the people, or the feeling around the table.

    Hindi lang pagkain ang laman ng good meal memory. Pwedeng timing, kasama, o yung feeling sa paligid ng table.

  3. When you think of home, what small detail comes up first?

    Kapag naiisip mo ang home, anong maliit na detail ang unang pumapasok?

    Back of the card

    Home can be a smell, a sound, a person, a room, or one ordinary detail that stayed.

    Pwedeng amoy, tunog, tao, kwarto, o isang ordinaryong detail ang home. Minsan yun ang unang bumabalik.

Holidays and birthdays

4 questions

How your family celebrates, and how each person likes to be celebrated.

  1. Choose a simple way friends could celebrate your birthday without spending much.

    Pumili ng simpleng paraan para i-celebrate ng friends ang birthday mo nang hindi gumagastos nang malaki.

    Back of the card

    One detail can be just for you: the music, the timing, or something else you love.

    Puwedeng may isang detalye para talaga sa'yo: music, oras, o iba pang gusto mo.

  2. At family gatherings, where do you usually end up: helping, chatting, eating, or observing?

    Kapag may family gathering, saan ka usually napupunta: tumutulong, nakikipagkwentuhan, kumakain, o nag-oobserve?

    Back of the card

    Gatherings bring out our natural moves. Some people serve, some talk, some watch, and some happily stay near the food.

    Sa gatherings, lumalabas yung natural move natin. May tumutulong, may nagkukuwento, may nag-oobserve, at may masaya sa tabi ng pagkain.

  3. Think of someone who makes simple meals more fun. What do they do?

    Isipin yung taong nagpapasaya kahit simpleng kain lang. Ano yung ginagawa niya?

    Back of the card

    A meal does not need to be fancy to feel full of life. Sometimes one person's energy changes the whole mood.

    Hindi kailangang fancy ang kain para maging masaya. Minsan energy lang ng isang tao, nag-iiba na yung mood.

  4. Design a celebration just for you. What would make it feel special?

    Magplano ng celebration para sa sarili mo. Ano ang magpapaspecial dito?

    Back of the card

    Which part of the celebration would you happily repeat the next day?

    Aling bahagi ng celebration ang masaya mong uulitin kinabukasan?

Ones we could start

4 questions

For the planners in the family.

  1. What habit of ours do you hope we keep in the next season?

    Anong habit natin ang sana ituloy natin sa next season?

    Back of the card

    Keeping what works is also growth. Not every next step has to be about fixing a problem.

    Growth din ang pagpapatuloy ng gumagana. Hindi lahat ng next step kailangang tungkol sa pag-aayos ng problema.

  2. Create a new holiday that everyone gets to celebrate. What happens that day?

    Gumawa ng bagong holiday na puwedeng i-celebrate ng lahat. Ano ang ginagawa sa araw na iyon?

    Back of the card

    What tradition would belong to your holiday?

    Anong tradisyon ang bagay sa holiday mo?

  3. What would you like to make more time for this month?

    Ano ang gusto mong bigyan ng mas maraming oras ngayong buwan?

    Back of the card

    Imagine an extra afternoon opens up. Would you spend it all on this or leave some time free?

    Isipin na nabakante ang isang hapon. Ilalaan mo ba lahat ng oras dito o magtitira ka pa ng libreng oras?

  4. Which simple friendship tradition would you like to keep even when everyone gets busier?

    Anong nakasanayan ninyong gawin ng friends mo ang gusto mong ituloy kahit maging mas busy kayo?

    Back of the card

    What would be the easiest version to keep on a busy week?

    Ano ang pinakamadaling bersiyon nito kapag busy ang linggo?

How to use them

Before you ask

Most family traditions aren’t planned. They’re the pancakes that happen every first snow day, the song in the car on the way to Grandma’s, the way birthdays always start. Asking about them makes them visible, and visible traditions are the ones kids carry into their own homes.

Start with the routines you’d miss if they disappeared. Kids often name something parents didn’t know mattered. Then go back a generation: which food reminds someone of being taken care of, which detail of a childhood home still comes up. That’s where many family traditions turn out to have a history.

End with the future. A family that just moved, merged or had a baby often wants new traditions, and the best ones come from asking everyone, not from a parent’s Pinterest board.

Good for

  • Holiday dinners
  • Families who just moved or merged
  • New parents deciding what to keep
  • Grandparents passing traditions down
  • Year-end family meetings

Tips

  1. Ask kids first; they notice traditions parents don’t.
  2. Write the answers in a family notebook and reread it each year.
  3. When a tradition stops working, ask what it was for and keep that part.
  4. Try one new tradition at a time, for a whole year, before judging it.
  5. Let grandparents tell the origin story without interruption.

Decks for this

Family traditions

Frequently asked questions

What questions can I ask about family traditions?

Ask which ordinary routine you’d miss if it disappeared, which food reminds someone of being cared for, how each person likes their birthday celebrated, and what holiday the family would invent.

How do you start a new family tradition?

Ask everyone what they’d want to keep doing together, pick one small idea, and repeat it for a year. Traditions come from repetition more than from size.

Are these good for a holiday dinner?

Yes. Questions about traditions give every generation something to say, and grandparents often have the origin stories.

Bring a better question to the table.

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