Family traditions add extra meaning to our Jewish customs. Are there special customs in your family? Do they give a particular meaning to your celebration of the holidays? For example, do the Shabbat candles seem to glow especially warmly because your mother lights them in candlesticks that once belonged to your great-grandmother? Do the matzah balls at your Passover seder taste better than others because your father follows his grandmother's recipe when he makes them?

Customs and traditions are passed from one generation to the next, from grandmother to grandson, from father to daughter, from aunt to cousin. This process keeps Judaism alive. That is why the family is very important in Jewish life.

The creation of a new family begins with a wedding. When two people marry, they set up a new Jewish home, a place where they will share holidays and life-cycle events with other family members and with friends. Because the wedding ceremony celebrates the continuation of the Jewish family, it is one of the happiest of all life-cycle events.