Shawna Muldoon

What Moving Abroad Taught Me About Holidays, Identity, and Letting Go of “The Right Way.” When I first moved abroad as an American, traditional holiday celebrations barely crossed my mind. That surprises me now. I didn’t think about what it would mean to raise children somewhere that wasn’t my home country. I didn’t think about how traditions would shift, or how deeply holidays are tied to identity, belonging, and the emotional undercurrent of family life. Back then, I was focused on discovery, more or less the anthropological experience of a new country and of myself, and I suppose I took holidays for granted.But when you live abroad long enough, you realize something important: Holidays aren’t just celebrations. They’re values, memory-makers, and emotional anchors. They quietly shape how you experience time, family, rest, and even joy. As a mom from Nebraska living in Greece, married to a Greek, raising children between two cultures, I’ve learned this the slow, sometimes uncomfortabl...