People Are Predicting The Once-Popular American Traditions That Will Disappear In The Coming Decades, And Good Riddance To Some Of These
Traditions will always come and go in the US, and as the years go by, it gets easier to predict the ones that will fade. Personally, I can't remember the last time I saw a line outside a mall for Black Friday. Recently, redditor u/Extreme-Routine3822 asked the r/AskAnAmerican subreddit to share the common American traditions and holidays they believe won't exist in 25 years. Here are a few they mentioned.
1."I think class reunions will be more or less entirely dead by then."
"Social media has rendered them irrelevant."
2."I'm really afraid it's going to be trick-or-treating in your neighborhood! Since that trend took off where parents just park their vans at a church or something, I almost never see it. I bought a house in the cutest little neighborhood and was SO excited for the kids to come by last year, and I didn't get a single one! There are a lot of kids in my neighborhood, too; I see them all the time. I was so disappointed. I miss small communities."
3."I might get some pushback for this, but gender reveal parties are probably not gonna disappear, but they're gonna go back to the low-key innocent things like slicing into a cake to find out if it's pink or blue. Or something else might add to it, like doing a name reveal."
"No more forest fires, I hope."
4."Christmas cards. We used to get dozens when I was a kid. Almost every family sent them. Now I only get a couple and only send one or two."
"Very true. Only my older relatives send hand-signed cards. Some of my younger (age 30–50) family and friends send family photos with a pre-printed message. I cannot remember the last time I sent cards. My husband has said, 'We should send cards' for the last few years but has not taken up the task when I've refused to do so."
5."Black Friday. It's already dying, and I think it'll be basically dead in that time span. Nobody is gonna rush at midnight to save $50 on a TV anymore."
"At least in the traditional sense of being lined up out the store and waiting with a bunch of people for it to open, thanks to it being extended to last all weekend now or even longer and online shopping."
6."The Miss America pageant. It's strange now to think how big an annual event it still was in the '80s and '90s. I think for a few years, they stopped even televising it. On that note, live broadcast television through turning on the TV and flipping through the channels to see what's on. There will still be live events, of course, but in 25 years, those may be accessed just through apps. It was only recently that 'appointment TV' still provided a common reference point for masses of Americans."
7."This is more state-specific, but hopefully, it's Robert E. Lee's birthday, Jefferson Davis's birthday, and Columbus Day."
8."Block parties. I don’t think they even do them anymore."
"It's largely area-dependent. I live on a 20-ish house street, and we have one every few months. It’s super easy to shut down a dead-end residential street on a side road, though."
9."I feel like the days of private fireworks are waning due to the fire danger, injury, impact to pets, etc. Maybe they'll never go to zero, but I think it will be in the margins. There might be an increase in professional shows, with the role of drones increasing."
10."I used to really enjoy going to polling places on Election Day and saying hello to neighbors who also were there to vote and the poll workers who were usually the older retirees in the neighborhood. They typically knew everyone by name, and they'd ask about kids, etc. This has no longer been the case for the past few elections (especially since COVID). I miss it!"
11."Daylight savings."
"Yeah, almost everyone hates changing the clocks. We just can’t agree on when to stop."
12."Mischief Night. We all have phones now, so casually vandalizing someone's house with eggs and toilet paper could be filmed, and well, you know the rest."
13."Thank you cards — they are a pain and can simply be handled with a text or just saying 'thanks' next time you see the person."
14."Weddings, at least large weddings. My older sister got married in a small room in city hall, and my twin sister had a small backyard wedding (though that one was due to COVID-19). A lot of Americans are either too strapped for cash or are starting to see the wedding itself as less important."
15."Bobbing for apples at Halloween. I think it was already dying out when I was a kid. Now I barely see it, so it might be gone or mostly gone in 25 years."
"I have not seen this in years. Also, because of food allergies, a lot of classrooms do not even allow children to bring candy/food to school for Halloween."
16."Agriculture-based school year in favor of a year-round with quarterly breaks. Some parts of the country have already done this. I would expect more to follow. Possibly based on the new typical weather patterns and school setup in the local region. Maybe some places get a longer break during hurricane season. Others during the nor'easter season. Others might be based on the peak heat or the main employer in the area. Of course, that assumes we will still have a Department of Education in 25 years."
17."College homecoming celebrations. When I was a student, the homecoming parade and the other events surrounding it were a BIG deal. It was a great time to be in Greek Life! This past Saturday was our school's homecoming, and there was nothing. A group of alumni met at a favorite college bar for a little while, but it was just a group of guys who graduated in the '80s and early '90s."
18."Are bake sales still a thing? I think those are gonna be goners. People barely have time to cook for themselves, and groceries are ridiculously expensive. I personally hear the words 'bake sale' and quietly slink away."
"I also think people are becoming more aware of the whole 'you don't know what that person's kitchen looks like' concept, and that there are food/health codes for commercially distributed goods for a reason."
Which American traditions or holidays do you believe will disappear in a few years? Tell us in the comments or fill out this anonymous form.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.