Top 20+ U.S. Traditions That Are Likely to Disappear Forever

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

We hate to say it, but a lot of us Americans are starting to feel like our traditions are going down the drain. Even our most deeply rooted customs are fading away, being replaced by technology and other alternatives, all of which seem to involve staring at screens.

We can’t be too bitter about it, as this is just the way the world changes. Even so, we’re still sad to see how the following U.S. traditions are disappearing, most likely forever.

Writing Checks

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

We’re not exactly going to miss the frustration of waiting for a check to clear, but there’s something sad about knowing that we’re never going to write one again. Back in the day, they were used for paying rent, splitting a dinner bill, and just about anything else, but now, they’ve been completely replaced by bank transfers and banking apps.

Church Picnics

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

Have you noticed how church picnics seem to have suddenly disappeared? It wasn’t so long ago that we’d have them all the time, so much so that they were a regular part of our week rather than a special occasion. Today, though, we’re lucky if we get invited to one once a year!

Mall Santas

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

You most likely went to the shopping mall this Christmas, but the question is, did you see Santa there? Only a decade ago, he seemed to be everywhere, pulling in massive crowds every December. Tragically, though, that’s no longer the case, as Santa’s main audience – young people – have almost no need for spending time in malls.

Drive-In Theaters

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

This one really makes us sad. Nothing brings back ‘80s nostalgia quite like remembering drive-in theaters. We’d sit in the front seat of our car with a date or with our families, windows cracked open on a warm evening, and enjoy a couple of movies.

Supposedly, they still exist, but we can’t remember the last time we saw one. That’s most likely because we can now just stream movies for free from the comfort of our own homes.

Phone Books

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

Next up, remember when you used to have to flip through a phone book for minutes just to find a plumber or your new friend’s number? We haven’t done that in decades. Ever since smartphones came along, we have just stored numbers in contact lists, so this tradition is already gone for good.

Handwritten Letters

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

A particularly wholesome tradition that is dying a slow death in America is writing handwritten letters. It makes us want to shed a tear, knowing that never again will we get to open long and personal letters full of emotion. No matter how convenient they are, texting and messaging apps will never be the same.

Family Recipe Boxes

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

You might have never thought about this one, but instead of passing down a recipe box, people now bookmark food blogs or save recipes from social media. There’s something really sad about that. No longer will grandma’s generational casserole be passed down, which is really quite devastating.

Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

Ask yourself: When was the last time you read a newspaper? We’d bet that it has been well over a decade. It used to be a daily routine of most Americans, but today, we just check the news. For the most part, that has changed our reading habits, but it also means that we never cut clippings from newspapers anymore, let alone stick them on the fridge.

Community Parades

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

We’re not quite sure where the marching bands and scout troops disappeared to, but one thing is for sure: their community parades aren’t nearly as common anymore. Sure, they still happen, but they’re far smaller and less frequent. To be honest, we wouldn’t be surprised if they died out eventually.

Saving Change in a Jar

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

Kids used to learn about the value of money by saving change in piggy banks, eventually getting cashed in for a treat or a toy on a rainy day. Adults did it too, as savings jars were the ideal way to put money aside. Cashless payments dominate now, though, so the only savings we have are stored in digital accounts.

Holiday Card Displays

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

This year, how many holiday cards did you get? Five? Maybe 10, or 20 at most? Well, that might sound like a lot to kids, but you can surely remember when we used to write a hundred or more every year! We’d display them all, too, making our houses feel truly Christmassy.

Hosting Block Parties

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

Ah, how we miss a good old block party. Our neighborhoods would occasionally get together with folding tables and hot dogs to celebrate the Fourth of July or simply summer itself. Music would play, and kids would ride bikes around, with their parents chatting over coolers. Today, though, you can only begin to imagine the number of permits that this would require.

Passing Yearbooks Around

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

Another U.S. tradition that is likely to disappear forever is high school students passing around their yearbooks on the last day of school. Yes, really; it’s already dying out!

So, why is that? Well, we used to sign each other’s yearbooks with in-jokes and heartfelt notes because we knew that we might never see that person again. Now, all the kids are already connected on social media, which kind of defeats the point.

Tailgating at High School Games

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

There was something about grilling in the parking lot of a high school or simply rooting for the home team that created an unbeatable sense of local community spirit. Those days are long gone, though, and while college and pro teams still have big crowds, high school games often draw fewer fans. Frankly, teens are often more interested in their phones than pep rallies.

Bowling League Nights

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

It used to be a common after-work tradition, but we haven’t seen a weekly bowling league in ages. Some enthusiasts still head to the bowling alley every week, but that’s different from how things used to be, when just about everyone would get involved.

Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

We hate to say it, but that tiny ceramic bear or snow globe that you bought from a roadside attraction as a kid? They’re probably not made anymore. It’s sad because impulse buys of fridge magnets and other trinkets were a whole part of the vacation experience when we were younger, but people just take photos instead of buying things now.

Listening to Baseball on the Radio

Writing Checks, Church Picnics, Mall Santas, Drive-In Theaters, Phone Books, Handwritten Letters, Family Recipe Boxes, Newspaper Clippings on the Fridge, Community Parades, Saving Change in a Jar, Holiday Card Displays, Hosting Block Parties, Passing Yearbooks Around, Tailgating at High School Games, Bowling League Nights, Buying Souvenirs at Roadside Attractions, Listening to Baseball on the Radio

Theoretically, you could still listen to baseball on the radio, but very few people do. It’s easy to just watch the game on TV or online, even if you don’t pay for the right channels, and as wonderful as that would have sounded back in the day, it kind of sucked the fun out of it..

Post Related