Ethnic Foods: Eating around the world
The US is a nation of immigrants. Each group has added its cultural traditions – including delicious food – to the shared multi-ethnic experience. Every family has its favorite dishes from its own unique heritage or a combination of ancestries!
What I really enjoy is how different groups have incorporated their unique dishes into the celebration of US holidays. To use the Thanksgiving holiday as an example, most people feature the golden roasted turkey as a centerpiece, but the stuffing and side dishes will change! Mexican-Americans will add tamales and serve Spanish rice. Persian-Americans will use a rice, nut and fruit stuffing, while side dishes include stews, such as walnut-and-pomegranate, along with rice dishes featuring many green herbs. Italian-Americans will add pasta dishes like lasagna.
March is National Nutrition Month, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) offers ways to “eat right, your way, every day,” with foods from everywhere.
Dietary guidelines, according to a registered dietician in this story, should accommodate food preferences, cultural, ethnic, traditional and personal preferences the many diverse groups in the US. The story lists yummy healthy dishes from many cuisines:
Continue reading "Ethnic Foods: Eating around the world" »
International Women’s Day: Your stories
International Women’s Day has its roots in the North American and European Labor movements.
It was first observed in the US on February 28, 1909, in honor of the 1908 worker’s strike when women protested against poor working conditions. A year later, The Socialist International met in Copenhagen and established a Women’s Day to honor the women’s rights movement.
The first International Women’s Day, in 1911, took place in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Women rallied for worker’s rights, the right to vote and to hold public office, among other issues.
Today, International Women’s Day is observed worldwide: Continue reading "International Women’s Day: Your stories" »
Poll: Unusual sources for family research?
Historical records are essential to help us learn more about our families.
MyHeritage has recently added millions of historical records to our data collections, with access to over 4 billion historical records, millions of public family trees and newspaper articles in our online digital archive - SuperSearch. These include grave stones, military records, yearbooks, posters and even mugshots!
We want to know now what are some of the strangest places you have found information about your family members? What are some unusual sources you've used to locate information? The more unusual, the better! Let us know via the poll below and your comments.
Surname of the Week: Churchill
Welcome back to our weekly edition of the history of English surnames.
Today we look at CHURCHILL, in honor of Sir Winston Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain speech made on March 5, 1956.
Churchill, an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman conquest of 1066, derives from the town Curcelle, which became confused with the English name “Churchill.”
This geographical surname comes from various towns named Churchill (in Oxfordshire, Somerset and Worcestershire). The name goes back to pre-7th century Old English for cyrice (church) and hyll (hill). The surname means “the church on the hill.”
There is one known case where the name's translation is different.
Continue reading "Surname of the Week: Churchill" »
Family: Fathers, daughters
A new study on the relationships of fathers and daughters shines a light on important family experiences.
We see – and say – such descriptions as “she’s definitely a daddy’s girl.” But what does it really mean? Are there differences in the relationships between sons or daughters and their fathers?
According to a study at Baylor University, 43 fathers and 43 daughters, not related to each other, were asked to write about a crucial moment of change in their own father-daughter relationships. The daughters were at least age 22, and the fathers were ages 45-70. Also included were adoptive and step-family relationships.
Most often mentioned by daughters were activities with their fathers, their marriages and physical distance from their fathers. Fathers most often mentioned joint activities, a daughter’s marriage and her beginning to date.
Continue reading "Family: Fathers, daughters" »
Photo of the Week: Guess who?
Are you recognizable in your childhood photos?
At MyHeritage, we want to challenge you. Can you guess the identity of famous celebrities from their childhood photos?
On a weekly basis, we'll share a celebrity photo, offer a few clues, and see if you can identify the person.
Can you guess who this is?
Here are a few clues:
- This person has been an actor, businessman and politician.
- This person chose bodybuilding as a career at age 14.
- This person made their American TV debut alongside Lucille Ball.
Think you know the answer? Leave a comment below. You can also ask for more clues that have yes or no answers.
Good luck!
Family History: What do we do with our ’stuff’?
One of my favorite blogs is The Signal, the digital preservation blog of the Library of Congress. A hot topic there centers on personal digital archiving, and much of that relates to family history and genealogy.
The LOC’s Mike Ashenfelder, who writes online articles about personal digital archiving, digital preservation leaders and developments in digital preservation, writes on preserving personal genealogical collections in a digital age.
The popularity of genealogy websites and TV shows is rapidly growing, mainly because the Internet has made it so convenient to access family history information. Almost everything can be done through the computer now. Before the digital age, genealogical research was not only laborious and time consuming, it also resulted in boxes of documents: photos, charts, letters, copies of records and more. Online genealogy has replaced all that paper with digital files. But the trade-off for the ease of finding and gathering the stuff is the challenge of preserving it.
About genealogical databases, Ashenfelder writes:
that relational databases are the engines that drive digital genealogy. Databases make it possible to quickly search through enormous quantities of records, find the person you’re looking for and discover related people and events. And when institutions collaborate and share databases, statistical information becomes enriched.
And, considering some demographics of family history aficionados, digital estate planning now a popular topic. What happens to our digital possessions after we die? And what can we do to preserve them? Getting your digital affairs in order offers much practical information.
Continue reading "Family History: What do we do with our ’stuff’?" »
New section: Surname of the week
MyHeritage welcomes you to a new weekly blog post, "Surname of the week." We'll discuss the origin, history and other information of one surname in each post.
Surnames first appeared in the Middle Ages as a way to record and document people and for tax purposes. Details included given names, nicknames, parents’ names, occupation and residence. This personal information later became an important part of the history of surnames.
English surnames, as we know them today, began in England as early as the 11th century. However, it was not until the late-17th-century that many families adopted permanent surnames.
Generally speaking, family names fall into the following categories with some examples given:
- Occupation: Smith, Taylor or Miller
- Personal characteristics: Young, Black or White
- Geographic or locations: Hamilton, Bush, Hill, Windsor or Murray
- Patronymics, Matronymics or Ancestral: Stephenson, Richardson or Harris
In honor of American-British Actress Elizabeth Taylor's birthday, we look at TAYLOR this week:
Continue reading "New section: Surname of the week" »
Family History: Our children, their ancestors
When the genealogy “bug” hits us, we just can't help ourselves. We want to search deeper into our heritage.
It's disappointing when some family members don't share our ancestor interest. We want them to ask questions and learn about our shared family history.
A great way to start is with our children and grandchildren.
Children are curious about black-and-white photos, strange names, and seeing a family tree filled with images of people they may or may not know. Most importantly, they ask questions - lots of questions!
Children love listening to stories, so reading to them about the family is a great way to grab their interest and demonstrate that they are part of a grander history. Sharing family moments creates a stronger family bond, as well as a chance to share ancestral information.
Do you share family stories with your children and grandchildren? How do you pass on your unique heritage to the younger generations? Let us know in the comments below.
WDYTYA Live 2013: MyHeritage highlights
The MyHeritage team returned from three intensive days at the Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 show in London’s Olympia. We enjoyed greeting so many visitors at our booth.
Our team included Chief Genealogist Daniel Horowitz, Head of Genealogy (UK) Laurence Harris, Chief Content Officer Russ Wilding, Netherlands Community Manager Denie Kasan, Scandinavian Community Manager Sara Silander, German Community Manager Karen Brandel Hägele and Marketing Manager Aaron Godfrey.
The MyHeritage Team at WDYTYA Live! 2013
Both old friends and new shared fascinating stories of their ancestors and their own family history research experiences.
Continue reading "WDYTYA Live 2013: MyHeritage highlights" »
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