Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is a time when many families come from near and far to celebrate together, a time for reminiscing and sharing stories.
It's also a great opportunity to make family history discoveries. Ask your relatives about their lives, and the lives of their parents. Asking about past family Thanksgiving celebrations can be an enjoyable conversation for all the family where you can learn how your ancestors celebrated and discover other unknown information.
Try and use the time when the family is all together to share with them what you've discovered about your collective family history. Who knows, perhaps you'll get a piece of information that will help you break down a brick wall in your research.
Continue reading "Happy Thanksgiving!" »
Family: Eat your veggies!
In many families, our mothers told us that we had to eat all our vegetables to have dessert. The trend today seems to be that we can eat vegetables in our desserts.
We tend to associate childhood memories with holidays and summer vacations. Adults keep looking for those desserts, but chefs today are reinterpreting that nostalgia.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and that means pumpkin pie. For many, it might be the only time we eat veggies in a dessert. In the US’s deep south, sweet potato pie is a favorite. We also know about zucchini bread and carrot cake, as well, but talented chefs are branching out.
Continue reading "Family: Eat your veggies!" »
Holiday: Talking Turkey
“Gobble, gobble” to everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving!
This wonderful family holiday is celebrated by Americans around the world, no matter where they live. It's the time for families to get together and share a delicious feast. The day often includes watching football on TV and planning for “Black Friday” shopping deals!
It is a genuine family holiday and many of us have touching or hilarious stories about Thanksgivings past.
MyHeritage invites you to share your funny stories for the chance to win a one-year PremiumPlus membership. Simply comment on this post or post comments on our Facebook wall or, if you can fit it into 140 characters, tweet them @myheritage. The winning story will be announced on Friday.
Since I can’t participate in the competition as I'm part of the MyHeritage team, here’s my hilarious holiday story.
Continue reading "Holiday: Talking Turkey" »
Guy Fawkes: Remembering what?
George Cruikshank's illustration of Guy Fawkes, published in William Harrison Ainsworth's 1840 novel (Credit: Wikipedia)
"Remember, remember, the fifth of November, Gunpowder Treason and Plot."
This is a classic playground rhyme learned by every British school child. It marks an important event that took place 407 years ago today. But what's it all about?
Guy Fawkes Night (or Bonfire Night and Fireworks night) is celebrated in Great Britain on November 5. It commemorates the failed plot to assassinate King James I on November 5, 1605 at the official state opening of Parliament. The plan was to blow up the House of Lords, killing the King and all the dignitaries present.
Guy was arrested following a 'tip to the authorities while guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder that had been smuggled into the House of Lords. He, along with his fellow co-conspirators, was executed.
In the years following the foiled attempt, people lit bonfires and burned effigies of Guy Fawkes. To this day, people all over the UK commemorate with public or private firework parties and bonfires. Continue reading "Guy Fawkes: Remembering what?" »
Halloween: Why we love it
Goblins, ghouls, ghosts and zombies…Oh my!
Why do we love Halloween? Is it the costumes? The candy?
Are you ready for Halloween?
According to a recent US National Retail Federation survey, a record 170 million Americans plan to spend $8 billion on Halloween, for costumes, candy and decorations.
English professor Eric Wilson of Wake Forest University says we love the holiday for deeper reasons than just a night of fun, especially during economic difficulties.
Escapism from hard times is part of this. He says that, on Halloween, we can pretend to be someone else, and not focus on worries or regrets.
Celebrating the enchanted is another part of this and takes people’s minds off their “limitations and mortality.”
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MyHeritage: National Hispanic Heritage Month
Credit: Hispanic Heritage Month website -www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/
National Hispanic Heritage Month, in the US, celebrates the culture and traditions of Americans with roots in Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. It is observed from September 15 through October 15.
First observed as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968, it was expanded in 1988 to cover the 30-day period.
Some 14% of the US population – more than 42.7 million Americans – have an Hispanic origin, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is considered the largest ethnic minority in the country.
Tens of millions of Hispanics emigrated from Spain. Some came directly to the US and countries south, some first went to the Philippines or the Caribbean Islands and then arrived here. Spain was in the Caribbean and Mexico long before the English were in what would become the US. The state of New Mexico was settled by the Spanish in 1598, and they were in Saint Augustine, Florida, in 1565.
Tracing your Hispanic heritage may not lead directly back to Spain, but may go from the US to many other places, including Europe, Africa and even Eastern Europe. There may be many surprises along the way.
Continue reading "MyHeritage: National Hispanic Heritage Month" »
Banned Books Week: ‘Freedom to read’ anniversary
The 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, from September 29-October 6, will be celebrated in the US as groups - some on college campuses - read passages from the American Library Association’s top banned and challenged books.
Lafayette College (Easton, Pennsylvania) will hold a literary flash mob read-out at 1pm on Monday, October 1, near the library.
Among the books on the list: To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter, Beloved, The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, 1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm and many others.
Many of them illustrate relationships between families (conventional or not) and among family or group members. Today, most seem rather tame and quite ordinary but, when first published, the topics, characters and story lines were considered controversial.
Continue reading "Banned Books Week: ‘Freedom to read’ anniversary" »
Labor Day: Honoring America’s workers
Today, the first Monday in September, is Labor Day in the US. The legal holiday has been celebrated for more than 100 years and came out of the labor movement. It is a tribute to contributions made by workers.
To many, however, the three-day weekend is the last blast of summer, with many communities’ schools opening on the day after.
For more on the holiday, look at the Department of Labor's Labor Day 2012 page, with videos, resources and more.
Although more than a century old, the actual founder of the day is not certain. Some believe that the general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, Peter J. McGuire, who was also a founder of the American Federation of Labor, was the first to suggest a day to honor workers. Others believe that a machinist, Matthew Maguire – we don’t know if he was related to Peter - founded the day.
Continue reading "Labor Day: Honoring America’s workers" »
4th of July: Star-spangled family fun!
Today is Independence Day in the US. It is always marked with fun-filled activities, including parades, barbecues, picnics, and the all-important fireworks displays.
What’s your most memorable 4th of July family memory?
We may celebrate at a lake, at the beach, in a backyard or at a neighborhood park. It’s always a day for family and friends to gather. No matter what was going on in other parts of the world (see newspaper article from 1940 below), this holiday was celebrated to remind us of the freedoms we enjoyed at home.
My grandparents owned a large property with some 80 summer rental cottages, about two hours north of New York City. Many of the same families returned year after year, and we became a close group as we grew up together.
My grandmother organized the two main summer events: 4th of July at the season's opening, and the Labor Day festivities in early September, signaling the end of our carefree summer, returning to the city and getting ready for school.
In the faux Tudor “big house,” Grandma's big country kitchen sported a black cast iron stove, the source of everything delicious! Every year, she produced buckets of the most delicious coleslaw, potato and macaroni salads.
Continue reading "4th of July: Star-spangled family fun!" »
Father’s Day: Your advice
Last week we asked you to send in your best fatherly advice. We wanted to hear the advice you have given your children, or advice your father has given you.
We received lots of great pearls of wisdom and in honor of Father's Day we wanted to share our favorite ones with you.
- Frances Lynch: My father always said "look after the pennies and the pounds will mind themselves". So true!
- Debbie Baldwin: "A friend is like a dollar in your pocket."
- Diana N Gary Dinsick: "When in doubt do the right thing."
- Ali Eltigani Mahmoud: "Don't make friends with money."
- Susan Yeatman: "Don’t let anyone make you do something that you don’t want to do."
- A Phakade Mchunu: Our Dad said "Manners and honesty are your passport to success."
- Nancy Mendes: My father taught me what family truly is and not to be selfish. RIP Albert Henry Smith
- Lillian Heron: Dad used to say "Never think anyone is more important than you and never think anyone is beneath you. Treat everyone as your equal and most important - be yourself".
- Barbara Pettard: My father taught me by example: honor, trust, honesty & truth!
- Prisca Campbell: "Never let the gas tank fall below half empty". I still hear my Dad's voice in my head whenever I look at the gas gauge.
- Geraldine Barker: Ever the entrepreneur his advice: "Always buy land because God isn't making it anymore". Continue reading "Father’s Day: Your advice" »
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