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The Importance Of Preserving Family History and Traditions

Today I had a philosophical moment. I was thinking about genealogy and in particular about my mixed ethnic background. I have ancestors from Italy, Ireland, Canada, Scotland, and more. At times, I have yearned for a more direct connection to a single ethnicity so that I could more clearly identify myself with a particular culture. I wanted to be able to say that “I’m Italian” or “I’m mostly Irish” or something like that. There is one clear statement that I can make about my heritage and that is that I am an American. In fact, if you consider what makes … Continue reading →

Putting “Christ” Back in Christmas

As the holiday season is approaching you may find yourself getting bombarded with Christmas preparations. Thankfully, when time is of the essence, there is a McDonalds every other block and the malls are opened late. The hustle and bustle of the weeks prior to Christmas have so many drained, cranky, and yet fueled for the approaching holiday. Between the lights, finding the Christmas tree, buying the gifts, planning the meals or vacation, how about taking a minute to put everything back into perspective? Have you gotten so wrapped up in the commercialism of the season that you’ve lost sight of … Continue reading →

Using Secular Tradition to Glorify God: Christmas

The Christmas holiday is a favorite for so many. I love visiting the mall and smelling the cinnamon potpourri and seeing the beautifully lit wreaths. I enjoy hearing the instrumental melodies declaring the birth of our Savior, but sadly no words are sung out of concern for “offending” others. I love the tastes of the season; pumpkin pie, gingerbread lattes, eggnog… While there are so many things that make this time of year special, we ought not to forget what Christmas should really be about for a Christian. If you’ve read some of my other blogs (please visit the links … Continue reading →

Making Christmas Traditions

Today is the first day of Christmas and the countdown has officially begun. The Christmas season is one of rich family traditions. When my husband and I got married we each brought some of the traditions surrounding the holidays into our own family. Having traditions gives our children something to look forward to and brings our family closer together. Here are some of the Christmas traditions that our family has. Starting with the first day of December my children have several advent calendars that we use to count down the days until Christmas. The first is a Nativity Scene where … Continue reading →

The Roots of Christmas Traditions

As I warned in my introductory blog to this series, I likely won’t take prize for popularity. So, here I am being a scrooge. So where is it our Christmas traditions come from? Christmas Tree I touched on the festival of lights a bit in my last blog. Now I would like to address the beloved and adorned Christmas tree. In Egypt it was a palm tree that was used to represent the bringing forth of the pagan messiah Baal-Tamar. In Rome a fir tree was used to bring forth Baal-Berith or “lord of the covenant”. The mother, who was … Continue reading →

The Roots of Christmas Day

Christmas time is full of traditions and wonder. It is by far my favorite holiday. I love the lights, the smells, and the time of the year where making reference to Jesus in holiday music is still somewhat accepted. It was interesting for me to learn that Christmas is a newer holiday only having been heard of around the 3rd century and had not gained true observance until sometime in the 4th century. It is believed to have been brought in by the Roman Church to bring the message of Christ into a pagan holiday that happened right around winter … Continue reading →

The History of Traditions

The next few blogs are not likely to win me any popularity contests. Tradition is something that is very near and dear to most people and my hope here is in no way to offend or bring condemnation on anyone. Traditions you choose to hold in your family are truly between you and God. The next few blogs I will be sharing a bit about the origins of some of our Christian “holy” days. I pray that everything will be received with the right heart as I go into the roots of paganism in many of our holiday traditions. I … Continue reading →

Genealogy Podcast Roundup – Week of December 5, 2011

It is time for the weekly Genealogy Podcast Roundup. This is where to find the newest episodes of your favorite genealogy podcasts. This week, you will also find some episodes that relate to Christmas traditions. 89.3 KSBJ is not, technically, a podcast. It is a radio station that plays “Contemporary Christian Music”. They will be playing Christmas music from right now, through Christmas, (and may continue after that). You can listen to it directly through their website, as a live stream. Christmas music is a very traditional part of how many families celebrate Christmas. NPR has an episode of “Morning … Continue reading →

Genealogy for Kids

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I want my children to share my passion for genealogy, and I try to share my research with them whenever I think I may have grabbed their attention. My three-year-old son accompanies me on most of my cemetery visits, and actually gets excited when I ask him if he wants to go for a walk in the cemetery. My nine-year-old daughter enjoys looking through my old family photos with me. I am always looking for ways to involve my children in my genealogy, and often come up short when looking for ideas online. However, I have managed to come across … Continue reading →

What About Santa?

On Saturday we had sirens blaring as fire truck and police trundled down our street. No, not a disaster, it was Santa in the fire truck waving and throwing out sweets to the neighborhood children that flocked out to greet him. It happens every year in our neighborhood. What place does Santa have in the Christian’s Christmas? Does he have a place at all? In a recent newsletter about writing for children I saw an article about Britain and the new range of comics called Christmas Crackers. These comics feature Santa and snowmen integrated into the Nativity story. These were … Continue reading →