General

Apr 28
6 min

Walpurgisnacht

Walpurgis Night, also known as Walpurgisnacht in German, is a holiday that occurs on the 30th of April in different parts of Europe. It...

Mar 18
7 min

Ben vs. The Bald Eagle

The bald eagle has been a symbol of the United States for as long as the country has existed. It first appeared on Massachusetts...

Jan 1
5 min

What's In a Name?

Tracing ancestors back to the point where they first acquired surnames can be a challenge as a name's spelling and pronunciation may have...

Dec 25, 2023
5 min

Christmas Trees And The German Immigrants

Christmas in the United States would be unrecognizable without the traditions that German immigrants brought to America. The decorated...

Dec 11, 2023
3 min

Fraktur

The term fraktur is used today to describe a wide variety of Pennsylvania German folk-art documents. In this particular incarnation,...

Nov 23, 2023
3 min

The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't

New England colonists used molasses imported from the West Indies because it did not cost as much as sugar. A byproduct of sugar...

Nov 6, 2023
5 min

The Bi-Annual Time Warp

The idea behind the clock shift, often incorrectly called daylight savings time, is to maximize sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere, but...

Aug 14, 2023
4 min

The Mennonites

Now to tell a little more background information about the Mennonites in my family tree. The name is derived from the founder of the...

Jul 24, 2023
4 min

Powwowing and the Pennsylvania Germans

Here is a story about something that my Pennsylvania German ancestors may have used or even practiced at some point. Powwow, also called...

Jun 18, 2023
12 min

"Whose Father Was He?"

Welcome to my 200th post! Here is a story for Father's Day. Since it began by a woman honoring her father who fought during the Civil...

May 29, 2023
3 min

Decoration Day

Before it was "Memorial Day" it was known as "Decoration Day." The years following the end of the Civil War in 1865 saw American...

Apr 9, 2023
7 min

Easter Eggs

In the 18th century, German-speaking immigrants were among the first to establish a robust Easter egg tradition in Pennsylvania. By the...

Mar 27, 2023
4 min

The True Story of the "Pennsylvania Dutch", Part 2: The Language

(For Part 1, click here) During the Middle Ages, there was no German country, language, or national identity. Germans were politically...

Mar 19, 2023
4 min

The True Story of the "Pennsylvania Dutch", Part 1: The People

When the vast majority of people hear the term "Pennsylvania Dutch", they typically conjure images of Amish persons riding in horse-drawn...

Feb 13, 2023
6 min

The Mother of American Valentines

This Tuesday will be Valentine's Day. It is big business and this year Americans are expected to spend over $26 billion. Of that, 40%...

Feb 6, 2023
4 min

6 More Weeks of Winter

Every year on 2 February, I, along with my fellow Americans, anxiously await Punxsutawney Phil’s all-knowing weather prediction. Will we...

Jan 1, 2023
5 min

The New Year Wish

Folk celebrations that accompany the New Year were a vital part of Pennsylvania German culture. Essentially these celebrations were...

Dec 25, 2022
5 min

A Medieval Christmas

The term "Christmas" first became part of the English language in the 11th century as an amalgamation of the Old English expression...

Dec 12, 2022
4 min

Advent Wreaths

The Christmas season is a time of numerous advent traditions and celebrations. We look forward to listening to and singing certain...

Dec 5, 2022
5 min

Neanderthals v. Denisovans

As my loyal readers know by now, I am a sucker for "add-on" genetic reports. The latest that I took was an "Archaic" report offered by...

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