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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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%...

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

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

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

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

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...