Exploring Your Holiday Traditions

Does your family come together for the holidays? Do you have special holiday traditions? If so, these can hold genealogical clues that are worth exploring! Sometimes, they have small pieces of information that can lead you in new directions or break through a stubborn brick wall, and the holidays are a perfect time to explore these further!

Many family traditions originated in the home countries of your immigrant ancestors. Various cultures, countries, and religious traditions celebrate the holidays differently. This extends to food, attire, decorations, music, etc. For a visual example, check out Rick Steves’ “European Christmas” special. Understanding these differences can help to illumine why your family traditions are celebrated in a certain way and can reveal more about your immigrant ancestors. Many times, we take these for granted, so taking a moment to read and reflect is helpful for potentially identifying genealogical clues.

Don’t overlook those holiday artifacts like cards and ornaments either! As Lisa Lisson discusses in the “Holiday Heritage Hunt,” these physical items may contain valuable clues about your heritage and family values. Holiday cards and letters contain basic familial information like names and addresses; however, they may also contain additional details like dates as well as family adventures and updates. Likewise, a treasured holiday ornament may reveal something about your family if you take time to examine it closely. If you can date or identify its markings/design, that may help you gain additional insights into your ancestry.

To give an example, I (Daniel) was recently visiting family in Tennessee, and I had an opportunity to explore some of my great-grandmother’s boxes which contained a lot of Christmas cards and some ornaments with photos. My great-grandparents were in the ministry and served many churches throughout Tennessee, so I examined the addresses to learn where they were living in different years. This helped me locate them throughout the state. I also examined the signatures and writings inside the cards, and when I did, I learned about a great-aunt’s previous marriages which were unknown to me. Finally, the photo ornaments that I found had images of various family members, and I had not seen these before. These ornaments also sparked conversations about holiday celebrations from the past. This helped me learn more about why we celebrate with certain foods and why we have certain traditions.

Perhaps this brief example is helpful for you as you consider the ways your family’s traditions and artifacts can inform your genealogical research. If you are looking for additional tips and suggestions, check out “Seasonal and Cultural Traditions: How Celebrations and Holidays Reflect Ancestral Roots” from the Genealogy Foundation. Finally, if you do not have family holiday traditions or cannot identify any right now, consider starting a new holiday family tradition this year!

Happy Holidays! May your celebrations be joyous and meaningful.