World Vegetarian Day was founded in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society and endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978. Being a vegetarian goes back to many cultures thousands of years ago. You will find articles in health journals and magazines that discussed the pros and cons of eating vegetarian in the mid to late 1800s. Vegetarian Churches and Settlements were established.
Being a strict vegetarian could be cause for divorce in some countries...
The Courier and Argus, Scotland
– 25 Feb 1889, pg.3
If you didn't have time to do 25 days of Advent posts,
how about trying 12 Days of Christmas Ancestors?
The 12 Days of Christmas is the span between the birth of Christ and the arrival of the magi. So starts Christmas day December 25, and ends January 5th, with Epiphany on the 6th. If you wish you can start December 26 and end January 6th.
So the rule would be to match an ancestor to one of the gifts of the poem (song) "The 12 Days of Christmas". I like this old version, but you can use whichever you want.
You can check out my last year posts of 12 Days of Christmas for inspiration, but you can interpret the gifts any way you like to fit with your ancestors.
I will be doing this, something to do in the quiet after the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and hope many of you will join me. I look forward to reading your interpretations of the song. Some of them look a little tricky! Are you up for the Challenge? Let's use hashtag #12DaysOfAncestors
You can download the list of links from all the 12 days here.
Those of you who are getting to know me, and follow this blog and The Days of Their Livesblog, know that I am all about telling the stories of our ancestors. My cousins, aunts, siblings, children and even some of the older grandchildren all enjoy the articles I've posted and the books I have published about our ancestors and their families, their lives, their successes and their struggles. But what about MY stories? That is the question my daughter asked herself and thought about as she was thinking about what gift to get me for Christmas. It is fine to learn all about the ancestors, but the kids wanted to know about my life too! What was it like growing up? What were my thoughts and dreams?
me age 7
I was surprised and delighted to receive (via email) the gift of StoryWorth.
Every week I will get an email with a prompt to tell a story. My story will be sent to the person who bought me the gift and anyone else I want to add to the list. This was part of the email I received...
Your stories can be as long or as short as you want, and you can even include photos! The one purchasing the gift can choose/ask questions or have random questions sent. You can take as long as you want to answer the questions and catch up any time. The questions are saved on your account.
At the end of the year I will receive a beautifully bound 6" x 9" book with all my stories, that I can share with or pass down to my children and grandchildren.
You can buy this for a family member, or even for yourself!
I've decided to have a little Christmas fun and accept the challenge by "footnote Maven" to write a blog post about my favourite Christmas carol.
We did a lot of Christmas caroling when I was young. I sang in the choir at church. A bunch of the townsfolk would get together and go house to house, sometimes being invited in for refreshments. With the Girl Guides we went to senior homes and hospitals. At our family Christmas party my uncle would play piano and we'd gather round and sing all our favourites. At our house on Christmas Eve my grandmother would play piano and we would all sing, being drowned out by Gramp's big booming voice, until my mother sent us off to bed. I loved singing with a group because no one noticed my exuberant but off-key voice. It is hard for me to pick one favourite. There was a family friend (who has since tragically died) that used to call every year and sing O Holy Night to me over the phone. I like to dance to Boney M's Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord and Jose Feliciano singing Feliz Navadadevery year as I decorate our little Christmas tree. But in honour of my beloved mother I pick this song to blog carol with you. My Mom and I had a favourite we would play on the piano and sing along almost every day at Christmas time. Our piano was in an alcove off the living room, with a floor to ceiling window that looked out onto the snow-filled front yard, and the life size Santa and Carolers my Dad had made in his workshop.
Softly the Night is Sleeping
written by Edward A Washburn
1. Softly the night is sleeping,
On Bethlehem’s peaceful hill
Silent the shepherds watching,
The gentle flocks are still;
Hark! Hear the wondrous music
Falls from the open sky
Valley and cliff reecho
Glory to God on high!
Chorus
Glory to God it rings again,
Peace on earth, good will to men.
Glory to God it rings again,
Glory to God
2. Come with the gladsome shepherds,
Quick hast’ning from the fold,
Come with the wise men bringing
Incense and myrrh and gold;
Come to Him poor and lowly,
Around the cradle throng,
Come with your hearts of sunshine,
And sing the angels’ song.
Chorus
3. Weave ye the wreath unfading,
The fir tree and the pine,
Green from the snows of winter,
To deck the holy shrine;
Bring ye the happy children,
For this is Christmas morn:
Jesus the sinless infant,
Jesus the Lord is born.
Chorus
The Christmas song booklet we played from had a bit of a different arrangement, but this is one I found that is close. It is not that well known, so there aren't many videos of it.
My Great Granny Mavor reminds us to be generous this holiday season!
There will be no High Five post today or next Friday. I did schedule some Canada 150 posts and My Military Ancestor posts at my Challenges blog. I'll be back!! Dianne
National Grandparents Day is celebrated at different times of year depending on the country. In Canada and the US it is this coming Sunday, September 10th.
No matter when or where it is celebrated, I love any opportunity to celebrate my grandparents. I always loved to sit at my grandmothers side while she told me stories about her childhood, her parents and her grandparents.
CHALLENGE:
Tell a
story as told to you by one of your grandparents!
Write your story on your blog and comment about it here below.
If you don't have a blog, post it here in the comments or in the comments on our Facebook group page.
Not everyone was convinced that Canada could survive on it's own, as written by various groups, including two men of the British Military. Second Captain Edward Chichester Bolton and Lieutenant Horace Hervey Webber of the Royal Artillery set out to prove that a united Canada would not work...
Being military, their main reason was that the country was so situated that Canada could not properly defend it's shores. They included a map of the Canadian Frontier, east of the Great Lakes, for show-and-tell...
During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.
Today I have for you...
In honour of the Lunar New Year
People from all Asian countries now call Canada home.
Yesterday was Chinese New Year. My husband and I went to our favourite Chinese restaurant for dinner last night and the owner and our waitress were surprised when I wished them a Happy New Year. I guess the locals don't think of it. We were given extra special almond cookies for dessert, as well as the traditional fortune cookies.
We call it Chinese New Year but it is actually the Lunar New Year, as Vietnam and Korea also celebrate New Year on January 28th this year. The Japanese also celebrated the Lunar New Year up until 1873, when they switched to the Gregorian calendar and now celebrate on Jan 1st.
Mongolia and Tibet celebrate their New Year on February 27th this year. Other Asian countries don't celebrate their New Year until April. You can see a list here.
I read something on the University of Glasgow Library blog this morning....
In 1652 Christmas was cancelled
by order of the Government!!!
You can read more at the University of Glasgow Library blog, and the reasons they give. But if we look further back in the Journals of the House of Commons, they were talking of abolishing Christmas in 1650.
According to an item in the Journals of the House of Lords in November 1660 it seems they are back to celebrating Christmas.
If you go to any earlier Volume of the Journals and search keyword Christmas you will see that it was certainly a subject of contention!
Two of my daughters in Montreal recently, raved about their tour of the Chateau Ramezay and it reminded me of how much I enjoyed the exhibits there, even as a pre-teen. When learning Canadian history in elementary school we went there with our class. I never forgot the impressions it made on me, as it brought our history to life.
If you are descended from a soldier of the Carignan-Salières Regiment you have a special reason to go to the Chateau Ramezay and see the exhibit .. "Mission: Bâtir Pays - 350th anniversary of the arrival of the Carignan-Salières regiment". If you live in Montreal or plan to be in Montreal sometime in the next few months you better hustle because the closing of the exhibit in now March 12, 2017.
See Gail Dever's post about the opening of this exhibit at Genealogy a la Carte.
The Chateau Ramezay was built in 1705 by the then governor of Montreal, and it became a museum in 1895. Itwas the first building in Quebec to be designated a historic monument.
If you go from December 2nd to January 8th you can also enjoy " Around the Fireplace - Holiday Traditions", where you will see five of the Chateau's fireplaces decorated for the holidays.
Poke around the museum site and see what more is to be discovered there.
Even though their regular rates are very reasonable, scroll down to see if you are eligible for one of their discounts.
For more about St Andrew and what you can do to join the celebrations or host your own party with traditional foods and music go to Scotland's website.
I look back on 2015 and I realize I accomplished quite a lot in my genealogical world.
I wrote 122 posts that were researched to help people find their ancestors that were everything from horticulturists, robbers and victualers to Post Office workers and also about the cost of living in days of yore. I published six handy downloadable Resource lists.
I unraveled the mystery of Hannah Mead, who appeared as a child with my ancestor's family on the census. That question had been niggling at me for a long time.
As I make preparations to receive family and friends for our Thanksgiving feast, I give thanks for all I have. I also give thanks for all the memories of Thanksgiving celebrations past. The kids picking bread for the turkey stuffing as they watch a special on TV on Thanksgiving Eve. In the morning Mom starting preparations for the feast, then the aroma of cooking turkey starting to fill the house. The children outside foraging for nuts, leaves, berries and other interesting bits of nature to make the traditional centerpiece for the holiday table. Dad sharpening the old carving knife, getting ready to do his part.
In Canada Thanksgiving Day has been the 2nd Monday in October since 1957.
Two discourses delivered October the 25th, 1759 : being the day appointed
by authority to be observed as a day of public thanksgiving for the success of
His Majesty's arms, more particularly the reduction of Quebec, the capital of
Canada, with an appendix containing a brief account of two former expeditions
against that city and country, which proved unsuccessful
Northern Pacific Railway Mother's Day postcard - 1915 - white carnations are the symbol of pure love
When I was young there was an elderly couple that lived near us and they sold flowers and plants. On the Saturday before Mother's Day all the kids in the neighbourhood went to their house to get potted flowers for Mom.
My Mom loves Chinese Food, and one of the first places where I worked I was teamed up with a guy from China. His sister gave me some instructions and bought some ingredients for me in Chinatown, and I spent hours (most of it chopping) to make a delicious Chinese dinner for my Mom. Sweet and Sour Ribs, Rice, Chop Suey and Egg Rolls. Mmmmmm. Since the only other entree I had made at home was spaghetti, my Mom was very pleased and impressed!
When I had my own kids, although it was becoming vogue to buy gifts, I steered my girls more toward doing something nice for me, plus whatever they made for me at school. When they all got old enough, they banded together each year and washed my car. After a long dirty winter it sure needed it, and the girls had a great time with the hose and buckets of soapy water. I don't know which was wetter, the kids or the car! The joy for me was merely watching them working and having fun together.
1908 - wear a white carnation to honour your mother. "People with bad mothers are also invited to wear the carnation on Mother's Day in honour of someone else's mother who was good."
1909 - over 50,000 people wearing the white carnation as an expression of filial love.
1913 - Mother's Day is spreading - an appeal to men to honour their mothers ...
More recent newspapers from the 60's on carried Mother's Day messages like these ones...
What traditions do you have, and how do you honour your Mother?
I will not be posting for a couple of weeks while we travel.
I leave you with this notice I found....
I have a few ideas yet for future articles, but if there is some subject you would like me to write about or find information on, you can email me with the particulars at beyondthebmd@gmail.com
While you are running around doing your holiday and Christmas shopping (actually or virtually) - think of the people who have been busy working all year long behind the scenes to make our Christmas wishes come true.
And I don't mean the elves!
This week I happened upon this book -
A Visit to Sear's Roebuck and Co - 1914
It shows all the departments of people that worked at the factory and got things ready to go out on the floor of the stores, and includes the printing building where they put together all the catalogues and mailers.
Of course when I discover something like this I have to find more, and I did, listed below.
It is about now that people are starting to get ready for the holidays. Greeting cards to be made and sent, holiday baking and cookie exchanges, decorating the tree and house, buying or making gifts and wrapping them to look festive under the tree.
Everyone has their own holiday traditions. We kept some of our parents' and our grandparents' traditions, but also made some of our own with our kids. One was that the few days before Christmas they would secretly prepare and practice a play or concert to regale us with on Christmas Eve. We always put up our tree about the middle of December and leave it up until the day after January 6th, the twelfth day of Christmas. We always had a real tree, the tallest that would fit in the room with the top branches stapled to the ceiling beams to keep it from toppling over. We would put Christmas music on the stereo and Dad would string up the lights before we started on the decorations, many of them hand made. One set of lights was one that my grandparents bought for my Dad's first Christmas, having one light in the string that was a red cross. We had that string on the tree for our children. It is of course the kind that when one light doesn't work none of them do, so over the years we have had to cut out a couple of the lights and splice the string back together. Now one of my children has it and sadly it no longer lights up, but they put it on the tree anyways. I like that. Now my children are making some of their own family traditions with their kids.
And.... Christmas isn't Christmas without crackers! Some people put their crackers on the tree, but we use ours to decorate each place at the table. After we were all seated and before the turkey got carved, we would pop our Christmas crackers, don our hats, take turns to read our corny jokes, and then we could play with our toy while waiting to be served.
What holiday traditions do you have that were passed down through the generations?
I happened across these interesting books full of ideas to get you in the holiday spirit! For more, search using keywords: christmas, christmastide, yuletide
There is still time to make a Family History treasure for Holiday giving.
You don't have to wait until you are "finished" your research because, guess what? You are never going to be finished, as most genealogists know. There is always another tidbit of information waiting to be discovered. Don't wait until it is too late to share your family stories with your older generations.
Your family history project can run the gamut from simple to elaborate, one branch at a time. Books, scrapbooks, and videos are just some of the ways we can share our family history. There are many examples to be found online. I have done simple and pretty detailed, and I am looking forward to doing an elaborate one, using all the tricks I learned watching Time Travel with Google Earth! You know... when I have time.
Windows comes with a program called Movie Maker (or iMovie for Mac) and I have used it for birthdays and for a celebration of life. You can use it to make a genealogy video, incorporating your photos, records, video, music and voice recordings. Then you can upload it to a site like YouTube or Vimeo, or put it on a DVD to give as a gift.
This woman shows how she made family books using 3 ring binders.
At copy & print centers, like Staples and Office Depot you can make hard cover books for about $25 and up, or consider a booklet for as little as $10-12 depending on the number of pages. I made this one at Staples: I wrote the condensed version of our history using Word with a couple of pages of images and used Staples' "Perfect Binding" with a clear plastic cover to make a booklet to give to family members. Use lots of images (people, places, heirlooms, etc) to hold their interest and to wow your family members, and they will be saying "How did you find all this??"
I have made many hard and soft cover books for family members over the years at Staples, but for my family history books I decided to go with Blurb. First because their prices have come down the last few years, and also they have many sizes and formats to choose from, including a pdf for any ebook reader. Secondly because other family members can go there and purchase the book if they want, in either soft cover or hardcover, or pdf form, fitting their budget. These online publishers, like Blurb, Shutterfly and PhotoInPress to name a few, make it easy with a free download of their program, then all you have to do is pick your layout, drag and drop images and write your story.
You can see one I did of my husband's Nolin and Runge families using Blurb here. I have used information from not only records, but family accounts, books, images, photos and newspaper articles to tell the stories of these ancestors.
Don't forget the children - you can make smaller size books with lots of images that tell the story of their parents and grandparents - or go further back if it is for an older child. My eleven year old grandson is very interested in his ancestry and was in awe when he discovered he could trace his family back over 400 years. Think about your audience and keep it interesting.
These ideas may spark other ideas from you to get started on sharing your family stories.
NOTE: Website authors doing updates to their sites may change their URLs. You can probably find it again by googling the subject.
By joining our Facebook Group
you get other genealogy news from time to time, and under the FILES tab you can download pages of links that go with the posts.
