October 6, 2005

Family History at the Holiday Table

By Schelly Talalay Dardashti

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• Share your family's history at holiday gatherings this year; transmit family stories to the younger generations.

• Discuss when, why and how immigrant ancestors left the Old Country, whether that was Eastern Europe, North Africa or elsewhere. Who stayed behind and why? Did they choose to settle in certain cities because cousins were already there? Was the family name changed in America? Do you know the original name, and the town they came from?

Holiday gatherings provide opportunities to transmit the past and preserve it for future generations. Here are some suggestions:

• Record family elders as they sing traditional melodies, discuss their life experiences or relate stories told by their own grandparents.

• Encourage youngsters to interview grandparents about their lives; record those sessions.

• Order kippot for holiday get-togethers, suitably inscribed, to commemorate the event.

• Discuss your family's naming patterns. Did a famous scholar ancestor account for a name appearing frequently in each generation?

• For a fascinating intergenerational activity, look at old family photos and ask guests to bring their own photos to share. Pull out those dusty old shoeboxes of unlabeled pictures stuck on the top shelf of a closet. Do guests recognize anyone in those images, know their names or the relationship?

• Protect old photos by placing them in archival poly protectors (sold by the box at most large office supply stores), or use copies, storing the originals safely away from sticky fingers of overenthusiastic guests.

• Make each holiday a memorable family event with a group photo. Label each with the date, place and guests' names; send a copy to each guest. A video of the festivities adds an additional dimension.

• Keep a holiday record book, list guests' names, the menu, and add each event's labeled group photo. Many families have done this for years, and it is delightful to see toddlers grow into adults with their own babies.

• All Jewish holidays revolve around food -- or the lack of it -- so talk about family culinary traditions that may provide hints of family origins. Peppery or sweet kugel, gefilte fish with whitefish only or other varieties provide Ashkenazi hints, while many Sephardi dishes offer community-specific variations.

• Preserve family favorites by sharing copies of holiday delights.

• When you invite your holiday guests, send them simple family sheets to complete and return.

Prepare a family tree chart from this information and distribute it at your gathering. Download simple charts from www.ancestry.com. Perhaps someone will catch the genealogy bug and begin to work seriously on gathering family information.

 

Genealogical Resources on the Web

For information on all aspects of Jewish genealogy, go to www.jewishgen.org, the award-winning site for the field, for information and record databases that grow daily.

•For books on Jewish genealogy, go to www.avotaynu.org. Avotaynu publishes many of the essential reference books used by enthusiasts, as well as Avotaynu: The International Journal of Jewish Genealogy.

•Join a local Jewish genealogical society for assistance. There are some 80 international societies.

•For locations and contact information, go to www.iajgs.org, the Web site of the International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies.

•Plan to attend the 26th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, or www.jgsny2006.org, set for Aug. 13-18, 2006, in New York City, hosted by the New York Jewish Genealogy Society, which anticipates some 2,000 researchers and international experts from around the world. -- Schelly Talalay Dardashti, Jewish Telegraphic Agency