A fun and sober way to ring in the New Year

Before we had kids, my husband and I were serious partiers. We looked for the chance to celebrate anything, anywhere. St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve were our favorites. St. Patty's day was spent down at the Irish Pub singing drinking songs and New Year's Eve found us dressed up at a hotel gala singing "Auld Lang Syne" with new-found friends (aka strangers).
                                      Again, that was before kids.

We quickly learned that children don't know what a hangover is and they don't care if you have one. They also won't change their sleeping habits. I learned the hard way, that suffering with nausea and headache pain until nap time was a form of self-torture.
                                             
                                  So, we changed the way we celebrated.

Now, we celebrate our Irish roots by wearing green clothing and eating Irish foods.  On New Year's Eve, we have an at-home fondue party and movie marathon. We fondue steak, cheese and chocolate. By 5:00, we're watching family friendly movies until a few minutes before midnight. Then we turn on the tv to see the ball drop in Times Square. We end the night with a celebratory kiss and go outside to ring in the new year by clanging pots and pans together...old school style.                 

                                                             Gone with the wind is on the menu tonight!

As 2013 winds down, I find myself grateful for this tradition. Our daughters will be 18 and 16 in a few months and our son will be 12. They don't (so far) suffer from hangovers or see their parents stagger around. For them, it wouldn't be New Year's Eve without movies, cheese and pots and pans!

What about you? Have you changed any holiday celebrations for the sake of your kids? Feel free to share the ways you celebrate and...
                                                                                   Have a Happy New Year!

Family Tree Research - Finding Naming Patterns

Naming traditions and patterns play an important role in society and history. They're especially important to certain cultures and can be helpful for research. For example, though I didn't know where a branch of my family tree came from regionally, I found a clue by our naming pattern.

My grandfather's name was Daniel.
     My father's name was Daniel.
          My brother's name is Daniel.
               My cousin's name is Daniel.

I remember my father saying, "Whatever you do, don't name your son Daniel; there are too many of us already."

So I didn't, I named my first daughter Dania, which is a female nickname of Daniela. I didn't intentionally follow a naming pattern, but I wanted to honor my father and the fathers in our family.

Now I've learned about the significance of them in other cultures. I could see that as far as the males are concerned, in several branches we tend to follow a system called "patronymics." According to W. Daniel Quillen's great book, Tracing Your Irish & British Roots, the naming pattern of these cultures is as follows:

                                       The first son was named after the father's father.

                                       The second son was named after the mother's father.

                                       The third son was named after the father.

                                       The fourth son was named after the father's eldest brother.

                                       The fifth son was named after the mother's eldest brother.

                                       The first daughter was named after the mother's mother.

                                       The second daughter was named after the father's mother.

                                       The third daughter was named after the mother.

                                       The fourth daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister.

                                       The fifth daughter was named after the father's eldest sister.

Obviously I broke tradition in every way, but my daughters would thank me if I ever told them what names they "should" have had. My son, followed the tradition of my husband's culture which just happens to match my own.
               
What about you? Does your culture have a naming pattern or tradition?

Family History Tip: Names are almost always significant the farther you search in your tree. Keeping worksheets is of utmost importance because you may come across several people with the same first  and last name hundreds of years apart. Worksheets help contain the confusion.

Thankful For Family

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's the most meaningful time of year for me because it was my dad's favorite time of year. It was an occasion for celebration that he'd attack with gusto and was elevated above all other holidays. 

On Thanksgiving mornings, I'd wake up with the smell of food cooking and sounds of clattering in the kitchen. And football - without fail, a game or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade would be blaring from the television on the kitchen counter. 

He was an excellent cook and would create elaborate feasts for us and our guests. Ironically, we spent our Thanksgiving meals with strangers. My dad had the gift of hospitality and he invited people to our table who had nowhere else to go. Many were not welcomed by their own families or lived far away, so they spent the day with us. 

It was a treat to see who would show up, and I listened eagerly to the stories they'd tell as they laughed and ate with us. It could also be a sad thing to hear their backstories and sometimes I'd purposely linger at the kitchen sink so I could eavesdrop on their conversations.

Now it's different. These days we celebrate with our immediate and extended family and occasionally, a guest or two. This year, I got to spend time with my best friend (and cousin by marriage), Terri, who's usually out of town.

I'm so thankful that my children know and spend family time with their cousins. 

I'm also thankful that I got to experience it my dad's way; both traditions are valuable.

The Bible tells us that one day we'll all gather together at the great feast in the kingdom of our heavenly father. At that time, we'll truly know what being thankful really means.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28-29