Family traditions can seem unusual from an outside perspective, and even, by newer generations of family members who have no connection to the original purpose of the tradition. Genealogical studies provide a magnifying glass on how the family got to where they are today and to remember those that should still be with us today. And now you can even use the help of a genealogy research service to better understand your family history and reconnect with your heritage.
Family traditions are simply customs that communities or families pass down from generation to generation. Many are religious in nature and have been practicing for thousands of years. Luckily, these practices are often well-documented and accessible if obtained through the appropriate channels.
Genetic Possibility
DNA and genetic tests can delve far into your ancestry and discover where your people were born and how they moved across the world over thousands of years.
Long gone are the expensive and hard to find DNA tests. There is a wide range of genetic tests that promise a variety of claims which are mostly unproven.
Quality DNA tests can be found with the help of DNAWeekly because they offer objective advice on the genetic tests available and the laboratories where the tests are processed and stored.
Be careful about ‘entertainment only’ tests which provide a very basic scan of your genetic profile and may even produce inaccurate or difficult-to-interpret results.
If you are not sure which DNA test you need or which test profile will provide the information you or health team are looking for then DNAWeekly should be a trusted resource to help find high quality DNA tests evaluated by professionals in the field of genetic sciences.
Talk to Your Relatives
Genealogy is the study of family history. The very best resource any genealogist has is their family members and family memorabilia.
They can help you understand why certain traditions began and why they held true for so many decades afterwards. The encounter may provide further clues as to where to find more factual information to further review the tradition.
Heritage and Diversity
There are a lot of opinions about what defines a person. Is it their place of birth? Their race or religious status? The truth is that family traditions, heritage, race, religion, and a multitude of other factors contribute to an individual’s identity. There is not a single genetic test or genealogical discovery that will tell you who you are. That is up to you to define, not your genetics, or your heritage.
Family Search
Family Search is a genealogical website run by the Church of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon Church). Mormons believe that baptizing the spirits of the dead will be allowed into the kingdom of heaven.
This belief has allowed the Mormon Church to accumulate one of the most thorough and comprehensive genealogical websites in the world.
Luckily, for the rest of the world Mormons believe in helping others and sharing what they have with their community. The Family Search website is free to use but please keep in mind that there are privacy and legal applications applied to the information regarding living people.
Look for Families with Similar Traditions
Depending on where you live and your involvement with the community around you will dictate how useful this tip is to understanding family traditions through genealogy. How long has your family lived where you currently reside? Do different family members live throughout the neighborhood? Have they lived in the same place for several generations? If so, there is potentially a lot of valuable resources available at your fingertips.
The majority of us in the United States live apart from family. The Wall Street Journal estimates that 28 percent of Americans live on their own. That makes investigating family history a bit trickier due to the logistics of locating family members and evaluating what potential evidence is at hand.
Featured Image Credits – 2211438. ‘Old-Photo.’ Pixabay.com. Copyright-free.
