10/2/2017 100 Comments Something about me...Start up a conversation with an older family member about your cultural heritage. Try to find out what your family knows about your ancestral background/ethnicity. Share what you learned, and then find a topic related to your cultural heritage to research further. Write about what you learned. Your research topic could be anything related to your background. You might discover a family tradition that has ties to your background, or you might find a topic you know nothing about. (Consider food, music/dance, rites of passage, ceremonial traditions, etc.). Include and reference the link to your research!
100 Comments
Sephora Frejuste
10/3/2017 07:32:27 pm
As I saw the topic for the week I knew the best person to talk to about my cultural heritage was my grandmother. I learned that on January 1 1804 Haiti gained their independence from France and they were the first black country to break away from another countries control. While she was talking the two things that interested me were the Festivals and the Music. She said "Haitians love color." That is why their festivals are always full of different colors and there arts are a thriving subject in the middle class. One of the Festivals all Haitians around the world love to celebrate is Flag Day (Dix-huit Mai or May 18). I don't know about the other cities but in Salisbury all the Haitians gather in one place and just party and celebrate their flag. Haitians love to listen to music and dance. It is a part of everyday life.The individual things that Haitians love to eat, wear, dance to, ect. are what make then Haitian and what makes them their individual country.
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Karon Teat
10/4/2017 05:23:42 pm
I really enjoyed the educational part of your post. I had no idea that there was such an important holiday in the Haitian community. Your description of the holiday and its parades make me very interested in seeing these parades. This especially interests me because I love art in general. I think it is very important for someone to know there roots and where they came from. I hope you learn as much about your heritage as possible.
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Fernando Lopez
10/5/2017 04:40:00 pm
I did not know a lot about Haiti until I read this. I was surprise about the fact that Haiti was control by France until they got their independence. I can actually understand why they love colors because everyone likes colors it makes everything better. I like how you included art because my brother is kind of an artist and draws amazing drawings also I like most of his drawing. Every culture has its own art which makes each culture unique. I learned some things about Haiti and will think differently of them as fun people.
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Jocelyn Miltz
10/3/2017 08:08:09 pm
I am a biracial 14 year old girl. My father is caucasian and my mother is African American, and my heritage is very unique compared to most individuals. On my dad’s side of the family, the most common ethnic relation is German. The earliest immigrant to come from Germany to America was “Herman the German” as my family likes to call him. I also found out that the majority of Miltz family members leaving Europe headed for America were most established in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. This information is provided with evidence from the link listed below. The significance of this is the fact that I myself am from Pennsylvania! As I researched more and more of my family ancestry I saw the my last name Miltz actually means “the spleen of an animal”. My Nana for the longest time thought that my last name could be short for “Miltenberger” or some form of that name, and both of those names are of German descent. Although I have these amounts of information as a result of my father I have much more information from my mother’s side of the family because of my grandmother. My mom’s side of the family is where I get the most traditions that have stuck to this day. Every year my family has greens, yams/sweet potatoes, and rolls/biscuits/cornbread for Thanksgiving. When my grandfather was young they use to have homemade rolls, so that is where the bread comes from every year. I never realized this until my grandmother and I talked, but every year we have greens, yams, and or sweet potatoes. For those who do not know, greens are a combination of varying green leafy vegetables. These include collard greens, kale, spinach, and a few others. Greens are actually a large part of African culture and these people also cultivated yams and sweet potatoes. My great great grandmother’s family use to have sweet potatoes and or yams every year at Thanksgiving and the tradition has carried down from generation to generation. I also get a lot of my personal traits of music from my ancestors. Both sets of my grandparents could sing and so do my parents. My father’s father was in a polka band, his wife played the drums and my mother’s parents sing. I myself play about 7-8 instruments and also sing, so my musical abilities are not just from one side of my family but from both!
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Karon Teat
10/4/2017 05:37:48 pm
I actually have a lot of similarities with your blog post. I too have a lot of musical/singing going on on my stepdad's side of the family. Even though there is no blood relation, I feel as if that talent extended to me as well. My mom also makes most of the things your mother makes during Thanksgiving. The origin of the greens was also very fascinating. When I told my mommom about its origins she was interested as well. I hope you learn as much as possible about your origins and fill me in on what a polka band is?!
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Fernando Lopez
10/5/2017 06:37:32 pm
I was in intrigued when I first started to read this. I didn't know that you were Caucasian and African American, I actually didn't know what my name meant until last year where I researched of what my last name means. My family does something similar to yours during thanksgiving except for making the turkey. Our family usually visits relatives and eat turkey. My dad actually used to play the drums in a band in Guatemala. I never knew this until he recently told me.
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Madison Palmer
10/7/2017 12:21:44 pm
I found your post very interesting because I didn't know that you played so many instruments. I only play one instrument, flute. I couldn't imagine learning how to play 7-8 instruments. I couldn't remember all the fingerings. Plus, it's different to play the flute because you have a different air pattern. It would take a lot of getting used to in order for me to try to play other instruments. I respect the fact you play so many instruments because it must be difficult.
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Will Schmidt
10/7/2017 02:06:09 pm
I like how you included most of your family’s heritage and their ethnicity!! Both of your grandparents were instrumental and singers and I can see that your talents you have are from them. I also like how you include a tradition about what your family eats on Thanksgiving! I also like sweet potatoes and it’s unique that you have them at Thanksgiving as a tradition! Lastly I really liked how you included the cultures of your parents heritage and why it’s important.
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Karon Teat
10/3/2017 08:26:43 pm
When I read the itinerary for this assignment I was really excited. A while back I had decided to do some research on my ancestors but got nowhere. This time, I asked my mommom some questions and she surprisingly had a lot to say. A while back she had had a dream that she had met her father in the airport for the first time. When she woke up she started doing a bunch of research on him but only found his cemetery. Apparently, my aunt (her sister) had been doing research on him as well but, she found out that their dad had had a brother and a sister. Once my mommom found out about this she did more research and found a phone number connected to the brother and sister. One night (I know this is a long story but it gets interesting) my mommom called the number and this woman answered. This woman was the wife of one of our cousins. Eventually my mommom found out that we had an entire part of our family living in Virginia, that her father was in the military and so was most of our family there, and that they had no idea we even existed. Sometime later my mommom went up to Virginia and when everyone met up they found out even more information. So, apparently one of the family members that we didn’t know about is related to my uncle’s son. The thing is though, he’s not related to the son by my mommom’s dad so they spent a lot of time trying to figure that out. Once I found out all this stuff about my mom’s side of the family, I decided to do some research on my dad’s side. So, I began to research our last name, “Teat”. I found out that our name originated in Berwickshire which is a county in scotland. All that I learned about my last name is in the following link.
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Brayden luers
10/4/2017 08:29:16 pm
Karon this was a really cool experience. I found it really interesting that u had a whole side of your family that you didn’t know about and ended up finding. I’m glad that you got to connect with that side of your family. This has just taken me by surprise that you found out you had a whole other part of your family in Virginia. Congratulations on finding that side of your family and being able to connect with them.
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Brendan Wilson
10/6/2017 01:23:48 pm
It funny how one little dream lead to a family reunion. I wish that i could do the same as you and look for more of my family. I don't know a lot about my family heritage and I don't know how reliable those websites are. I may have to do some research this weekend so I can learn more.
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Sephora Frejuste
10/6/2017 03:54:08 pm
Karon, I really like your post. I like how you told that you ran into a problem when trying to do it yourself first, but when you had asked your mommom you found out information that you couldn't find before. I also find it very fascinating that you found out about a part of your family that you didn't know about living in Virginia. To me your "story" is almost like a legend. I really enjoyed reading it.
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Dane Stone
10/4/2017 03:34:33 pm
so, when I first asked someone I asked my mother what my family name means, what my name means and where my heritage is from, I asked my mother. she said to ask my grandmother and she didn't really have a clue. that made it so I had to do some digging. I looked on a couple of websites for the meaning of my names and I didn't come up with much for my last name. for my las t name what it means is : someone who lives on or under a rock/stone. sadly not as cool as I hoped It would be. after that I found out what my first name meant so what I figured out was that unless I wanted my name to mean : from Denmark, I'd have to have my name mean: God Will Judge.
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Carli Jett
10/6/2017 06:38:21 pm
I think that your name has a better meaning than mine. While your first name means "someone who lives under on or under a rock/stone," my first name is just feminine for Carl or Charles. You didn't say anything about your middle name, but mine is also only feminine for Nicholas. Even though your last name mean "from Denmark," mine means free. I personally think that the meaning of your name is cool because it is actually pretty unique.
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Alexis Hambleton
10/7/2017 11:46:27 pm
Like you, I didn’t know much about my family,where I came from and what/ where I’m from. Most of them don’t live around here or know a lot about where they came from. I don’t know much about my family unless there younger then 50.
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Brayden Luers
10/8/2017 03:10:24 am
Dane it sucks you didn’t have much information on what your name means but what you did know was cool! Your name is super cool and it’s cool that your name is from Denmark. I hope u get to learn more about your heritage. It was also very cool that your first name means u see rock/stone and your last name is stone.
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Fernando Lopez
10/4/2017 03:50:54 pm
I discovered a lot of things about my parents growing up and how life is like in Guatemala. So basically I talked to my parents before about how she grew up in Guatemala. It wasn't like America because at the age of 6 you would have to work really hard and all day. Both of my parents come from Guatemala and religion is a big thing there. My mom had to cook for my grandmother as she worked to clean the house, wash dishes, and also wash the clothes2. My dad I don't know a lot about because I don't talk to him a lot and usually at work. But I know that he worked farming the crops because you would have to grow your own food on the side of the mountain because you would save money and poverty was a big problem. They worked hard non-stop and only stop for any parties or birthday party happening in the community. There was also a lot of poverty where my mom lived and she was poor. She once told my that she would save money to buy her own clothes and shoes because my grandmother wouldn't buy one. There is a tradition where you would make tamales before christmas and would eat it on Christmas. Tamale is really good and it is dough and inside of it, it would have a type of sauce and a type of meat. It is usually steamed in banana leafs. There is a website at the bottom that was actually surprising and stunning. The facts are about how children grew up in Guatemala and it is risky and death is much higher as an infant there than the US. I can actually see the facts being true because I went to Guatemala and saw how life is bad in person.
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Aniya Brinson
10/5/2017 08:25:35 pm
Wow thays sad how hard kids and people work. But do they have any child labor laws. And you are roght tamales are very good. Form reading what you said it seems like your family has come a very long way. Did ylu family ever tzlk about g
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John Rodriguez
10/7/2017 04:49:20 pm
Fernando you and me have really similar backgrounds just that one generation behind. This is as my grandmother when little too had to work in the house a lot and she work with farm animals too as In Puerto Rico there use to be lots of farms. My grandmother told me ones that she had to wake up at 6 am and feed the pigs as that was the main animal she work with. After that she go inside and cook for her, her dad, and her too sisters. Her too sisters had too work too if not they all got wiped. This all kind of changed when my grandmother had my mom and uncle as she decided to give them a better life than she had. Is really interesting how we have so similar backgrounds.
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Will Schmidt
10/4/2017 04:17:26 pm
When I was assigned this project I had no idea what I was going to do. I hardly knew anything about my ancestry or heritage except for I was part German. So I was struggling at first until my dad told me that my uncle has an entire family tree of our family. So I called him and asked him what my heritage was like. He told me it was mostly German like I expected it to be. But than we went deeper and farther back and found that some of my ancestors came from England France and all over Europe and even Turkey. I wasn't surprised about the German heritage because the family "Schmidt" is German. But I was really shocked to find out that I was part English. So I went online to http://projectbritain.com/britain/england_facts.htm and found out that 8.7% of the total U.S. population has English heritage. This estimate is probably a serious undercount by over 30 million since most people say they have English heritage. I learned this all from this assignment and my uncle and I don't think I would've learned this if it weren't for this assignment. So I'm proud to say I'm German, English, and French heritage.
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Breanna Moir
10/6/2017 08:43:21 pm
Wow this is pretty cool. You didn't know anything at all until your family gave you the proper source. It's quite fascinating to see that so many people have a German background in their family. As I was reading I think it was a cool detail you put in about how only 8.7% of the U.S. population is English and you happen to be in that percentage. Another thing I thought was interesting was how you said you wouldn't know much about your roots. Not many people know so it's cool that your uncle knew so much.
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Gavin Wawrzeniak
10/7/2017 04:17:01 pm
When I was going through these comments for this post, I was pretty sure that I thought you were German. (I think that you told me once.) I can understand that you might be English, but when you said that you were French, that surprised me. I like how your heritage is a mixture of different countries. It makes a family tree more interesting.
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Jadyn Carroll
10/7/2017 09:48:11 pm
I think it’s really cool how you found a new part of yourself. Like you only new about the German part, but found a part of your history you might not have found. I also think it’s cool how you found the data that shows how many Americans have English descent. It’s really cool that your uncle already had a family tree you could use.
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Jude Mondestin
10/7/2017 10:18:21 pm
I think its cool that you were able to dig deeper into your heritage. you knew you were German and could have left it there. however by digging deeper you found a different part of yourself and i think that very awesome. I respect the fact that you are proud to be German. some people are ashamed of their heritage or they don't like it but I respect that you are proud of yours and aren't scared to tell people about it .
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Brendan Wilson
10/8/2017 03:09:12 am
Like you i didn’t know much about my heritage. i asked around as much as i could and couldn’t find much. After a while i finally found something. Like you my ancestors are from Europe. Mostly from England and Ireland
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10/4/2017 04:32:42 pm
When I saw this topic I thought Oh my lord I don't know anything about my family. But then i asked around and found out some pretty interesting stuff. Somewhere on my moms side one of my many great grandmothers was the queen of something in Hawaii. I also found out that there's a lot of german on my moms side. My grandfather is also a majority of Hawaiian. On my dads side they're all Italian. My grandfather on my dads side came from Italy along with his sibilings and parents to New York. We have family in New York from both sides of my family. We have land in Italy on the side of a mountain. My great aunt is Native American. She is from the Cherokee Tribe. For a tradition in my family we bake cookies with our grandmother every year for both Christmas and Thanksgiving. We also go to our Aunts for Thanksgiving then have dinner at our grandmothers for Christmas. For Thanksgiving, since were Italian, we have lasagna.
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Bryanna DeRosa
10/5/2017 01:08:57 pm
https://www.houseofnames.com/DeRosa-family-crest
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Madison Palmer
10/7/2017 12:25:59 pm
I had no idea how many different cultures and backgrounds were in your family! I like how your family takes your background as an opportunity to serve Italian dishes for Thanksgiving. I can relate to you in the fact that I also have family living in other states. I have an aunt in South Carolina, and we visited her a few years ago. Also, my uncle used to live in Alabama. We visited him about 4 years ago, when I was in 5th grade.
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Will Schmidt
10/7/2017 02:12:55 pm
Your heritage is really interesting and I bet it was a very interesting experience to be told that one of your great grandmothers was a Queen of something in Hawaii! It’s cool to know hardly anything about a topic such as this and you can learn so much. I experienced the same thing and was actually nervous about this topic because I knew nothing of my heritage mostly. It’s interesting also how you are Italian and Hawaiian heritage! It’s also awesome that you have land in Italy on the side of a mountain!! Have you actually been there before? It sounds really cool!
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Jocelyn Miltz
10/7/2017 02:24:31 pm
Oh my goodness, it is so cool that your family is part of royalty in Hawaii!! I had a close family friend from Pennsylvania who traced his family tree all the way back to Abraham Lincoln! Lasagna is one of my favorite foods and it is so cool you share that tradition of your family having it at Thanksgiving. My family has greens and yams or sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. We'll have to bake some cookies together sometime :)
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Rebecca Dartilus
10/7/2017 07:22:37 pm
Its funny that we never know some stuff until we ask around. Just like you I did not know anything about my heritage except for the part about me being french. When this assignment came along i was really thinking i was going to fail. When I decided to ask around I found out that I am also part Canadian. This is one reason why I like school, sometimes we find out thing about ourselves we did not even know. Because the teacher decided to make an assignment we learn a lot about ourselves. This is why I would like to think the teachers for the fist time for giving us homework.
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Jude Mondestin
10/7/2017 10:26:30 pm
wow ! Your the descendant of a queen in Hawaii that's awesome. I think its cool that your whole family and heritage is all spread out. I like how you went from knowing almost nothing about your heritage to knowing so much. your heritage is very cool and I like how your holidays tie with your different heritages. I also didn't know anything about my family and I struggled with this project but it seems to have turned out alright for the both of us. Also please invite me to one of ur thanksgiving dinners I love lasagna.
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Sanai Brown
10/7/2017 10:53:28 pm
I really connected with your being because when I first heard about the assignment I thought the same thing because I didn't know anything about my history and it was really interesting when I learned about my family history.
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Brayden luers
10/8/2017 03:15:14 am
That is so interesting that you have royalty in your family. My family is also from Italy and we always have Italian meals as well. I think it’s cool that I can relate to you in that way. It’s cool that you have Hawaiian in your blood as well as Italian.
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Mikyra Dale
10/4/2017 05:19:42 pm
My name is Mikyra Dale which means I'm hard working, strong willed and stubborn at times. I'm African American part Geechee. The Geechee Heritage is the island of Georgia. "Geechee is another term for the Gullah people who live in the low country region of South Carolina and Georgia" which information can be found on the Urban dictionary. I get the Geechee part from my mother's side of the family. Which some stuff that I learned is that Geechee loves rice and is known for their rice. Back then being called Geechee was like saying a harmful statement but in today's time the title is embraced proudly and is celebrated through festivals. Quilts with bright colors and designs where traditions for woman a time for social interaction. The Sea island or the Gullah people were the first to be place in South where enslaved Black people were freed.
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ZJ Cutrara
10/4/2017 05:37:39 pm
I decided to ask my mom about our heritage and man was I blown away by what she told me. She had told me about how my great great Grandmother had immigrated over to America. Great great grandma Finsen along with her husband and 8 children came to America for a better life, they had dreamed of owning and farmer on their own land. They had been involved with sharecropping. As shown in the video sharecropping was solely done by immigrants, my great great grandparents family had sharecropped all their lives. One of her children at the time also know as my Great Grandma Helen had started to grow up. When Great Grandma was 17 she had dated a Chippewa Native who was also a pro boxer, his rink name "Big Red'. Complications occurred and my Great Grandma got pregnant by "Big Red". The Finsen's family then quickly fleeing from one Michigan farm to the next due to her pregnancy from date rape at the age of 17. They had to flee to hide the pregnancy. She then fell in love with a young man who loved her despite being pregnant soon he married her and saved her honor. My mom had told me that that Great Grandpa was the only Grandpa my mom had met. I've only heard half of this story before this project, I'm glad that I got to hear it all. (surprisingly it's pretty interesting.)
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Paul Yang
10/4/2017 07:04:49 pm
As most of you may know I am Chinese. My parents are both Chinese and we’re both born in China. My ancestral ethnicity background is the Han Group which is the biggest ethnic group in China’s community, with more than 9 out of 10 people born in China being Han. The Hang Group includes 1220.84 million people of China who speaks mandarin and practicing Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism as said in the website of http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/largest-ethnic-groups-in-china.html. My family has the tradition of celebrating Chinese New Year every single year while also eating a special dish of noodles which apparently means a longevity. On every Chinese New Year families from all around the world tries to gather together to celebrate it either in China or America. In every Chinese family we also have to eat this special dish of noodles on our birthday because it is believed to elders that it’d give the one celebrating his/her birthday a longevity. As I researched and asked my parents, I learned that my last name Yang actually has a meaning. The meaning behind my last name Yang is too complex to explain in a few sentences (like all Chinese names), but it was inspired by willows, and aspens. I don’t know if this is true(probably not), but my dad told me that he and I are the descendents of a Chinese general from the Song Dynasty named Yang Wenguang. This is most likely not true because before when I asked him about my ancestry he always gave me a vague answer.
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ZJ Cutrara
10/6/2017 07:18:55 pm
Wow, you have a really interesting ancestry. I've always wanted to go to an actual family reunion but never had the chance. Honestly it would be pretty awesome if you were the descendent of that Chinese general from the Song Dynasty, then you would have those cool stories to bring up to people. Also 1220.84 million people is a whole lot of people. Wait a minute, there only like 323.1 million in America currently. DANG THAT'S A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE.
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Gage Sabater
10/6/2017 10:14:24 pm
It was as hard for me, as for you to figure out our family history's and traditions. Your family has a great extent into Chinese history, mainly because of the famous origin Han. For me this is great info since you may be able to trace many questions you may need to answer, very quickly because of the Han abundance. As for your traditions, they consist of the Chinese New Year, a commonly known tradition, but only one tradition. I'm still trying to boil down all of the information that will either consider me Asian or Pacific Islander. I also had the struggle o trying to justify my fathers take on the last name meaning, meaning, I don't know if I can trust him either.
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Dong Lee
10/7/2017 09:26:29 pm
This is a very interesting blog post! The most interesting part for me is how there is a special dish of noodles just for birthdays and the Chinese New Year! It suprises me to know that families all over the world tries to meet at one location! Another interesting part is what your last name stands for. It is amazing to know that you could have been a descendent of a Chinese general, but I would have liked to know more about the Chinese New Year.
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Octavia Miles
10/4/2017 07:30:32 pm
For any type of history, i always go to my grandma. So naturally i called her to see what she had to say. She told me that the farthest back she could think of was when her grandfather, my great great grandpa, had immigrated to America from Italy. When he got here he worked a few years in the sharon PA steel mill, and after he got some money, went back to Italy for my great great grandma. He married her over there, and he earned the last name Pasquale. Now from what I found digging around the internet, the last name Pasquale deals with someone who is born on easter, and apparently the coat of arms in Florence, is a gold stag running in a blue field. Somehow that symbolizes speed, agility, and loyalty. But flash forward, and this Pasquale guy (great great grandpa) is involved in creating the first worker's union in Sharon PA. However, unfortunately i was not able to locate any information on this. My grandma also said that the last name pasquale could be traced back to Mary Magdalene. The last name Pasquale is related to her, but i could not find anything relating the name to my family to hers. Over all i found out that i am 4th generation italian, and that there are quite alot of dead popes with that name. Also this is completely unrelated but my grandma told me her name was engraved on the statue of liberty. (Which I didn't find her original name, Nicastro, I found her married name, Scruggs.)
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Carli Jett
10/4/2017 08:11:54 pm
he only person I could talk to about my cultural heritage was my mother because my great grandma doesn't remember much, my grandma is somewhere else, and I live far away from others that are in my family. My mother told me that I have many things in my cultural heritage. On my father’s side, I am German and half of the Cheyenne tribe and half of the Cherokee tribe. Also on my father’s side, one of my relatives is Jesse James- the American outlaw of the West. There is a book with some of my history in it called The Early Yandells of North Carolina and Some of their Descendants 1737-1982. There are only 2 copies of that book, one was inherited by a family member and the other one is in the Library of Congress. The last name Jett is very common in the U.S., but not much in the Western states. I think it is weird how it’s not common in the Western states because many of my family members live around there and I was born in Colorado. I have many family members from the last name Jett. On the other hand, my mother’s side isn’t as complex. From my mother’s side I am part Dutch German, English, and Irish. The last name Werkheiser is German and comes from the Werkhausen in Rhineland. The last name Merritt is English and comes from Merriott in Somerset, which means boundary, gate, and mare. These surnames aren’t very popular in the U.S., but they are mostly in Pennsylvania. There isn’t many family members that I know that have the last names Merritt or Werkheiser.
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mikayla somers
10/7/2017 10:46:11 am
My moms side is from Ireland and somehow found there way to North Carolina, so i also have Cherokee Indian in me. I did live a majority of my life also in a different part of the u.s so I guess were not as accustom to the eastern shore way of life(if that makes sense). I still do things that are strange even to my dad who has never left the eastern shore. and also my dads side of the family being here since like forever! So like you i have Cherokee and Irish heritage minus the Dutch German an stuff:)
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Paul Yang
10/7/2017 07:05:53 pm
My family is somewhat like yours due to all my grandparents living faraway from where I live, so when ever I need someone to talke about my ancestry I ask my parents. I like how you found out many different cultural heritage from your mom and dad’s side, which is interesting because you found out that you had multiple sides of your cultural heritage. I find it interesting that there’s a book just for the history of your ancestry and the fact that there’s not just one book but two. I also find it interesting that one of the copies of your ancestry book is located in the Library of Congress because books that are in the Library of Congress are mostly significant. My family also has a similar book that has a record of my ancestors and the descendants of my ancestors, but there’s only one book for my whole family.
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Kailey Moyers
10/4/2017 08:13:28 pm
My dad's side of the family mostly originated in Louisville, Kentucky. It is pretty much unknown beyond that point. Nobody in my family had done any form of DNA test, at least not to the knowledge of anyone I asked. My great-great grandparents were born and raised in Louisville, and everyone else in the family up to my generation were as well. A few members of my family have trained horses that were in the Kentucky Derby. My gran always makes this Derby Pie on holidays, and I honestly never knew why. She makes it because it was a famous dessert created in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1960's. I was informed by this website, http://www.derbypie.com/about-us.html, that the name was picked by the family putting names they liked in a hat and randomly drawing a winner. I found it quite interesting that this now popular dessert was named from a hat drawing. My gran is proud of her background and where she's from, and she always loves to show it off by making this delicious dessert on the holidays!
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Breanna Moir
10/6/2017 08:51:20 pm
Wow! It's pretty crazy how not many people know anything at all about their heritage. I don't know much either except for the stories my family tells me. I also find it cool that your family raised ponies. (insert Channing Tatum) It's also cool how all of your family is mostly all in Louisville because you don't have to worry about being split into 5 roots.
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Paige Faulkner
10/7/2017 09:12:13 pm
I did research on your last name and discovered it is either of German or Irish origin. It is also considered an uncommon last name. In Germany it is meant to mean mayor or chief, likewise in Ireland it is meant to mean the son of the steward. The steward managed the entire state. In a sense, they have a similar meaning in both nationalities.
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Dong Lee
10/4/2017 08:15:10 pm
When i've asked my mom about the culture of South Korea she told me that there are many differences between Korea and the U.S.A. She first told me that when people go to the resturants and get food, they don't tip the waiter or the waiteress and giving tips is weird. Secondly, she told me about the days like Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) which is the day that rice get harvested so there is plenty to eat so there is much to eat. Another holiday is Lunar New Year, on that day we eat rice-cake soup which is the traditional food in South Korea. There is also Valentines day but in Korea the women give males chocolate. In White day, the males give women candy. In South Korea males over 20 are forced to join the military for training for two years, if they refuse to they go to jail. One interesting fact
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Kailey Moyers
10/6/2017 09:15:59 pm
I think it’s interesting that in South Korea they don’t tip waiters and it’s considered weird. In America, not tipping waiter’s is impolite and viewed poorly. I always find it fascinating seeing how different cultures are around the world, and how certain things are viewed by each culture. I also think it’s cool how the harvesting of rice is celebrated in Korea. Sidenote- I love the sushi your mom makes!
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John Rodriguez
10/4/2017 08:19:58 pm
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Jocelyn Miltz
10/7/2017 02:34:07 pm
It's so cool that you lived in Puerto Rico! One of my best friends from Pennsylvania was adopted from Puerto Rico. The Spanish culture has always fascinated me, and it's really interesting to find out that you were exposed to so many different things at a young age! I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I can most definetely hear a little accent that you haven't quite dropped. I wish I had an accent, but I can barely speak English so let us just not try anything too extravagant haha. But it was very fascinating to see that someone all the way from Puerto Rico moved to Maryland and kept the same family traditions and customs!! :)
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Mikyra Dale
10/7/2017 02:44:06 pm
I like how you have a lot of information about your culture. The way you talk about you being Puerto Rican and the things you like makes me want to know and learn more about where you come from and the things that take place there. I like your facts too I didn't know people could fight chickens or if chickens could fight at all, but it does sound interesting see.
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Brayden Luers
10/4/2017 08:25:11 pm
When I saw this topic I was a little worried because I figured that my family had nothing special in our heritage, I was wrong. I talked to my grandma about our bloodline and history and it turns out my family was very important in Italy. My grandmas uncle was apart of the Italian Mafia and was very high in the ranking. Her dad came over here when he was very young to start a new life in America. On my dads side of the family I found out that I have a lot of German heritage as well. I had no clue that I was German! Now no one in my family was in the German Mafia but I had some pretty cool stories about that too! The one thing that really stood out tho was someone in my family was in the Italian mafia so I did some research on it. The Italian magic was very very very powerful in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. They were so powerful that the government would ask them to go on dangerous missions to take down big criminals. In exchange for this the law enforcement would “look the other way” so the Mafia could continue their scandalous ways. Their was some really interesting stuff that happened and someone in my family was apart of it and I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for my grandma. It was really cool to research and talk about my heritage.
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mikayla somers
10/7/2017 10:33:35 am
THE MAFIA!?! That's so cool !! honestly i would have never expected you to be Italian. Brayden this does not mean you can join the mafia okay? Then to also have ancestors in the German mafia also, that is so cool my dude. Its still a shock that an ancestors of yours was in the mafia.
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Mikyra Dale
10/7/2017 02:57:45 pm
Wow, It's something that you found out about how interesting your family is. You found out stuff that you had no clue about and that you had family that were in a mafia and cool stories about it. It sounds fun about how they went on missions to find "big criminals." Your family sounds very interesting to learn about.
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Octavia Miles
10/7/2017 08:47:59 pm
We actually have someone in our family too, who are and were in the mafia. Samuel Ni'castro, Eddy Ni'castro, and their brother, Sammy and cousin, Harry Ni'castro. They "keep/kept books"at the New Deal club in PA, which is basically going after gamblers who don't pay, and making bets on illegal horse racing, dealing etc. Eddy actually died quite a while ago, before I was born. He had worked in a steel mill prior to being involved with the mafia, and one day, his hand got sliced off. Back then, they didn't have prosthetics, so when it came time to fix his arm, they put a hook on it. So, he couldn't continue working at the mill, had 8 kids, and strong ties overseas. He passed down his "work" through the years and to this day i still stay in contact with Harley. (what we call my great great grandpa, Harry.)
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Sanai Brown
10/7/2017 10:58:52 pm
We always have a connection in class when we talk about Spongebob and now this time I feel the same way because I thought my family was boring abd had nothing special. But when I read a lot of other people's I realized that everyone has their own unique qualities about their families.
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Brendan Wilson
10/4/2017 08:26:06 pm
Not much is known about where my ancestors are from. My grandmother knows a little though. Some of her ancestors are from Ireland and some are from England. She also knows that her ancestors immigrated from Ireland to America. On my grandfathers side there were some french ancestors in the mix. Some where along the line there was also some german. My ancestors were primarily European. We were all over europe.
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Dong Lee
10/4/2017 08:26:23 pm
When I have asked my mom about the culture of South Kore she told me that there are many differences between Korea and the U.S.A. She first told me that when people go to the resturants and get food, they don't tip the waiter or the waiteress and giving tips is weird. Secondly, she said that when people get married, the married couple keeps their last names instead of changing it. She also told me about the holidays like Chuseok. It is the Korean Thanksgiving, this is when we harvest rice so we have enough food for the people. Another day Is the Lunar New Year which is when we celebrate the new years on a different calendar, on that day we eat rice-cake soup. Another holiday is White day which is when the males give females candy and valentines day is when the females give males chocolate. In South Korea males over 20 have to serve in the military for 20 years or they go to jail. In Korean schools, we have to wear uniforms and there are rooms inside campus if they decide to live there. She finally told me that on a persons birthday the family eats Seaweed soup which is a tradition in all families. I have got this information from my mother and a website that has some other cultures and backgrounds about Korea, but not all of the facts they say aren't true, but I have learned a lot from my mother and this website.
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Paul Yang
10/7/2017 05:27:30 pm
I have many similarities and differences with your blog post such as foods and traditions. Although my family doesn’t eat rice- cake soup, but we eat normal rice cakes on the day of Lunar New Year which is celebrating New Years on a different calendar like what you said. In China people who went to school also had to wear certian uniforms, and the schools also had rooms in campus for the students to stay at like in South Korea. I was surprised that males in South Korean had to join the military at the age of 20 and serve for 20 years, or else they’d be sent to jail because I didn’t know that they had to serve for 20 years of their life. I like how South Korea has two days that are like Valentine’s Day, but one day being the males giving the females gifts and the other being the females giving the males gifts. This gives a day for males and a day for females which allows everyone to receive gifts.
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Jadyn Carroll
10/7/2017 09:52:22 pm
I think it’s cool how you compared American life to South Korean life. It’s very interesting how there’s a day for females to give males candy and vice versa. I also think it’s cool how there is a Korean Thanksgiving. I’ve never really heard of any other cultures having a Thanksgiving. I find it most interesting that they don’t change their last names when they get married. I’ve never quite understood why we change names in the first place so I found that interesting.
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Madison Palmer
10/4/2017 08:30:23 pm
My family history is shown through my last name. When I researched further into the meaning of my last name, Palmer, I found some interesting information. Through the listed website, I found that my last name means "palm tree," which is straightforward. However, I also found that my last name originated from Pilgrims. These are people from the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I found this fact very interesting. According to the source, many of the Pilgrims would bring back a palm tree branch as a trophy showing that they had survived the adventure. My last name is Middle English, which surprised me. I learned overall information that I had never known about before.
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Kailey Moyers
10/6/2017 09:24:58 pm
I’ve always been interested in the meaning of names, so your post was quite fascinating to me. I think knowing the history of your name is really cool! You have inspired me to look up the history of my last name because I’m curious now. I would have never guess your last name came from Pilgrims. I might have to start calling you Madison Palm tree. I think it’s also really cool that the Pilgrims would bring back palm trees as a trophy of survival.
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Kayla Thornton
10/7/2017 09:17:03 pm
I found this interesting. I would have never guessed that your last name originated from Pilgrims. I was also surprised to learn that it was Middle English. I found it interesting that the Pilgrims would bring back palm branches as trophies. I had never known that the Pilgrims would do this to show that they had survived the adventures.
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Annie Elburn
10/8/2017 01:31:30 pm
Its very cool that you mainly came from the Pilgrims. I remember that people always used to ask you if you were Irish just because you had red hair. Well, shame on them for getting their facts wrong. We both kind of came from the same place, so that's pretty cool! Everyone can find so much about themselves through their last name!
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Kayla Thornton
10/4/2017 08:31:08 pm
When I learned what we had to write about, I went to my grandparents. I am mostly German, as that is where they are from. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is a national holiday that is celebrated throughout all parts of Germany. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is the Day of German Unity. This was when the Federal and Democratic Republic of Germany came together to form a single republic. My family often gets together and has a big meal to celebrate this holiday on October 3rd of every year. The article taught me more about the celebration and what people would do. People would throw feasts, perform concerts, light fireworks, etc. My grandparents were also telling me a lot about Tag der Deutchen Einheit and about how it was such a big deal that a lot of businesses and stores would be closed. This celebration normally takes place around the Brandenburg Gate, and everyone from all different parts of Germany travels there to celebrate. This day is a big part of my family because it is an important holiday about the triumphs of Germany and how they united to become a whole.
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Kayla Thornton
10/4/2017 08:32:24 pm
When I learned what we had to write about, I went to my grandparents. I am mostly German, as that is where they are from. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is a national holiday that is celebrated throughout all parts of Germany. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is the Day of German Unity. This was when the Federal and Democratic Republic of Germany came together to form a single republic. My family often gets together and has a big meal to celebrate this holiday on October 3rd of every year. The article taught me more about the celebration and what people would do. People would throw feasts, perform concerts, light fireworks, etc. My grandparents were also telling me a lot about Tag der Deutchen Einheit and about how it was such a big deal that a lot of businesses and stores would be closed. This celebration normally takes place around the Brandenburg Gate, and everyone from all different parts of Germany travels there to celebrate. This day is a big part of my family because it is an important holiday about the triumphs of Germany and how they united to become a whole.
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Kayla Thornton
10/4/2017 08:34:50 pm
When I learned what we had to write about, I went to my grandparents. I am mostly German, as that is where they are from. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is a national holiday that is celebrated throughout all parts of Germany. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is the Day of German Unity. This was when the Federal and Democratic Republic of Germany came together to form a single republic. My family often gets together and has a big meal to celebrate this holiday on October 3rd of every year. The article taught me more about the celebration and what people would do. People would throw feasts, perform concerts, light fireworks, etc. My grandparents were also telling me a lot about Tag der Deutchen Einheit and about how it was such a big deal that a lot of businesses and stores would be closed. This celebration normally takes place around the Brandenburg Gate, and everyone from all different parts of Germany travels there to celebrate. This day is a big part of my family because it is an important holiday about the triumphs of Germany and how they united to become a whole.
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Kayla Thornton
10/4/2017 08:36:02 pm
When I learned what we had to write about, I went to my grandparents. I am mostly German, as that is where they are from. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is a national holiday that is celebrated throughout all parts of Germany. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is the Day of German Unity. This was when the Federal and Democratic Republic of Germany came together to form a single republic. My family often gets together and has a big meal to celebrate this holiday on October 3rd of every year. The article taught me more about the celebration and what people would do. People would throw feasts, perform concerts, light fireworks, etc. My grandparents were also telling me a lot about Tag der Deutchen Einheit and about how it was such a big deal that a lot of businesses and stores would be closed. This celebration normally takes place around the Brandenburg Gate, and everyone from all different parts of Germany travels there to celebrate. This day is a big part of my family because it is an important holiday about the triumphs of Germany and how they united to become a whole.
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Kayla Thornton
10/4/2017 08:38:44 pm
When I learned what we had to write about, I went to my grandparents. I am mostly German, as that is where they are from. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is a national holiday that is celebrated throughout all parts of Germany. Tag der Deutchen Einheit is the Day of German Unity. This was when the Federal and Democratic Republic of Germany came together to form a single republic. My family often gets together and has a big meal to celebrate this holiday on October 3rd of every year. The article taught me more about the celebration and what people would do. People would throw feasts, perform concerts, light fireworks, etc. My grandparents were also telling me a lot about Tag der Deutchen Einheit and about how it was such a big deal that a lot of businesses and stores would be closed. This celebration normally takes place around the Brandenburg Gate, and everyone from all different parts of Germany travels there to celebrate. This day is a big part of my family because it is an important holiday about the triumphs of Germany and how they united to become a whole.
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Gavin Wawrzeniak
10/4/2017 08:47:11 pm
I have talked to members of my family recently and I haven’t found very much information. I know a large part of my family is Polish. As a child, my family would make many types of Polish foods. That was our main way of showing where we were from. One meal that I remember having a lot were called Pierogis. (They are a type of dumpling with either potato, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruits in them.) My great aunt, Marsha (The one from my “This I Believe” essay) showed off the fact that her and our family were Polish quite often. Whenever I would visit her, she would make us many of their foods, and would even teach us how to say some words in Polish. Since she passed away in March, we haven’t been keeping up with the traditions that we had before though. The most confusing part to other people of where I am from is my last name. Throughout my entire life, I have never met a person who has been able to pronounce my last name correctly the first time. Everyone I know always says that I have an odd name, and it is very uncommon. To my luck, it is actually very common, just not in Salisbury.
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Gage Sabater
10/6/2017 10:31:04 pm
I had no absolute idea you were Polish, in any sense. But its nice to know that I am surrounded by a variety of ethnicities, especially Polish. I am interested in the pierogis food, it reminds me of something I used to have, I just cant remember the name of it. I agree, your last name is hard to pronounce, but I have a question. Does your last name have a official meaning or last name? I was curious since another comment I have read had s meaning for their last name, so does mine. But overall, your comment was awesome by giving out information that pertained some specific family history that was interesting.
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Aniya Brinson
10/4/2017 08:48:43 pm
So when it came to finding stuff out about my family i really wasnt able to learn that far into my ancestors. But from what i learned from my grandparents is we had native Americans and slaves in our family. Majority of my grandfathers family comes from Virginia and north Carolina. As tradition they have an family reunion every year and this is where we meet family that we've never meet before. But what i find uniquely interesting is that my family has a very religious back ground. I was told that they basically stayed on church every day. I find this important because i think that played a big part on my mom was raised based on what she told me about her childhood. The thing that stands out to me the most is on Martin Luther king jr day my family has a big celebration on this day. But as a family hobby that everyone know how to do is fishing, crabbing, playing baseball and soccer. From listening to what my grandfather said about his family it sound likewe only got to a fraction of everything about them. Listening to my poppop talk about family give me this vibrant idea of fun.
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Brooklyn Jones
10/7/2017 09:54:15 pm
I could make a connection to yours because somewhere down the line in my family we also had Native American Slaves. Not only that but my moms mom side of the family is from Virginia. I liked how this writing don't sound boring and just full of information going on and on. I loved your conclusion.
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Annie Elburn
10/4/2017 08:52:47 pm
I don't really know what type of ethnicity I am. All I really know is that we stick with our East Coast traditions. My father grew up outside of Baltimore pretty much his whole life. So, we usually stick to those traditions: like the love of crabs, Orioles and Ravens. Even though I thought that we were English, my parents said that we are a lot of things. Since we have so many cultures, we don't really celebrate the holidays that people celebrate. I began to search my last name, Elburn, and it the article said that we came from England and Normandy. I wish that I could ask my grandparents what we are from, but I'm pretty sure that they don't know. After looking up my dad's last name, I checked for my mom's last name. The Dearborn's came from a county in England called Surrey and once again, Normandy. Now, I want to learn more about these cultures and get more involved.
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Kilee Taylor
10/6/2017 07:38:05 pm
Annie, my family personally does not know much about my dad’s side of the family other than he was born in the Baltimore area. We also enjoy crabs, and local sports team like the Ravens and the Orioles. I think the Normandy culture is super cool, and I too would personally like to learn about it. My mom and I both thought we were English as well, but by some digging, we found out that we were Irish and I was super intrigued. I hope in the future you can find out as much information about your family as you can! 😊
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Brooklyn Jones
10/7/2017 09:47:12 pm
I liked yours personally because you hit the right bases of the short essay. I think you could of went into more details of the other cultures you said you had. Also you should of asked your grand parents because you never know it could be real interesting and something you would of never thought. It's good that you want to keep learning about your different cultures. I started researching and stuff about my culture and I loved it
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Kilee Taylor
10/4/2017 09:04:04 pm
Both of my great grandparents on my mom’s side were born in 1904 in Pennsylvania. Nobody in my family knows further back than that, and my dad was in and out of foster homes throughout his life, so we don’t really know anything about his. My uncle did a family project a while back and discovered that my family is of Irish descent. The most common physical traits of Irish are fair skin, freckling, medium to dark brown hair, and blue eyes, which I have all of them. The Celtic festival in Furnace Town, Maryland is a tradition of my family’s that we enjoy going to do annually. There is traditional music and dancing that include A LOT of bag pipes, and some clog dancing. Men typically wear kilts if they are in the bag pipe band or are male Irish dancers. One of my favorite holidays is St. Patrick’s Day, which makes a lot of sense because St. Patrick’s Day is the biggest event of the year. A lot of ancient stories and folklore are shared, which is one of my favorite parts. I never really knew that my family was Irish until now, and I think it is super cool because I have always been interested in Irish cultures and traditions.
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Breanna Moir
10/4/2017 09:17:03 pm
I know somewhat about my cultural background. The most I know about would have to be my dads side which is where the surname Moir is from. The surname Moir is Scotish and is set back to when it first appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Scotland. I sadly don't know many people on my dads side simply because most of my family on that side has passed away. From my Fathers side it is common if you inherit the red hair and freckles, but it has gone away with the earliest generation. Me and my youngest sister both were born with red hair and freckles, but it went away by the time we were four. I don't know much about my Moms side because she's German and indian. My pop pop (My Moms Father) has the surname Himmler which appaerenlty originates from Heinrich Himmler, most people should know who he is so I wont go into detail about him. Plus my family doesn't seem to fond of him and what he did. My Nana (My Moms Mother)is Cherokee Indian, but she didn't tell me much about it at all.
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Gage Sabater
10/4/2017 09:33:23 pm
My family heritage, well to start off this topic my mom is Caucasian and my father is Filipino. My father`s parent were born and raised in the Philippines while my mother`s parents were born and raised in America. This topic is relatively hard to talk about since my mother`s parents are either adopted or dead and my fathers side had family issues that separated or totally split the family up. I don't have any traditions that are special in a way that's why I'm now going to explain a complicated story, the best way I can, about why my grandfather (Ben) and grandmother(Zeny) don't talk to their family. Bill has a brother named Willy, Willy used tp steal things from them and beat Zeny (Bad, I know). Than Ben and Zeny moved to America for a better life and a better job, but Willy still needs money. Greedy Willy here then confronts Ben and Zeny because he`s trying to say that the land they left behind in the Philippines is his. Our family doesn't mention Willy, even if were explaining the movie Free Willy because it reminds my grandparents and they both cry. This has obviously left a scar on their life something that I know I cant fix, but something that I could try to help. Another thing about my dads side is that my last name somehow means shoe-maker ( I don't know, just go with it) and its traced back to Spain as explained in https://www.houseofnames.com/sabater-family-crest. This is probably because the Spaniards invaded the Philippines and had fun. I'm sorry for the lack of family info, stuff happens, but this is some info about the Sabater family.
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Kilee Taylor
10/6/2017 07:44:22 pm
I personally think the Filipino people are super cool. My grandmother once went to the Philippines and I know it is amazing there. I think people with parents of two different ethnicities are cool because there’s so much history and background around them. I never knew that your father was Filipino, which is interesting. I honestly find it intriguing that your last name means shoe-maker, I never would have guessed that. Well I hope that one day you will be able to discover more about you heritage and culture
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Gavin Wawrzeniak
10/7/2017 03:44:24 pm
Before I read this, I was expecting you to talk about traditions that you have within your family. I would never have thought that some of your family members had issues with one another. That must be difficult for you sometimes. The one thing that surprised me the most was that you thought that you might be of Spanish descent. I found your post to be very interesting, and unique.
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Sephora Frejuste
10/7/2017 10:17:47 pm
Gage, I feel the same way, My dad's side of the family which lives in Haiti doesn't really communicate with us because of problems that had happened in the past. That is why I had mainly things about Haiti and not my family or the origin of my name, since my name comes from my dad's side of the family. I love when my mom side of the family come down from Florida to visit, it is always full of entertainment and you can see the love through out the atmosphere.
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Jadyn Carroll
10/4/2017 09:56:23 pm
I’m almost entirely Irish, my last name Carroll comes from the O’Carroll clan in Ireland. Something interesting about the Irish culture is their wedding traditions. They have what is called a Claddagh ring(picture in the link). The ring is generally given by a mother or grandmother, and it’s used like a wedding and engagement ring. When the bride isn’t married yet, the tip of the heart faces her fingertips, then when she gets married the tip of the heart is turned to her wrist, signaling her heart is taken. In Irish culture, it’s bad luck for you to be married in May. I found that one interesting because my mom has always said things like, “Oh I hope she isn’t born in May, that month is bad luck.” So I looked it up, and the month of May in general is just bad luck in Irish culture. Riverdance also originated in Ireland, which is a type of dance. I went and saw Riverdance at the Civic Center in June and didn’t realize it was Irish so I think that’s interesting ! But at weddings usually they’ll hire Riverdancers to perform.
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Kayla Thornton
10/7/2017 09:22:34 pm
I found this very interesting. I did not know that you were Irish. I had no idea about any of the traditional wedding things. I found it interesting that when a bride got married, she would turn the ring around to symbolize her marriage. I liked learning about these traditions, so I looked on the websites that you mentioned.
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Annie Elburn
10/8/2017 01:36:33 pm
I remember that when you told me about seeing Riverdance, you really didn't want to go! But, then its cool that you can link seeing this to your ethnicity. With May being a bad month, looks like my sister will be unlucky! It is very cool to have a culture in your life with many different traditions. I don't even know what I am, so it is really cool that you have a lot of traditions!
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Matthew Waggoner
10/4/2017 09:59:53 pm
I actually did a lot of research into this topic a while ago for a project. I know that I'm mostly German, with my Dad's side arriving in Michigan in the late 1800's and my Mom's side is mostly unknown prior to about 1900, and her family settled in Worcester County. The last names on my Mom's side were Heiser and Zueger, and my last name, Waggoner, is the American spelling of Wagner. I don't know much about German traditions or customs, as my family seldom practiced them after the two World Wars, when German culture was stigmatized. Any German traditions in my family died with the older generations. Nowadays, my family only identifies as American. Because of this, I'm going to be writing about a German holiday that was established fairly recently, German Unity Day, or "Tag der Deutschen Einheit" in German. This is celebrated every year on October 3rd in commemoration of the reunification of Germany on October 3rd 1990. After World War 2, Germany was divided into two countries, East and West Germany. Germany was divided this way for 45 years (1945-1990). The western government was democratic and the eastern government was communist. The two countries finally reunited when the eastern government began to collapse and communism ended in Europe. To this day East and West Germans still have noticeable differences, such as dialect, political views, and religion. The holiday is celebrated with a festival in Berlin around the Brandenburg gate, the former site of the Berlin Wall. An additional major celebration is held in a different city every year. German Unity Day can be compared to Independence Day in America, and the celebrations are as big, or if not bigger than in America.
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Carli Jett
10/6/2017 06:23:22 pm
I think that it is interesting how your mother's side of the family was unknown until 1900. That is an important fact to know, I think. With the German Unity Day holiday, there is actually something like that in Canada. The holiday in Canada is called Canada Day which is on July 1st. My last name means free, so that makes yours way cooler than mine, in my opinion. Finally, with the traditions thing, my family is the same way. I don't really have any traditions that were passed down generation to generation.
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Rebecca Dartilus
10/4/2017 10:01:47 pm
I don't have any Grandparents to ask about were my name came from and my perants don't know cause tbh they could careless. What I do know is that the last name Datilus is from France. you ask how did she spell her own last name wrong. Well my last name was Datilus until when they accidentally added a "R" to my dads last name when he was born. So my family is the first D-A-R-T-I-L-U-S. That is why I am not able to find any resources on my last name. I tried to look up the last name D-A-T-I-L-U-S unfortunately I was not able to find anything on that unless I paid Ancestry.com. I do know who brought this last name to Haiti though. It don't know let his name but it is my father's grandfather on his mother's side who came form France and got married and that last name got passed down.I tried to look up were my mother's last name came from but did not find it so I asked her she said it came form Canada. We I guess I am Haitian, French, and Canadian.My mother's last name is Gervais.Fun fact there is a famous person with that last name I tried to look that up but got 0 results. The origin of my last name is Haiti and the first person to obtain that last name is my father, Jean Moïse Dartilus. My Mother's maiden name is Gervais and it came form Canada.
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Paige Faulkner
10/7/2017 09:17:59 pm
I am rather surprised that your is part Candian. I would have never guessed. When I googled the last name Datilus i found that it is a common last name in Canada, Haiti, and France. Other than that, there is not much that is said about the last name. I am rather surprised also, that Dartilus is a typo.
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Dong Lee
10/7/2017 09:48:28 pm
That is interesting to know about your family! It is intriguing to know that your last name was accidentally spelled wrong. It's fascinating to know that your family is a bit Canadian, French and Hatian! It is great that you have learned a bit of your family's origin! I hope you have a better luck on finding more about your family!
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Paige Faulker
10/4/2017 10:13:11 pm
My family is of European decent. My families’ DNA contains Scottish, Irish, and a miniscule amount of African DNA. Nonetheless, the largest portion of our DNA is Scandinavian. The Scandinavians raided European settlements before settling in the British Isles. After settling in the Isles, the Norse married the English and had children. When the opportunity arose to sail to the Eastern Shore, two of my ancestors, John and Elizabeth Faulkner, their three sons, and their two servants sailed across the ocean. Our last name, Faulkner, originated from the surname Falconer. Falconer is derived from the occupational name for a trainer of falcons and is primarily Scottish. My grandfather's research also suggest, my paternal grandmother is one of the descendants to the original founders of Maryland. We are related to the American author William Faulkner. However, in short, our ancestral background has not greatly impacted my families customs, traditions, or culture.
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Carli Jett
10/6/2017 05:05:52 pm
My ancestral background wasn't affected by traditions or culture either. I think that it is cool that your last name means the trainer of falcons. Maybe you should get falcon- or a cat named falcon- and train it. I know that's not that funny, but I do think it's cool. I also think that possibly being related to a founder of MD is cool because you can say that your ancestor created the place we stand today. Finally, your relative William Faulkner was in my book. Do you remember in Ms. Clagett's class during D.E.A.R. time and I pointed it out to you? I was joking about him being your relative, but turns out he actually is. How ironic is that?
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ZJ Cutrara
10/6/2017 07:27:10 pm
My mom is also part Scandinavian, (I honestly have no idea what Scandinavian is.) Also I think it's pretty cool that you traced your last name to one of the founders of America. That's the one thing that always happens to almost everyone though is that you can never quite figure out what you real DNA traces back to. Maybe if you were to take a DNA test you'll be able to pin point exactly where you come from. I've always wondered whom exactly my ancestors are honestly I don't think i'd ever know.
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Rebecca Dartilus
10/7/2017 07:32:26 pm
Its funny how we are part of a culture that we would not expect to be. I am very shocked to realize that you are African. I had a feeling that you were European but never African. The reason that I thought you were European was because your last name sounded like someone off of a Harry Potter book. This is why every time I said you name I said it in an English accent. There are many things I learned about people I would have never thought would be par of their heritage. Sometimes there are many things in life that suppresses us. When I found out that I was part Canadian I could not believe it because I do not act like a Canadian, but I guess it is not about how you look it is about who your family is.
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Aniya Brinson
10/7/2017 10:06:27 pm
I like thats you had a little but alot of detail in a short way. A person could learn in the little bit of information you gave. Reading what you put make me wanted ro know more. I found a couple of things interesting about your family. But what exactly is Scandinavian. It's cool to how far you can trace your descendant's.
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Paige Faulkner
10/4/2017 10:16:18 pm
I am sorry, I neglected to include a website with my response: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/cultures-europe-russia-27444.html
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10/4/2017 10:32:47 pm
When given the assignment I had to make a tough decision of which side of my family I wanted to research, and I finally agreed on my mom’s side of the family. Since most of my great grandparents are deceased I had to ask my mother about my ethic history, while talking to her I found out many things like my maternal great grandmother Ozzie Jenkins was the eighth child of thirteen children born on March 5, 1913 in Georgia. My great grandmother’s first five siblings are a product of her mother being molested by what they would have called the “master” during the slavery period. Ozzie grew up on a cotton farm plantation, she started picking cotton at a young age. At the age of 12 her older sister Arie took her and one of her younger brothers and fled north and ended up in New Jersey. Ozzie never went to school until she arrived in New Jersey. She never finished school but at the age of 16 she moved to New York where she found a job working in a steel manufacturing plant for several years. At the age of 34 she met my great grandfather Charles Hester. They were married 2 years later, this was my great grandfather’s second marriage. At 39 Ozzie had had her only child, my grandmother, Stephanie Hester who was born on March 2, 1952. My mom mom Stephanie was raised in a southern way but in a big city, she was always taught to always stick close to family. By time I was born my great grandparents had passed away. And to keep the whole family in touch as a tradition we have my grandmother’s family and her 2-half-sister’s family come together once a year in the summer and have a big cook out in Philadelphia. Which can also be referred to as a family reunion. At this family reunion everybody brings food, games, and their unconditional love for the whole family even when we have our differences, disagreements and arguments. But if we didn’t argue as a family we would never know how strong our bond is as a family to put aside our disagreements and come together just for a day filled with love and fun.
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Brooklyn Jones
10/4/2017 10:43:37 pm
Most people don't understand what I am and when I explain to people they don't believe me because of my skin color. I am mixed with black and Puerto Rican. My mom was born in New York but her dad is Puerto Rican which makes her half Rican and black. I think it was the best choice to talk to my mom for some information about my culture. I already knew a lot about about it like the traditions, food, and music. I didn't really know about the history. I'v never been to Puerto Rico but my mom used to go down there all the time to go spend the summer with our grandmom Luci and uncle steve. While she was down there grandmom would cook for her all the time. Usually she would make my moms favorite, "Arroz con pollo" that means chicken and rice in Spanish. Some other foods are Asopao, Mofongo, Pernil, and my absolute favorite is Plantains.My mom says "its hard to cook with grandmom because her English is like our Spanish." While she cooks she listens to Daddy Yankee, he is a Puerto Rican raper. He is actually in Puerto Rico now giving food to those that are stuck there from hurricane Maria. Other than that I found something really interesting in my family name. My mom last name is Kroon as well as every single ancestor in my family. Kroon means loyalty and wealth. Not only that but I just found out that I'm mixed with dutch. The last name Kroon is also known for dutch money. If you type Kroon into google a crown will come up and if you type "Kroon money" you will see it. That is one of the traditions that we have in the family the other one is a quinceanera. Its just like a sweet 16 only your turning 15. That's basically some things about my culture. In conclusion don't judge a book by its cover. Many people have many and different races they are mixed with. You never really for shure know what you are.
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Octavia Miles
10/7/2017 05:35:46 pm
Same! I can relate to that feeling when you try to tell someone that your'e one thing, when you look the opposite. Like, when people ask me what i am or where i'm from, i tell them i'm mostly italian, native american, caucasian, and a little african. Then they're all like, "Well you could've just said african-american." Which is annoying because my mom is caucasian, and my dad is quite light skinned. And when i was born to like the first 2 or 3 years, the hospital though they had the wrong baby because i had really pale skin and light brown hair. It's so noticeable that you can literally look at my baby pictures and watch as time went on my skin gradually got darker. I also love to see people's reaction when they see me and my mom side by side, because we look like we could be sisters.
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