Celebrating Family History Month

I know, I know -- I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but the rest of us would like to also hear from YOU!

Here's another article, I'd like to share with you:

Five Tips For Celebrating Family History Month

•    Michael Leclerc's Genealogy News

•    Research Tips

01 Oct 2013

This is the favorite time of year for genealogists. October is Family History Month. It is a time dedicated to remembering our ancestors and celebrating them. Here are a few ideas for ways you can commemorate your own family history.

1. Write Up Some Family Stories

Time to take your research and start writing it up. Look at one of your ancestral families and start writing up the research you have conducted on them. One of the reasons we do genealogical research is to preserve their memories, but all too often we get tied up in the thrill of the chase, and never share what we find. Put together a biographical sketch of the family and post it on your blog, email it to family members, or print it out and mail it to them through the postal service.

2. Tell the Story Behind a Family Photograph

We all have piles of family photographs with no identification on them. Take some time this month to go through some of your pictures and label them. And don’t just put the names of the people in the picture. Tell the story behind it. Was it taken at a wedding? At a birthday party? A family vacation or outing? Were you doing something special at the time? Knowing those stories is just as important as knowing who is in the pictures.

3. Have a Family Get-together to Share Stories

You don’t have to have a huge, fancy party. But invite some of the aunts, uncles, and cousins to come over. It is still warm enough in many areas to have a barbecue. Have some time during the get-together to share some family stories. They can be stories of the past generations, or stories of the current ones.  And set your digital recorder to capture the stories, so you can share them with others who can’t attend.

4. Visit Cemeteries

Generations past used to visit the cemetery all the time. They would go and tend the graves. The entire community would sometimes be there. It was a festive occasion to honor family members who have passed. Nowadays we seem to be too rushed to take the time to visit. As genealogists, we may be the only ones there. But it is still important. Go and visit. Make sure the stones are still in their proper places and need no extra attention. Do some weeding. And bring the younger generation so you can not only share the experience, but share their stories.

5. Compose Part of Your Own Story

The time has come to tell your story. If you don’t tell it, who will? You are the only one who knows what you think, what you feel, how you experienced things. What do you want future generations to know about you? Sit down and start writing your life. You don’t have to write an entire novel in a month. Focus on a particular event or two in your life. Put down your memories. You don’t even have to share them right away, but knowing that you have got some of them written down ensures that someone should see them someday.