Tall Tales & Rabbit Trails
If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance!
~ George Bernard Shaw
~ George Bernard Shaw
Below are a collection of stories of my own family history. I will build upon this page from time to time. Everything is research I have done for myself in building my own family tree. You might find the stories interesting and maybe you'll find one that you can relate to or is similar to your own family history. Here is just a small example of the stories I've uncovered in my own past.
Oak Trees...
April 3, 2022
In late summer and early fall, walking across the gravel to the barn on the farm where I grew up are thousands upon thousands of acorns, many crushed under truck and tractor tires driving across the yard. Looking out across the farm, it is sheltered by acres of bush, full of oak trees. The trees have sheltered this homestead from the harsh north and westerly winter winds for the past 100 years and will continue to for the next, as long as those living there allow the trees to continue to grow.
Oak trees are known for their strong roots, durability and longevity; they are often the symbol of the wise and steadfast in character. My ancestors believed in the oak trees.
When I was considering a name for my genealogy business, my goal was to choose something reflective of my own ancestral past and something that had significance to my family. Rural for where I grew up and for where a large number of my ancestors grew up; down dirt roads. Many of my ancestors were farmers and though rural residents only make up a portion of the world’s population, it is where many of my roots lie. I chose the oak tree for my logo because of the significance of the tree to my ancestors and for the hundreds of oak trees still flourishing on the Wiebe homestead. Rural Roots Genealogy – beneath a great oak tree – at your service!
Why is the oak tree so significant to my Mennonite forefathers?
In the middle of the Chortitza region near Zaporizhia, Ukraine, stands a 1000 year old oak tree. The Chortitza oak tree is now dying, but what’s left of it remains due to the significance of the tree to the Ukrainian people and their Cossack history. But for the Mennonites of Chortitza, the tree provided a welcoming place for shelter and to gather after emigrating to the area in the late 18th century. It was here in Ukraine that the Czarina of Russia, Catherine the Great, promised the Mennonites freedom of religion and education as well as military exemption. Eventually those freedoms would be threatened and the Mennonites had to choose between living near their beloved oak tree and a better future in Canada.
My ancestors chose Canada. My Mennonite forefathers came to Manitoba from the Bergtal and Chortitza Mennonite Colonies in Russia, now Ukraine, in the 1800’s. They settled in southern Manitoba in the Altona, Winkler and Burwalde districts of Manitoba and my great grandfather, Peter P. Wiebe, homesteaded the family farm in Burwalde, surrounded by oak trees. To my great grandfather, the presence of oak trees was a sign that the soil would be heavy fertile loam and would not blow away as dust with the wind like other areas of land broken up for farming. My great grandfather loved trees and disliked the idea of cutting any of them down, especially an oak. My great grandfather Peter P. and his new wife, Margaretha Thiessen, moved to the farm in December of 1918 by horse and wagon, traveling from Altona to Burwalde, which was quite the trip at the time at 30 miles. For nearly 50 years they farmed the land and raised their family. In 1963, my Grandpa and Grandma, Frank Wiebe and Anne Loewen, moved into the farmhouse and took over and following them, my Dad, Rick Wiebe. Through the last 100 years, many of the oak trees remain even as the farm has been passed down through the generations. My, what times those trees have seen! If only they could talk! I could sit for hours upon hours to hear their stories. But like our ancestors, they are only here for a time.
Even the Mighty Great Oak Tree of Chortitza could not last forever. What remains are the twisted boughs and branches, leafless and gray. Over the years, tourists saved acorns from the tree and brought them back to North America. One descendent of the mighty oak is growing in the Bethel Heritage Park in Winkler, Manitoba. This tree will carry on the memory of the Mighty Great Oak in Ukraine and hopefully will also see 1000 years. Like this tree, as a descendent of my ancestors, I hope to carry on their memory through genealogy research and preservation of the names and stories to go with them which I will pass on to my son and maybe one day, grandchildren.
I don’t know how long the remains of the Chortitza Oak will be preserved in Ukraine. Though it is certainly not what’s important to save in the grand scheme of things, I hope the tree survives the current war the country is facing. Chances are it won’t. But if it does, one day I would like to see it for myself. To stand where my ancestors stood, looking up at the dead and gray branches, imagining the vast and flourishing oak leaves, dotted with bunches of acorns. To picture them gathering to spitziere in the afternoon heat, sheltered from the rays of the sun by the branches of the tree. To think of all that the oak trees of the Wiebe homestead in Burwalde have seen over the last 100 years, it is incredible to think of all that the Mighty Great Oak of Chortitza has seen over the past 1000 years.
Oak trees are known for their strong roots, durability and longevity; they are often the symbol of the wise and steadfast in character. My ancestors believed in the oak trees.
When I was considering a name for my genealogy business, my goal was to choose something reflective of my own ancestral past and something that had significance to my family. Rural for where I grew up and for where a large number of my ancestors grew up; down dirt roads. Many of my ancestors were farmers and though rural residents only make up a portion of the world’s population, it is where many of my roots lie. I chose the oak tree for my logo because of the significance of the tree to my ancestors and for the hundreds of oak trees still flourishing on the Wiebe homestead. Rural Roots Genealogy – beneath a great oak tree – at your service!
Why is the oak tree so significant to my Mennonite forefathers?
In the middle of the Chortitza region near Zaporizhia, Ukraine, stands a 1000 year old oak tree. The Chortitza oak tree is now dying, but what’s left of it remains due to the significance of the tree to the Ukrainian people and their Cossack history. But for the Mennonites of Chortitza, the tree provided a welcoming place for shelter and to gather after emigrating to the area in the late 18th century. It was here in Ukraine that the Czarina of Russia, Catherine the Great, promised the Mennonites freedom of religion and education as well as military exemption. Eventually those freedoms would be threatened and the Mennonites had to choose between living near their beloved oak tree and a better future in Canada.
My ancestors chose Canada. My Mennonite forefathers came to Manitoba from the Bergtal and Chortitza Mennonite Colonies in Russia, now Ukraine, in the 1800’s. They settled in southern Manitoba in the Altona, Winkler and Burwalde districts of Manitoba and my great grandfather, Peter P. Wiebe, homesteaded the family farm in Burwalde, surrounded by oak trees. To my great grandfather, the presence of oak trees was a sign that the soil would be heavy fertile loam and would not blow away as dust with the wind like other areas of land broken up for farming. My great grandfather loved trees and disliked the idea of cutting any of them down, especially an oak. My great grandfather Peter P. and his new wife, Margaretha Thiessen, moved to the farm in December of 1918 by horse and wagon, traveling from Altona to Burwalde, which was quite the trip at the time at 30 miles. For nearly 50 years they farmed the land and raised their family. In 1963, my Grandpa and Grandma, Frank Wiebe and Anne Loewen, moved into the farmhouse and took over and following them, my Dad, Rick Wiebe. Through the last 100 years, many of the oak trees remain even as the farm has been passed down through the generations. My, what times those trees have seen! If only they could talk! I could sit for hours upon hours to hear their stories. But like our ancestors, they are only here for a time.
Even the Mighty Great Oak Tree of Chortitza could not last forever. What remains are the twisted boughs and branches, leafless and gray. Over the years, tourists saved acorns from the tree and brought them back to North America. One descendent of the mighty oak is growing in the Bethel Heritage Park in Winkler, Manitoba. This tree will carry on the memory of the Mighty Great Oak in Ukraine and hopefully will also see 1000 years. Like this tree, as a descendent of my ancestors, I hope to carry on their memory through genealogy research and preservation of the names and stories to go with them which I will pass on to my son and maybe one day, grandchildren.
I don’t know how long the remains of the Chortitza Oak will be preserved in Ukraine. Though it is certainly not what’s important to save in the grand scheme of things, I hope the tree survives the current war the country is facing. Chances are it won’t. But if it does, one day I would like to see it for myself. To stand where my ancestors stood, looking up at the dead and gray branches, imagining the vast and flourishing oak leaves, dotted with bunches of acorns. To picture them gathering to spitziere in the afternoon heat, sheltered from the rays of the sun by the branches of the tree. To think of all that the oak trees of the Wiebe homestead in Burwalde have seen over the last 100 years, it is incredible to think of all that the Mighty Great Oak of Chortitza has seen over the past 1000 years.
Researching Mennonite heritage can be a daunting task. It’s not an easy ancestral past to uncover. Many historical documents are unavailable due to the migrations of the Mennonites in Europe, many documents lost or not even made. There are many people who have dedicated their lives to preserving the history and developing genealogy records for these Mennonite ancestors. I have experience in researching Mennonite history from uncovering my own family history. Do you have Mennonite roots? I’d love to help you discover them! Ask me how I can help!
You just never know... Dusty van der Steen UEL??
April 29, 2022
You’ve heard it said that when you begin your family research project, you just never know what you might find. You might not find anything all that interesting... a lot of us just have regular old families who lived regular old lives. But the deeper you dig, the more likely you are to find something from way out in left field! Here’s one those fly balls for me.
I began researching my mom’s side of the family many years ago with the names of my grandparents and my great grandparents and that was it. I had no idea that tackling the maternal line of my grandmother would take me back to a man named Johan Adam Papst. Sounds like the beer, right? Well... turns out he was an American in New York when tensions began increasing and before you know it, was forced to pick sides. He picked the Crown. Johan Adam Papst was a United Empire Loyalist and fought with Butler’s Rangers during the American Revolution.
Whaaa?? How is this even??
That was my exact thought when I stumbled upon a genealogy listing for the children of Daniel Frederick Papst in an Adams Family Bible. I had been searching for my great grandmother’s mother’s paternal ancestry for quite some time and it had led me to a Peter Papst. Here lies the trouble. Other than a family Bible, there are no actual documents to prove Peter’s connection to his father, Daniel Frederick (like a birth or baptismal certificate) and therefore no proof he is Johan Adam’s grandson. I started connecting with the United Empire Loyalist groups on social media and tracked down other folks with the same heritage, trying to prove the connection and so far, it hasn’t been done. One of those genealogical registers did, however, trace all the descendants right to my great grandmother’s parents, Sylvanus Rodgers and Martha Papps! Score! Though there are some muddy waters around my 4th great grandfather, Peter, it is most likely that he is Daniel Frederick’s son and therefore, Johan Adam’s grandson and I am the 6th great grandchild of a United Empire Loyalist! How cool is that!?
A little more on the man... Johan Adam Papst. He was born in 1732 in Westphalia, Germany. After crossing the ocean to America, he married Eva Marie Hamm in 1753 in Philadelphia, later moving to the Helleberghe region in New York (today, the town of Guilderland). There they raised 9 children. The outbreak of the American Revolution would change the course of his life, forever. The uprising was a difficult time and the community was believed to be a hotbed for Loyalists. It is unknown what role Adam Papst played in the uprising in Helleburgh in 1776 but in 1777, Adam joined the Butler’s Rangers; an elite unit of skilled, knowledgeable men who were “well acquainted with the woods”. He would go on to participate in raiding parties with the Native Americans who supported the British and many other events during the Revolution. He and his son Rudolph were both captured as prisoners in 1778 and were jailed for 10 days, then released on a recognizance of $100 in pounds of sterling. (That's 17,461.95 pounds, or $28,220.99 Canadian dollars today!) Was he one of the most noted or famous participants of the Revolution? No, not nearly. But he participated, nonetheless.
Like many other Loyalists, for his service, Adam Papst was awarded land in the eastern part of Upper Canada in Osnabruck Township, which is where he spent his remaining years. He died at 75 years of age in 1807.
There is a lot more to Johan Adam Papst’s story and that of his descendants but there’s only so much room in my short (ish) story. I have hoped to be able to connect Peter to Daniel Frederick so that I may apply for my UEL certificate but so far I have been unsuccessful. My Ancestry DNA test links me to Adam Papst through multiple matches and based on the information I have found, I am quite confident I am.
As a Canadian high school student learning about the American Revolution in my American History class back in the day, I had absolutely no idea that I was a descendent of a real participant of that conflict. It’s actually quite incredible!
Do you have ancestors who lived in southern Ontario? You just might be connected too!
Here’s how the branch extends...
I began researching my mom’s side of the family many years ago with the names of my grandparents and my great grandparents and that was it. I had no idea that tackling the maternal line of my grandmother would take me back to a man named Johan Adam Papst. Sounds like the beer, right? Well... turns out he was an American in New York when tensions began increasing and before you know it, was forced to pick sides. He picked the Crown. Johan Adam Papst was a United Empire Loyalist and fought with Butler’s Rangers during the American Revolution.
Whaaa?? How is this even??
That was my exact thought when I stumbled upon a genealogy listing for the children of Daniel Frederick Papst in an Adams Family Bible. I had been searching for my great grandmother’s mother’s paternal ancestry for quite some time and it had led me to a Peter Papst. Here lies the trouble. Other than a family Bible, there are no actual documents to prove Peter’s connection to his father, Daniel Frederick (like a birth or baptismal certificate) and therefore no proof he is Johan Adam’s grandson. I started connecting with the United Empire Loyalist groups on social media and tracked down other folks with the same heritage, trying to prove the connection and so far, it hasn’t been done. One of those genealogical registers did, however, trace all the descendants right to my great grandmother’s parents, Sylvanus Rodgers and Martha Papps! Score! Though there are some muddy waters around my 4th great grandfather, Peter, it is most likely that he is Daniel Frederick’s son and therefore, Johan Adam’s grandson and I am the 6th great grandchild of a United Empire Loyalist! How cool is that!?
A little more on the man... Johan Adam Papst. He was born in 1732 in Westphalia, Germany. After crossing the ocean to America, he married Eva Marie Hamm in 1753 in Philadelphia, later moving to the Helleberghe region in New York (today, the town of Guilderland). There they raised 9 children. The outbreak of the American Revolution would change the course of his life, forever. The uprising was a difficult time and the community was believed to be a hotbed for Loyalists. It is unknown what role Adam Papst played in the uprising in Helleburgh in 1776 but in 1777, Adam joined the Butler’s Rangers; an elite unit of skilled, knowledgeable men who were “well acquainted with the woods”. He would go on to participate in raiding parties with the Native Americans who supported the British and many other events during the Revolution. He and his son Rudolph were both captured as prisoners in 1778 and were jailed for 10 days, then released on a recognizance of $100 in pounds of sterling. (That's 17,461.95 pounds, or $28,220.99 Canadian dollars today!) Was he one of the most noted or famous participants of the Revolution? No, not nearly. But he participated, nonetheless.
Like many other Loyalists, for his service, Adam Papst was awarded land in the eastern part of Upper Canada in Osnabruck Township, which is where he spent his remaining years. He died at 75 years of age in 1807.
There is a lot more to Johan Adam Papst’s story and that of his descendants but there’s only so much room in my short (ish) story. I have hoped to be able to connect Peter to Daniel Frederick so that I may apply for my UEL certificate but so far I have been unsuccessful. My Ancestry DNA test links me to Adam Papst through multiple matches and based on the information I have found, I am quite confident I am.
As a Canadian high school student learning about the American Revolution in my American History class back in the day, I had absolutely no idea that I was a descendent of a real participant of that conflict. It’s actually quite incredible!
Do you have ancestors who lived in southern Ontario? You just might be connected too!
Here’s how the branch extends...
Johan Adam Papst
1732-1807
6th great grandfather
↓
Daniel Frederick Papst
1768-1849
5th great grandfather
↓
Peter Papst
1802-1871
4th great grandfather
↓
James Papst
1846-1914
3rd great grandfather
↓
Martha Papps
1873-1900
2nd great grandmother
↓
Minnie Mabel Rodgers
1897 - 1996
great grandmother
↓
Muriel Irene Izzard
1922-2003
grandmother
↓
Wendy Louise Wagner
mother
↓
ME!
1732-1807
6th great grandfather
↓
Daniel Frederick Papst
1768-1849
5th great grandfather
↓
Peter Papst
1802-1871
4th great grandfather
↓
James Papst
1846-1914
3rd great grandfather
↓
Martha Papps
1873-1900
2nd great grandmother
↓
Minnie Mabel Rodgers
1897 - 1996
great grandmother
↓
Muriel Irene Izzard
1922-2003
grandmother
↓
Wendy Louise Wagner
mother
↓
ME!
There is an exciting group of UEL and Revolutionary War groups out there who love celebrating their heritage! Annual celebrations, reenactments, group research, historical communities and more! It's a really fun area to research! Do you have ancestors who lived in southern Ontario or nearby US states in the 1700's? I’d love to help you discover them! Ask me how I can help!
Christmas Traditions
December 12, 2022
The holiday season always brings back memories. For some of us, they’re warm and joyous; memories of childhood Christmases of wonder and excitement. For others, they’re memories of sadness and disappointment. And for those, I am truly sorry you didn’t get to experience the wonderous Christmases you should have.
As a child, the Christmas season was always an exciting time for me. The building anticipation of Christmas morning and a tree held up by mountains of presents. My Mom always made sure that we had lots of presents. Even if times were tough, there were always presents under the tree. Sometimes that meant wrapping each and every item individually so even though it was maybe less that year, it looked like more. Even our pets gave us presents!
Even though the presents were a big part of my holiday season memories, if I’m being honest, I can’t really remember any specific gift I’d received. The only one that stands out is the leather driving harness I received from my Dad when I was about 15 years old. It was the only thing I’d wanted that year and though money was really tight, Dad made it happen. I’ll never forget opening that brown, unwrapped box and finding a brand new, freshly oiled black leather driving harness. Beyond that, I’m sure I got nearly all the toys, puzzles and games I’d asked for but I don’t recall anything specific.
Maybe that’s because my fondest memories are the traditions. The things we did each and every Christmas that truly made the holiday season special.
I always loved Christmas Eve at church. Growing up, the Christmas Eve concert was an absolute highlight. The Christmas story was acted out for all the congregation. In the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, practices were held. I remember being a sheep, an angel with silver tinsel for a halo and a shepherd with a brown tea towel head covering over the years and the culmination of our practicing the Christmas story played out on the Eve of Jesus’ birth. All dressed up in my Christmas dress, white tights and winter boots and snowsuit, I’d stomp into the church foyer, ready to sing my little heart out. Go Tell it on the Mountain was and still is my favourite Christmas carol. I’m sure I felt like I needed to sing it louder than all the other children. The service wrapped up with a light lunch in the basement of the church and all of us kids got brown paper bags with candy and chocolate, peanuts and mandarin oranges! All churches have a scent and to this day I can still smell that old Lutheran church basement.
Another one of my fondest traditions were the years that we gave sleigh rides on our family ranch. James and Dean were the sweetest Belgian geldings and they put on many miles pulling a sleigh of happy guests. Each winter, groups of families, friends and coworkers would come out for a sleigh ride through the woods on ranch. It was a blast being able to take part in all those rides while others made their own Christmas memories. Some nights were colder than cold and I remember the icicles that would dangle from my Dad’s frosty moustache.
The countdown to Christmas was filled with anticipation and preparation. Christmas mornings were spent tearing through the gift wrap on all our presents under the tree. We’d go from one gift to the next and then on to our stockings until all of it covered the living room floor. Then we’d tear across the yard to my Grandparent’s house. As a child it was agonizing waiting until after lunch to open our presents there. But that was Grandma’s rule! Grandma always felt that we needed to have our own Christmas morning just us and she maintained that belief all her life, even after we were all grown and gone. She always put herself second.
It was special having my Grandparents living across the yard my whole life. It was my second home and I have so many special memories in that old house with two of the most loving and caring Grandparents any child could ask for. I was reminded this holiday season of one of my most favourite traditions from my childhood as I began to decorate our Christmas tree with my almost 2 year old son. I have put away most of my ornaments for the foreseeable Christmas’ future, until my little tyke isn’t so little anymore and purchased shatterproof ornaments for the tree for now. As I was going through a box of odds and ends ornaments, I came across a little peanut mouse in a little walnut shell, tucked in cozy warm. I held it and reminisced of the years long ago when my Grandma would take the time to do a special winter craft with me. Making Christmas decorations. Of course, there wasn’t the money for elaborate crafts and special pieces. These crafts were made of the things that others might’ve thrown away. Bits of fabric too small for other projects. Walnut shells after they’d been cracked open and the contents eaten out of them. Pieces of string, dried fruits and other odds and ends that could be glued together and create a little holiday fun. This little mouse in its walnut shell bed had long lost it’s ears. The eyes, nose and mouth drawn in my childhood hand are wearing away and the little piece of fabric for its blanket has faded over the years. But it’s a reminder of a wonderful piece of my childhood and the appreciation for my Grandma taking the time to invest in me with something as simple as handmade Christmas tree decoration sticks with me.
These childhood traditions may no longer be in our family holiday repertoire anymore; my Dad and Grandparents have all gone on home to heaven. But they do bring back fond memories of Christmases past and have also inspired us to create new traditions.
I send out a Christmas card to all our family and close friends each holiday season. I enjoy making a custom card online with family pictures we take each fall and then hand address each and every one. We replaced our artificial tree with a live tree a few years ago and began a tradition of displaying a real tree which we put up as a family the first weekend of December. I began collecting Polish glass ornaments after our visit to Poland in 2018 where I purchased my first one in a market in Old Town, Krakow. They are absolutely beautiful and I love adorning my tree with such delicate and intricately designed baubles. Whenever I see them in store during the holidays, I have to collect just a few more. They go perfectly well with the antique glass ornaments that my Grandma adorned her tree with many years ago. We celebrate Sinterklaas with our son. With my husband’s home being the Netherlands, it’s a family tradition close to his heart and it’s fun for us to bring that over the ocean here in Canada. And lastly; I display a ceramic Nativity set that my Mom painted for my Grandma many years ago. My Grandma displayed it on the top of the television cabinet each and every Christmas. Now it adorns my living room each Christmas.
As you’ve read, we have a few traditions we’ve started as a family. Do you have any holiday traditions? Were they passed down or did you start them with your own family? It’s a great way to keep the memory of your ancestors close to your heart through the holiday season and create new ones to pass on to your children and grandchildren.
I think once my little man is a little older, I’ll teach him about his Great Grandma and make little sleepy mice to hang on our tree in the future.
As a child, the Christmas season was always an exciting time for me. The building anticipation of Christmas morning and a tree held up by mountains of presents. My Mom always made sure that we had lots of presents. Even if times were tough, there were always presents under the tree. Sometimes that meant wrapping each and every item individually so even though it was maybe less that year, it looked like more. Even our pets gave us presents!
Even though the presents were a big part of my holiday season memories, if I’m being honest, I can’t really remember any specific gift I’d received. The only one that stands out is the leather driving harness I received from my Dad when I was about 15 years old. It was the only thing I’d wanted that year and though money was really tight, Dad made it happen. I’ll never forget opening that brown, unwrapped box and finding a brand new, freshly oiled black leather driving harness. Beyond that, I’m sure I got nearly all the toys, puzzles and games I’d asked for but I don’t recall anything specific.
Maybe that’s because my fondest memories are the traditions. The things we did each and every Christmas that truly made the holiday season special.
I always loved Christmas Eve at church. Growing up, the Christmas Eve concert was an absolute highlight. The Christmas story was acted out for all the congregation. In the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, practices were held. I remember being a sheep, an angel with silver tinsel for a halo and a shepherd with a brown tea towel head covering over the years and the culmination of our practicing the Christmas story played out on the Eve of Jesus’ birth. All dressed up in my Christmas dress, white tights and winter boots and snowsuit, I’d stomp into the church foyer, ready to sing my little heart out. Go Tell it on the Mountain was and still is my favourite Christmas carol. I’m sure I felt like I needed to sing it louder than all the other children. The service wrapped up with a light lunch in the basement of the church and all of us kids got brown paper bags with candy and chocolate, peanuts and mandarin oranges! All churches have a scent and to this day I can still smell that old Lutheran church basement.
Another one of my fondest traditions were the years that we gave sleigh rides on our family ranch. James and Dean were the sweetest Belgian geldings and they put on many miles pulling a sleigh of happy guests. Each winter, groups of families, friends and coworkers would come out for a sleigh ride through the woods on ranch. It was a blast being able to take part in all those rides while others made their own Christmas memories. Some nights were colder than cold and I remember the icicles that would dangle from my Dad’s frosty moustache.
The countdown to Christmas was filled with anticipation and preparation. Christmas mornings were spent tearing through the gift wrap on all our presents under the tree. We’d go from one gift to the next and then on to our stockings until all of it covered the living room floor. Then we’d tear across the yard to my Grandparent’s house. As a child it was agonizing waiting until after lunch to open our presents there. But that was Grandma’s rule! Grandma always felt that we needed to have our own Christmas morning just us and she maintained that belief all her life, even after we were all grown and gone. She always put herself second.
It was special having my Grandparents living across the yard my whole life. It was my second home and I have so many special memories in that old house with two of the most loving and caring Grandparents any child could ask for. I was reminded this holiday season of one of my most favourite traditions from my childhood as I began to decorate our Christmas tree with my almost 2 year old son. I have put away most of my ornaments for the foreseeable Christmas’ future, until my little tyke isn’t so little anymore and purchased shatterproof ornaments for the tree for now. As I was going through a box of odds and ends ornaments, I came across a little peanut mouse in a little walnut shell, tucked in cozy warm. I held it and reminisced of the years long ago when my Grandma would take the time to do a special winter craft with me. Making Christmas decorations. Of course, there wasn’t the money for elaborate crafts and special pieces. These crafts were made of the things that others might’ve thrown away. Bits of fabric too small for other projects. Walnut shells after they’d been cracked open and the contents eaten out of them. Pieces of string, dried fruits and other odds and ends that could be glued together and create a little holiday fun. This little mouse in its walnut shell bed had long lost it’s ears. The eyes, nose and mouth drawn in my childhood hand are wearing away and the little piece of fabric for its blanket has faded over the years. But it’s a reminder of a wonderful piece of my childhood and the appreciation for my Grandma taking the time to invest in me with something as simple as handmade Christmas tree decoration sticks with me.
These childhood traditions may no longer be in our family holiday repertoire anymore; my Dad and Grandparents have all gone on home to heaven. But they do bring back fond memories of Christmases past and have also inspired us to create new traditions.
I send out a Christmas card to all our family and close friends each holiday season. I enjoy making a custom card online with family pictures we take each fall and then hand address each and every one. We replaced our artificial tree with a live tree a few years ago and began a tradition of displaying a real tree which we put up as a family the first weekend of December. I began collecting Polish glass ornaments after our visit to Poland in 2018 where I purchased my first one in a market in Old Town, Krakow. They are absolutely beautiful and I love adorning my tree with such delicate and intricately designed baubles. Whenever I see them in store during the holidays, I have to collect just a few more. They go perfectly well with the antique glass ornaments that my Grandma adorned her tree with many years ago. We celebrate Sinterklaas with our son. With my husband’s home being the Netherlands, it’s a family tradition close to his heart and it’s fun for us to bring that over the ocean here in Canada. And lastly; I display a ceramic Nativity set that my Mom painted for my Grandma many years ago. My Grandma displayed it on the top of the television cabinet each and every Christmas. Now it adorns my living room each Christmas.
As you’ve read, we have a few traditions we’ve started as a family. Do you have any holiday traditions? Were they passed down or did you start them with your own family? It’s a great way to keep the memory of your ancestors close to your heart through the holiday season and create new ones to pass on to your children and grandchildren.
I think once my little man is a little older, I’ll teach him about his Great Grandma and make little sleepy mice to hang on our tree in the future.
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Make a tree ornament like this one I made with Grandma!
What you'll need: Odds & ends fabric String, ribbon Walnuts, peanuts, any other nuts, dried fruit, etc. Markers How to: Get creative! Use the different pieces to create a little critter in a nut bed of some kind! Use fabric for the blanket, ears or night cap. Glue items for ears and eyes or draw them on. Use ribbon for the hanger or string or make a bow! Anything is possible! Use your imagination and have fun! |
Many different cultures and ethnicities have interesting family traditions! And some are adopted and practiced by families simply because of their love of the holiday season! Are you curious as to how your ancestors celebrated the holidays? Or what traditions they may have had? I’d love to help you discover them! Ask me how I can help!