You might have seen our lovely family tree of business cards at the Future Of Web Apps, a conference in London also called "FOWA". Now finally we have drawn the winner out of the 75 people, who put up their card on our tree during the event on Friday.

What we had put up for grabs? Free advertising on myheritage.com.
By now there are almost 27 million of you guys using the site, so that's quite a big audience for a free ad ;-)

So let us respectfully proceed to the announcement of the lucky one:

And the winner is...

Today is a special day for families across the United States as they say thank you for all the good things that have happened to them this year. Families share this moment over a meal, telling each other stories and sharing family memories.

Americans travel vast distances to be together on this day and so it is not surprising it it the busiest day for US airlines. If there is one day to get together with the family, it is today.

The story behind thanksgiving is simple; when the pilgrims, America's settlers from Europe arrived in new England they faced a very harsh winter. When spring arrived and they harvested their crops, they organised a feast to celebrate their harvest, their new country and to thank God for making it through the winter.

MyHeritage is thankful that it has the possibility to bring together families on its site and therefore wishes all families a happy thanksgiving!

Being a German, but living with English, French and Canadian flat mates in London I noticed again how different Christmas traditions are - even across Christian countries in the northern hemisphere. At the end of November or early December the "Adventszeit" starts in Germany. Actually the last 4 weeks before Christmas are the beginning of the Western liturgical year and called "Advent" in most Christian churches, but in the UK nobody really uses that word.

It is when you start seeing "Adventskraenze" in the average German family - no matter if they are religious or not. It is a wreath of branches from different fir trees or conifers. They have 4 candles one for each week of Advent. In the first week you can light one candle (like on the picture), in the second week two, then three and form the 4th Sunday in Advent and all the time through christmas you will light all four candles. If you take care you can see the same thing in Anglican churches and some churches in the US.

The other event that is very important to German families is "Nikolaus". It is apparently the origin for the American

We talked about "Christian Christmas", "Jewish Chanukah" and "Muslim Eid Al-Edha" in our holiday series.

Continuing our festival posts, today we take a look at what are the various ways of celebrating Christmas in India. Generally the Christians who live in the plains decorate mango or banana trees at Christmas time. Some of them also decorate their houses with mango leaves. However in some of the other parts of India, a lot of people use small clay oil-burning lamps as Christmas decorations. These small clay lamps are placed on the edges of flat roofs and on the tops of walls. During Christmas in India, most of the Churches are decorated with candles for the Christmas Eve service.

One of the most famous states for celebration of Christmas in India is Goa. A former colony of Portugal, Goa is known for its unique culture, which is a perfect blend of Portuguese and Indian style. People here observe all the festivals of all religions equally. Christmas is one such festival, which is celebrated with great zeal in Goa. The Christians and non-Christians in Goa observe this day with great honor towards Christ. The celebrations last for 3 days and tourists also participate.

Although the Hindu and Muslim population are the majority in India, Christmas is celebrated with a large amount of fanfare. Christmas in India is declared as a national holiday and people irrespective of their religion enjoy it along with the Christians. Celebrations of Christmas festival begin

That Valentine's day originated in Europe seems to be a commonly held belief, but the details as to the origins of this day are somewhat obscure. Most people believe it is the day of the Roman priest St Valentinus, who lived in the Third Century after Christ. He looked after the elderly, the ill and needy, and legend has it, married Christians. This last act is what got Emperor Claudius II upset. He had the priest tortured and eventually he was beheaded on the 14th of February. Hence the day is known as Valentine's day.

Two English eighteenth-century antiquarians have instead proposed that Valentine's Day was created by priests and monks as an attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of Lupercalia, a feast honouring the god of fertility.

The oldest known Valentine's note still in existence today is

Although Valentine's Day, or February the 14th, originated in the West, with globalization intensifying, younger Chinese have started to celebrate this special occasion too, conveying romance to their beloved ones on this day.

However, the way people celebrate it in China differs from how the day is honoured in Western countries: girls make a gift like needlework to give to their loved one during Valentine's day, then, one month later, it is the man's turn to give something to the girls. Heart-shaped soft toys and jewellery are the common presents for girls. Celebrations in Japan and Korea are very similar.

In big cities like Shanghai, some departmental stores are even organizing kissing contests where

Valentine's day is the holiday which originated many centuries ago in Catholic countries. However, nowadays the day is celebrated all over the world (except in Saudi Arabia where this holiday is officially prohibited and one can be punished for celebrating it by paying a penalty).

Russia is no exception when it comes to Valentine's day and so the holiday is widely observed there. It is relatively new holiday for Russians, which has only started to be celebrated in the 90s of the 20th century. But the traditions and gifts are not as much different from the ones of the other countries.

Though these days we celebrate Valentine's day, for many centuries the Russians had and still have a wonderful holiday of their own which they call Lover's Day, It is

Valentine's Day is one of the most widely-celebrated days in America. Walk into a restaurant for dinner without making a reservation, and you'll realize just how popular it is. Valentine's Day cards are the most popular way in which Americans express affection to their sweethearts, so let's take a look at how Valentine's cards have changed over the years.

Giving cards has always been a popular way to celebrate Valentine's Day in America. Today, 188 million cards are exchanged every year - an amazing amount, considering that there are 300 million people living in the US. Early American cards could be simple love letters or very elaborate works of art that could include decorations such as flowers, berries, and sea shells. Some were designed to be hung on a cord or lace, so that they created a three dimensional picture. Today, cards run the gambit from traditional paper cards to elaborately decorated cards, e-cards, and romantic IOUs.

Today is an important day for all those that want to do something special for their loved ones.

All over the world people will celebrate Valentine's day, albeit in slightly different ways. In China people will gather to try to win kissing contests by trying to kiss for the longest, in America 188 million cards will be sent, in the Netherlands friends will get each other flowers and in Russia people will celebrate love twice, once today and once on the 8th of July, also known as lovers day.

As lovers across the world celebrate this day together, MyHeritage hopes that our users across the world can spend some time with their loved one's.

The MyHeritage Team wishes you a great Valentine's day!

This year London saw the "Who do you think you are?" LIVE Exhibition taking place from February 27 to March 1. The show takes its name from the popular UK BBC series by the same name, a documentary that shows famous TV stars' journey into their pasts.

Being a national history show about all things genealogy in the UK, for advanced researchers to absolute beginners, the London team of MyHeritage were convinced they couldn't give this show a miss.

So Family Tree Builder CD's in hand we set out to meet some of you guys offline.

Whether you are Irish, have Irish ancestry, need an excuse to drink Guinness, or paint your river green, MyHeritage wishes you a happy Paddy's day!

We wrote previously about the little known facts about this day.

It turns out there are some more... We found out for example that, while it is customary to wear green on St. Patrick's Day in the United States, the color green is actually considered unlucky in Ireland. The story goes that green is the color of faeries, which are believed to steal children who wear too much green.

Other random things to know are that there are nine places named after Dublin, the capital of Ireland, of which eight are in the US, and one in the UK; that the shamrock is not only supposed to bring

MyHeritage wishes all Irish and English moms a beautiful mother's day.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter Sunday. It is believed to fall on this day because in the 16th century there was a Christian practice of visiting one's mother's church annually, which meant that most mothers would be reunited with their children on this day. Historians believe that young apprentices and young women in servitude were released by their masters that weekend in order to visit their families.

Whereas for many people the religious significance may have been lost by now, the appreciation of one's mother has not faded. One would only have had to be around London this weekend where many Londoners were on their way with flowers in hand to visit their mother, to see that the tradition is alive and well!

We hope you will have a chance to be with your mother this Sunday, whether that is online or offline.

And for moms in other countries...see you in May!

Easter is an important event on the religious and Western calendar. After Christmas, it's the tradition that most people in the world celebrate. It is a time for religious commemorations as well as a celebration rooted in cultural traditions, but regardless of its meaning, the backdrop is families reuniting.

Families use the occasion to get together to share their customs or pass their religious beliefs on to younger generations. The celebrations happen around nice and colorful symbols that engage children; they enjoy the occasion with chocolate bunnies and eggs.

In times like these you can make the most of MyHeritage, and here's how:

* Easily contact your whole family to send your best wishes.
* Create and invite people to an Easter event.
* Share your traditional Easter family recipes.
* Upload the photos or videos from your family Easter event and share them.
* Keep this content as a record, telling your family history in the years to come.

It can be hard work finding the long lost relatives of your past, but it's really easy to save and treasure every present moment of your family for the generations to come. This Easter is a great time to start doing it.

The time of Easter eggs, bunnies, spring, and being together with the family has arrived.
MyHeritage wishes you a great Easter weekend, however, wherever and with however you celebrate it!

We already wrote about the Easter tradition of religious and cultural celebrations, so we thought it would be nice to have you share a little about how you celebrate Easter. The result is four mom bloggers from Russia, the US and Europe sharing the way they celebrate Easter with us. Find their stories below:

Feel free to share any Easter traditions you have with us in the comments section!

Natalia Konshina (Russia):

"Easter is a happy time to spend with your family and loved ones. It's the major Christian holiday so we celebrate it every year. We celebrate the day by dyeing, colouring or decorating hard-boiled eggs- the traditional symbol of resurrection and then giving and receiving them as Easter presents."

Natalia's Easter wish:

The genealogy community of the UK is gathering in a one-day meeting called The Family History Event, which will take place on Sunday May 3rd at the Barbican Centre in London.
The fair brings together many genealogy related societies, associations and organizations, which specialize mainly in providing records for genealogy research to help people looking for ancestors in different communities, regions or cities in the UK.
MyHeritage will be there with a space of its own (find our logo in the bottom of the exhibitors' list in the event's website), as it's going to be a great opportunity to get personally in touch.
Carl and Nicolas, who are part of our international team of Community Managers, are going to be there. Please email them if you would like to get in touch in advance to say hi before meeting them at the event.
We are looking forward to meet the UK genealogy community. See you there!

While Carl was exploring the Greek Easter traditions, I have made a move to Australia. I have come down under to discover the country and hope to eventually warm the Australians to MyHeritage. This shouldn't be too much of a problem, considering that a large part of the nation can trace its ancestors back to European settlers.

But, until that time, I am exploring the country's traditions, and during my first weekend here, I got a good introduction to it, as Australians celebrated Anzac day. I'd never heard of it, so chances are you haven' t either, so let me tell you a little bit more about it.

Anzac day is the day that Australians and New Zealanders commemorate the first major military action fought by their forces during the First World War at Gallipoli, Turkey. Under a plan devised by Winston Churchill, the soldiers set out to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies with the ultimate goal of capturing Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. But fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders thwarted their efforts,

Mother's Day is around the corner and you have definitely heard or seen about it in the last two weeks - it's on the high street and all across the net. Did you know that the holiday was so commercialized at one point that even it's "creator" Anna Jarvis tried to stop it by filing a lawsuit to stop Mother's day festival. Right before her death she confessed that her effort to create Mother's day was her biggest mistake. Being a mother of a wonderful 2 year old angel, I personally think it is a great tradition.

But let's have a look at how we got here:

The celebration of motherhood goes back to Greeks and Romans, which honoured their mother goddesses. Back in the 17th century those living in the British Isles started a tradition of religious celebration of motherhood and called this day Mothering Sunday. It was held on the forth Sunday of the Lenten season. The history of the holiday goes back to the times when middle class parents had to send their children to work as house servants. The only day of the year these children were allowed to see their parents was Mothering Sunday. During the 19th century the holiday has become less popular. However, it was brought back to life in the days of the World War II when US servicemen reintroduced the sentimental as well as commercial importance of the day.

In the United States the first official celebration was held in 1858, when Ann Maria Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker,

As we previously announced, MyHeritage was present at The Family History Event last Sunday May 3rd, at the Barbican Centre in London, and it couldn't have been better.

The show reunited the UK genealogy community, and it represented a good moment for regional associations from Cumbria to Devon to put their records at the disposal of people interested in finding out about their past. The turnout from the public was great, with several thousand attendees in total. The atmosphere was cheerful as the event engaged genealogists in a fruitful conversation.

In that context, we had the chance to talk about MyHeritage's unique research tools and our website's many functionalities to the genealogists who turned up to our stand curious about the different ways we could help them discover and connect with their family.

Our Smart Match technology drew the most attention, with its promise of the possibility to connect with the MyHeritage community of families, followed by the MyHeritage Research pages.

One person was specifically interested in the first feature, as he had a particular need.

What do you get when you couple the latest in IT and mobile technology with the best view of the Sydney Harbour bridge? CEBIT, Australia's biggest ICT and web conference, or as one of the visitors there told me, you take the London tech scene of three years ago, that's CEBIT Australia.

Yet, that is not what I found when I attended the conference. With 30,000 visitors and exhibitors there were plenty of interesting Australian start-ups, such as insider travel tips website Travellr or digital smartcode company QMcodes, a vibrant, if small, 2.0 scene and no lack of original promotions; including some much discussed

Michelle of 'Juiced on Writing' introduced us to a whole new and exciting way of using the Family Tree Builder software (or FTB as we like to call it): as a means to map and understand the relationships between fictional characters when writing a book.

A writer herself, Michelle knows that when writing a novel writers often like to get an overview of their characters and their development over time. And, where the ages and dates are important, or where there is a complexity in the character relationships, a process-orientated program such as Family Tree Builder allows you to do just that.

She points out that not all software programs can be used for fiction, as some send error messages, if you try to put in a future date, or a setting which a linked database doesn'd recognise as an actual place on earth. However,

The Queen of England, Elizabeth II was born on born 21 April 1926, hence she celebrated her birthday on that day. Interestingly however, Australia and New Zealand celebrate her birthday on a completely different day, towards the beginning of June. This year, they are celebrating it today: on Monday, the 8th of June. As it is often a long weekend, it is an occasion that many Australians take to go see their family or to visit a sports match.

The Monarch's Birthday was first celebrated in Australia in 1788. In that year, King George III was the Monarch of the Commonwealth, which included Australia and New Zealand, and the first governor of New South Wales Arthur Phillip declared a holiday to mark his birthday. Originally, the Monarch's birthday was celebrated on the anniversary of the actual date of birth of the King or Queen. However, after the death of King George V in 1936, the date remained close to his birthday, which was June 3.

In fact we of MyHeritage have started an overview of the British Royal Family, including King Geoarg V, who's father was the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and going back to Queen Victoria, who was a niece of King George III's children, none if which lived to take over from him. She was the last monarch of the House of Hanover and the only legitimate child of the Duke of Kent.

Since the tragic news of the death of Michael Jackson many people have taken an interest in his family. So did we.

To give you a small overview of the King of Pop's family, many of whom are famous in their own right, all of which have different and varied histories, happy and sad, we've made a small tree of the family.

In the tree you can find the whole Jackson family- which consisted of ten children - and all the partners that Jacko had throughout his exciting life. The tree is a great illustration of how complicated families can get, when members have different spouses and children with different partners; Micheal Jackson had three different women in his life, among whom famous singer Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley.

But all of these relationships can be

You know those balloons that appear, if you hover over names? They look like a speech bubble and give you the key info about the person they are talking about. We've recently added them to our events as well - on the home page and the event section - so without a single click you'll know what's going on. But that's just the most visual way in which the new event features have started talking.

Building upon our recent refurbishment of the main event section we have made your family events more interactive:

Your MyHeritage calendar can now talk to Outlook
Clicking on any event name in the balloon or elsewhere will take you to the new event details page. With the new "Add to Outlook" link you can export the event from your family calendar and import it to your Microsoft Outlook schedule. Nice to have some friendly family events between all the business stuff isn't it?

Greetings to your relatives - always on time
Now you can take action immediately on those events: send off the greeting now and we will deliver it on the day! You can make sure...

When thinking about New York and its history, many of you may think of the Empire state building, the city's yellow cabs, 9/11 or the many communities that make up New York: the Italians, the Irish or the Eastern European Jewish communities.

Interestingly, however, while the Dutch have had a sizeable influence in shaping the city, sending a sizeable community the 'New World's' way.

In fact they can be considered the founders of the city of New York because 400 years ago this month, a man named Henry Hudson sailed on a Dutch ship called the Half Moon (a replica of which you see on the photo here) into what later became New York Harbor. He sailed by what is now Manhattan on his way to finding a western route to India. It was the prelude to the establishment of a Dutch trading settlement called New Amsterdam. Today's New York.

The Dutch are celebrating the anniversary of this historical event this year

After a month and a bit more on the road, I'm now back home. It's time to take a break before my interview on Sep. 15 with Susan E. King and tell you all about my genealogy tour in the US during the month of August.

My first stop was in New Jersey where I spoke to the Genealogical Society of Bergen County in Ridgewood. More than 50 people heard about the latest MyHeritage.com tools to help genealogists with their research and families to better stay in touch.

The public library where the society meets has a large genealogy section with old phone books, genealogy magazines (old and new), a nice collection of books with family information, and many computers, printers and copy machines. The library is about to redesign the space to give researchers more space and to access additional materials.

Read part 1 here.

Photo by Nancy Adelson

In addition to my work at the IAJGS Philadelphia conference and keeping up with MyHeritage.com responsibilities, I was also happy to meet our newest MyHeritage team member Laurence Harris, the Genealogy Advisor UK.

Schelly Talalay Dardashti (who writes the MyHeritage Genealogy Blog) also attended the conference and both of us enjoyed talking with Laurence over the six-day event.

Laurence was very helpful during my workshop and we three got together to exchange ideas, talk about the genealogy field and even managed a quick lunch out of the hotel in spite of the hectic conference schedule. Laurence will be working from London, where he lives with his family.

As part of my theoretical family vacation - there is no such thing for a workaholic genealogist addicted to the computer - we went to Pennsylvania State University to visit my brother-in-law, who's studying for his master's degree. The Blair County Genealogical Society, in Hollidaysburg, PA kindly re-scheduled their usual meeting day to fit in with my travel plans.

Indeed it is; last weekend a big wedding fair took place in Paris, or the Salon de Mariage as the French call it, and today will see another three day wedding fair take place in the heart of Paris, at the Caroussel du Louvre.

These fairs are the place where brides, their wedding party or other people dreaming to be a bride or groom one day can find wedding inspiration or start preparing the D-Day in the smallest details: from the dress, the entertainment, the catering to the photographer...

This weekend many of you will be celebrating Halloween. In the past, the day marked the start of the dark winter, a time when the Celts, the supposed founders of the Halloween concept, believed the dead came back to earth. Nowadays, most of us see it just as a day, or better night, of bonfires, ghosts, vampires, witches, pumpkins and trick or treats.

Celebrated from Ireland to Mexico, Halloween practices are varied: perhaps you'll be out trick or treating with your kids, like in the US; making bonfires, as they do in Ireland; or honouring the dead with flowers or fresh food, as in Spain.

If you're stuck for something to do though, here a few of our own ideas on how to spend your Halloween:

Update your virtual cemetery in Family Tree Builder