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!

We've just launched the MyHeritage Christmas contest, but we have already received some entries!

Here is yesterday's entry:

Just to remind you what the contest is all about:

Join MyHeritage's 'Jingle along to your family song' contest by singing a Christmas carol for your family and even the world. The most original and funny performance wins a video camera.

You choose where you record it, how, for who and in what language!

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

Life is life everywhere but some things will never be the same. Take Christmas for example, millions of people are celebrating it throughout the world, but the sense of it will be different for practical reasons on either sides of the equator.

The most common imagery of Christmas, like the trees and the snow are unmistakably Northern Hemisphere ones. Mostly all these elements are also used to signify and celebrate Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere, but the feeling of it is completely different, putting the unequivocal religious significance aside.

From my personal experience, one can feel that in this part of the world (the north) the weather itself accounts for much of the idea of Christmas as a time for family reunion and for the believers, a time for reflection. The cold, the short days, the snow, among other things, inevitably make you look for the warmth of a home and to share the moment with your loved ones around hot food and drinks. See a nice description of these traditions in one of our previous posts. This situation matches the poetic force of the Christmas winter elements known worldwide.

In the Southern Hemisphere,

Hi everyone! I'm Carl, and I'm the Community Manager for the US here at MyHeritage. I'm based in London, but I'm originally from warm, sunny Los Angeles - and yes, I miss the weather!!!

Let me share with you some of the challenges Americans face in keeping in touch with their families, and some interesting stories from my family history.

With the start of New Year in India, the celebration times with festivals have also started. MyHeritage wishes you a very happy Lohri, Makar Sankranti and Baisakhi to all the Indian families across the world. Enjoy the festive season and connect with your families world-wide with MyHeritage.com, the world's most popular family social network.

Lohri is celebrated every year on 13th of January in India. It is a festival to worship fire. The story behind the festival is that at this time, Earth starts moving towards the sun, marking the auspicious period of Uttarayan. First, Lohri is very important for newlyweds and newborn babies, as it marks fertility. In a Hindu household, new utensils are purchased and used for the first time. Families fly thousands of beautiful kites all over the skyline. In Karnataka, men, women and children attired in colorful clothes visit friends and relatives and exchange pieces of sugarcane, a mixture of fried molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts and fried gram. As part of the festival, cows and bulls are given a wash and the horns are painted with bright colors and decorated with garland, and are taken in a procession in the village to the accompaniment of pipes and drums. At night, people gather around the bonfire and throw puffed rice & popcorn into the flames of the bonfire. Prayers are offered to the bonfire for abundance & prosperity. People make merry by dancing & singing traditional folk songs. The whole event lasts for four days: the first day, Bhogi, the second day, Sankranti, the third day, Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma. Now, why fire?

Happy Martin Luther King Day to all of our American friends! All of us know about Dr. King and all the work he did to further equal rights for Americans. But not as many of us know about his family, and there are some interesting stories to be found if you dig deep enough. To commemorate this day, we'll explore some of lesser-known stories from Dr. King's family history: his family's close connection with Ebenezer Baptist Church and the influence of his grandfather, Rev. Adam Williams.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was actually born Michael King, Jr. in 1924 in Atlanta, Georgia. His name was changed ten years later, after his family visited Eisleben, Germany. This is the birthplace of Martin Luther, who founded Protestantism. Michael King Sr. changed both his name and his son's name to Martin Luther in honor of him.

Today, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. It is only fitting that today we will look at his family history and see what stories we can unearth - his family includes an African tribal warrior and six American presidents! MyHeritage even shows you how Obama is related to President Bush!

On his father's side, Obama's family goes back 12 generations to Miwiru. He was the grandfather of Owiny, a warrior-leader of the Luo, a tribe that migrated to Kenya about 400 years ago. The Luo fought many wars with the native tribes and the Bantu. After the wars, the Bantu women intermarried with the Luo men, but unfortunately the women's names and details are lost in the fog of history. This line was preserved through oral tradition, and there are very few written records, so precise dates and facts are lost.

Ravi is from Hyderabad, India, and he is currently pursuing his Masters in Engineering in Atlanta, USA. Ravi's sister is working in Denmark. What it means is his entire family is spread across the globe and his parents are keen to connect with him and his sister.

So far, Ravi has been using the traditional phone and email to ensure that he can stay connected with his family. But the problem with this form of communication is that it is too static for his parents, and they don't get many updates about their kids on a regular basis. So what to do?

When you think of St. Patrick's Day, you think of Ireland, green, three leaf clovers, and leprechauns. But St. Patrick's Day was not always that way. Here is a compilation of little-known facts about St. Patty's Day, how it is celebrated in different cities across America, and how you can use MyHeritage to find your Irish roots.

St. Patty's Day Blue?

While we all associate St. Patrick's Day with green, the original color of the day was blue because statues and paintings of St. Patrick always depicted him wearing blue. This tradition ended 139 years after the first St. Patrick's Day celebration. While nobody knows for sure why green became the color of the day, it might have been due to the phrase, "wearing of the green," which referred to wearing a green shamrock as a symbol of Irish pride.

Being raised in a Protestant family in America, every Easter I have celebrated has involved hunting for hidden Easter eggs, eating way too much chocolate, and seeing the family. But this year was different, because I spent Easter in Greece with my girlfriend and her family, taking part in all the Greek Orthodox traditions in Kipoi, a small village of 100 people nestled in the mountains of Euboia, one of Greece's biggest islands and just a short drive from Athens.

Thursday
Easter in Greece lasts a whole week, but the central festivities begin on Thursday night with the crucifixion service. We gathered at the church with the whole town. The Greek church was much more colorful and elaborate than the simple Lutheran church I was used to, which has stained glass windows but few other decorations. Their church was covered floor to ceiling with colorful pictures of saints and icons, a large gold chandelier decorated with gold double-headed eagles (the symbol of the Church, taken from the Byzantine Empire), and many candles.

The church was so full that I had to push to move around at all - and I was constantly being lightly pushed back by other people moving around. The priests chanted in ancient Greek, telling the story of Jesus and the crucifixion, filling the church with a lyric rhythm that, together with the smell of frankincense, almost lulled me to sleep, despite the chaotic atmosphere. The rest of the congregation chanted along, but I hummed the tune. At the end of the service, a cross depicting Jesus was carried around the church, with all of us pressed against each other, watching. Afterwords, we stayed at a friends' house, which was decorated with bright red-dyed Easter eggs (one for all 13 of us), colorful candles, and even Easter bunnies.

An unauthorized biography in Spanish of Maxima Zorreguieta, the princess of the Netherlands, was released recently, to reveal a story that has all the ingredients of a fairy tale. These are some highlights of the love story that turned her into a royalty member.

Maxima was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the heart of a well connected family. She had an English-style education, studied economics at university and ended up working in New York for a financial corporation. So far, it could have been the life of any well educated, professional and independent woman. But then her life took a turn when an old school friend of hers introduced her to Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.

A spontaneous and bubbly woman, Maxima wasn't intimidated by the prince. It was hardly a case of instant romance, but she couldn't deny her curiosity for this man and decided to give him a chance. Willem-Alexander then turned on his charm to the desired effect; Maxima fell in love with him.

Joining MyHeritage's team as a Community Manager for the Spanish speaking countries was a nice opportunity, as my job gave me the ability to get in touch with and discover the history of my own family. This was something I took the opportunity to explore when I recently visited my home town, Buenos Aires, Argentina, after two years of living in London.
It turned out to be a trip full of emotion and happiness, as I got the chance to see my loved ones after such a long time. I didn't have a free second left as I met family and more family, and friends and more friends.

Luckily, one of my cousins was getting married, so I had the chance to meet all my relatives at once. Some of them I wouldn't have met if it wasn't for that event, because part of my family lives in Rosario, the third largest city in the country.
My family has had a farm near Rosario for almost 100 years. It all begun with an Italian settler, my great-great-grandfather. A few years ago we celebrated the 100th anniversary of his wedding. To honor the event, a band played Italian music, and the wedding dress and a giant picture of the wedding were on display. We all gathered together, eating a big "Asado", an Argentine BBQ dish.
Of course, I ate as much Asado as I could when I visited this time. Even if you don't want to, it's difficult to avoid eating meat in my country as it's the core of the national diet.

Every last Monday in May, Americans celebrate the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who have died in wars. Memorial Day might very well be America's holiday that has the most interesting histories, and one of the least well-known origins: it began as a way for freed black slaves to say "Thank you" to the killed Union soldiers who had liberated them.

"There were few eyes among those who knew the meaning of the ceremony that were not dim with tears of joy."
The story begins at the Washington Race Course in Charleston, South Carolina, which had been converted into a Confederate prison during the Civil War. 257 Union troops had died from the horrible conditions at the prison, and they were buried without coffins in unmarked graves behind the old judge's stand.

On May 1, 1865, less than a month after Lee's surrender, about 10,000 people, most of them freed slaves, observed what is called the first "Decoration Day" ceremony. The day began at 9am, with 3,000 black children, newly-enrolled in school, marching around the Race Course; followed by 300 black women who brought crosses, wreaths, and flowers for the graves; and finally the members of the Mutual Aid Society, a benevolent association of black men. The day included a dedication that was given by the ministers from all the black churches in Charleston; 30 speeches by Union officers, local black ministers, and abolitionists; laying flowers at the graves; a parade of Union infantry; and picnics on the grounds. A newspaper reporter recorded the event:

You could see it in the new events section on your family site: today, the United States of America celebrates its 233rd birthday. It is a time when Americans remember the founding of the country and celebrate with family, friends, and fireworks. You might be surprised to find out that there's a good chance there's someone in your family who fought in the Revolutionary War. Let MyHeritage help you discover how your ancestors helped begin the great American experiment that is the United States.

The Sons and Daughters of the Revolution
Many families who have lived in the country for several generations can trace at least one branch of their family back to the Revolutionary War. Many of those Revolutionary ancestors helped the patriots in one way or another. Here are some of the ways your ancestors may have helped during the revolution:

- Serving in the Continental Army, Navy, or local militia, or French and Spanish veterans who fought with the Americans
- Serving in the Continental Congress, state government, or as a civil servant
- Signing of the Declaration of Independence

Some believe solidarity among older and younger generations within families is disappearing. We've never really believed that pessimistic view, and the 32 million members of MyHeritage indicate generation solidarity as well. Now the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) reports family solidarity is alive and well.

Findings by the institute, based on a European wide survey if 19,000 elderly people, suggests there still is a strong bond between family members. They reported European older adults feel a strong sense of duty when it comes to

Weddings are happy family occasions, but that they can be groovy too, proves the video below that became an instant hit on YouTube last week. The video shows a wedding party walk down the isle in a rather unusual fashion... to the complete surprise of their families! Swinging to the tune of Chris Brown's Forever, this is a great wedding video that the bride and groom put online to thank their family and friends for making their wedding unforgettable. And now it is also unforgettable to the seven million people that watched the video by now!

And here is the wedding party (literally):

If you are engaged, getting married or have been married recently

As some of you may know, we are currently in the month of Ramadan. The 9th Month in the Islamic Lunar Calendar, Ramadan is a special month for Muslims throughout the world. It is a month that all physically able practicing Muslims are obliged to observe the daily fast. I know this, because I've been brought up observing the fast of Ramadan, and so know first hand what it's like to be fasting.

During the month of Ramadan, it is forbidden for Muslims to eat, drink, smoke, or make love with their spouses during daylight hours. It is also recommended that we observe our thoughts and attempt to avoid thinking bad things about anything or anyone, and try to only have good thoughts. It is indeed a challenging time.

Me and my family wake up each day, in the early hours of the morning (which in London started off as around 3am), to make sure we eat something before Sunrise begins. Then in the evening we try to break our fast together, as a family, gathering around the table around 8pm, waiting for the exact moment of Sunset, when the Maghrib, or Evening Prayer time begins.

I remember when I was a child and would go abroad to visit my family either in Taiwan or in France for the summer holidays, separation and goodbyes were always a difficult time. Back in those days, relations with your cousins and more 'distant' relatives were ephemeral and it was difficult to stay in touch throughout the year. No Skype, no chat, no emails...Just the reassuring idea that you would go back to visit them the following summer. As the years went by it became more and more difficult to stay in touch and keep track of what my relatives were up to 10,000 miles away from me, but thankfully technology and social media has allowed me and my cousins to reconnect. Now we share pictures online and tell each other about our lives through the Internet! In fact, looking back, I really wish I had been lucky enough to have access to all this when I was younger and I believe that it is important for children to be able to stay connected and in contact with their relatives - wherever they are - and that all throughout the year.

If there's one candidate for our MyHeritage.com premium subscription, it's undoubtedly the Israeli Krishevsky family, which, it was reported this week, consists of 1400 members.

The news reached us because the head of the family, Israeli great-grandmother, Rachel Krishevsky, sadly, passed away at the age of 99 this week. She leaves behind an estimated 1,400 children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

Rachel had eleven children and her children subsequently had similar numbers of children each, which led to the family reaching an impressive 1400 descendants. The number is unconfirmed officially, as no-one in the family is entirely sure how much members they are! We can't help but wonder whether she would send them all birthday cards...

If you are following the world of genealogy, you've probably heard of the hugely successful Who Do You Think You Are TV show, a series of programs following well-known Brits on a journey to trace their family histories. The first UK series aired in 2007, and in its fourth season the show was watched by over 6.8 million people in the UK! Real proof that genealogy captures many people's imaginations, not only online but also on TV.

What you may not know is that the first series of the Australian equivalent has just started. Throughout the eight episodes each subject goes on a personal journey to discover his or her family's past and its role in who they are today.

Barack Obama's ancestry never ceases to amaze. Over the past year we've heard of his Irish roots, his ancestors from the Luo tribe in Kenya, and his unexpected 8th cousin, Dick Cheney. This week even more has been revealed about his family tree, from the unlikely research of a seventh-grade schoolgirl.

BridgeAnn d'Avignon, pictured here, from Monte Vista Christian School in California, has made some startling discoveries about Barack Obama's heritage. With the help of her 80-year-old grandfather, who has been researching presidential genealogy for six decades, BridgeAnn claims to have discovered that Barack Obama is related to every single American president in history except one, Martin Van Buren.