My name is Aske, and I live in Denmark on the island of Funen, which is the Island in the centre of the picture below. I live in one of the many harbour cities in Denmark, called Svendborg. As country manager for Denmark, I want to tell you a thing or two about Denmark, as part of our countries series.

First of all, Denmark is flat. The highest point is 'Mollehoj', at only 170.86 metres (560.56 feet) above sea level. Denmark consists of a large number of small islands, of which 72 are inhabited, and therefore Denmark is connected by more than 30 large bridges (some listed here).

The capital of Denmark is Copenhagen, with 1.1 million inhabitants, which is about 21% of the country's total population of 5.5 million inhabitants.

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

The period before the celebration of the New Year means for many a time of personal reflection, an evaluation of the past and a time to make plans for the future. It is a celebration, full of hope for the new things to come and another chance to be together with our family and loved ones.

As we get to the end of 2008, many events attracted the world's attention this year, like the Olympics in Beijing, China, the US presidential elections or the bad news of the global economy crisis; but happily the celebration of the New Year is the one recurring event that brings the world together in celebration every year again.

Many go to great length to make the most of this festive day. A different mix of food, drinks, traditions and superstitions makes the evening uniquely celebrated within many different cultures. As a reflection of that, cities around the world have been having their ways of celebrating New Year's Eve for many years.

New Yorkers traditionally get crazy in Times Square, the city's iconic centre, although a curious celebration takes place on January 1 in Coney Island, NY, where some people use the day to take a dip in the freezing waters of the Atlantic.

Almost everyone around the world started the New Year, although not all countries celebrate at the same date or the same way, especially in Asia.

Until I came to the UK from Beijing, I always celebrated the New Year in late January or sometimes in February, depending on the day indicated by the Lunar Calendar. Chinese New Year is more like a Western Christmas, when you get together with your family and share a meal. Celebrations continue with fireworks, just like all around the world.
The biggest difference with other countries may be that on New Year's day, when most people are nursing hangovers, in China families visit relatives, exchange presents and continue the celebrations.

Despite some differences from country to country, in Asia there's a common theme that appears to be the most important thing, which is celebrating with family and friends.
Across Asia there are very similar ways of celebrating the New Year. In Japan for instance,

Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival is the most important traditional Chinese holiday. It is not only celebrated in China but by Chinese communities and individuals all around the world. Because it is based on the lunar calender, the new year begins on varied dates from late January to mid-February. In 2009, Chinese new year falls on the 26th of January - the year of the Ox, year 4707 on the Chinese calendar.

The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year pattern with each year being represented by an animal. Those are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Dog and Pig. Depending on the year you are born, you are believed to have the various character traits of that years animal. The Ox in chinese zodiac implies hard-working, energetic and friendly.

So what do families do around Chinese New Year?

Hello everybody, this is Donato speaking from Italy. I'm the community manager here for one of the most beautiful countries of the world... well, I know, I'm biased, but that's what I think.

The history of our country depicts us as travellers, and it's well known how many Italian people have been moving around the world for generations. Soon after the Second World War a great number of Italians moved to other countries such as the USA and Australia, building communities there, but very often keeping the love for their native country.

Although Italians are sometimes ridiculed for the attachment to their close family, with men being referred to as 'mummy's boys', I would call them

Today is international women's day, a day that honours the economic, political and social achievements of women, and a day that is also, and this is less well known, the counterpart of the global men's day on the 18th of November.

Although the day was initially one of political significance, highlighting women's struggles worldwide in a hopeful way, the holiday has blended in the culture of many countries. In countries such as Algeria, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Italy, Israel, Laos or Mongolia, it is even an official day off. There, the day is observed by men giving the women in their lives - mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters, colleagues, flowers and small gifts. In some countries, such as Romania or Russia, it is also observed as an equivalent of Mother's Day, where children also give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

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.