This is my space to share my quest to collect as many broken branches as I can in my fractured family tree which resembles a bramble bush more then a proper tree. As I go forward in this blogging journey I hope to share how I have searched far & wide for family - with no regard for where they come from or if I should really want them.
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Chanukah ~ Discovering Your Ancestors On a Trip to the Beach

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2022: Week 52 (LOOKING AHEAD)


Christmas 2022 was a bit strange. 

We went to Mexico with our sons & their partners. 

Being in a hot tropical environment for the week leading up to Christmas made it challenging to feel the Christmas Spirit. 

When they put the Christmas Tree up in the lobby it made it a bit more real, but not completely. 


We had decided not to decorate our home this year since we were flying back on Christmas Eve. Maybe that was the mistake in not feeling like it was Christmas this year. No decorations before we went, and none when we got home. 

We are no strangers to odd Christmases. 

Chris is a paramedic, and there were many years he had to work on Christmas Day. There were also many years he had to sleep because he had to work the nightshift on the 24th and/or the 25th. 

When the boys were small we could just change the day, and then avoid the world so they didn't figure out Santa came on a different day for them. 

Once they got old enough to track days that became more challenging. 

One year Santa left a note explaining that he knew how whiny little Chris could get if he missed out so he brought a surprise Christmas a few days early. 

Santa left a lot of notes over the years. 

One year our oldest wanted the Jessie doll from Toy Story to add to his Woody & Buzz collection. That year it was nowhere to be found. Santa left a letter about the elf who had sole knowledge of the Jessie Doll Plans getting a concussion in a snowball fight that resulted in amnesia. Santa said that as soon as the elf recovered there would be a surprise delivery of the Jessie Doll. Our son accepted the tale as fact, and was delighted when Jessie appeared a month or so later properly wrapped & tagged in Christmas attire. 

Another Christmas our oldest was concerned our puppy wouldn't allow Santa into the house because she was already showing protective behaviour. 

When he awoke in the morning he immediately noticed a piece of red felt fabric stuck in the door. There was a note stuck to the inside of the door right beside it saying that Santa barely made it out of the house. He also mentioned that he thought the puppy ate the cookies that were left for him because the plate was empty. 

At no point did our children seem to want to question the magic of Christmas. 

We had a lot of fun over the years with the Santa letters.

Back to Christmas 2022.  

We began our trip with Beach Ready toes!!!

Our home for a week

We arrived early in the morning, they arrived late due to canceled & rescheduled flights

Father & sons

View from the stairs heading up to our rooms

Beautiful beach

Beautiful pool

View from our room

This Agouti hauled the coconut across the beach
& behind the wall to where her baby awaited lunch

Our neighbours needed a new roof

Our oldest & his partner

Our youngest & his partner

Us

Dinner at the resort

Dinner in Playa del Carmen

Iggy telling us exactly how he felt about tourists in Tulum

Visiting Tulum

Spending a week with our kids in a tropical location was amazing. 

We spent every day in the water; the mornings in the ocean & the afternoons in the pool. 

We spent most of the day in our swimsuits - only getting dressed for dinner. 

If the humidity hadn't been so bad the majority of our clothes could have been put away when we got home since we wore so few of them. Instead everything had to be washed.

While we were enjoying beautiful sunshine in Mexico snowstorms were happening all over Canada. 

Each day I created a Facebook post titled 'Today in Mexico' with a morning view from our room. Someone from home would reply with 'Today at Home'.  These are a few of the photos shared.





We come from an area of Canada that has very little snow, and some years no snow at all. Many records were shattered this year.

It wasn't until the day before we were heading home that we started to consider the possibility of weather creating travel day chaos.

When we woke up on the morning of our return flight we discovered 2 emails had arrived overnight. The first delaying our flight 45 minutes, and the second 30 minutes. 

We had booked our transportation from the resort to the airport 2 days previously. It was recommended to arrive at Cancun airport 3 hours before our international departure. When they booked our transportation they added an extra hour due to the traffic chaos that had happened the day before causing folks to walk their luggage for the final few kms to the airport due to road construction.

Our kids' flight was scheduled 70 minutes before ours, and we had decided to travel with them. This meant we were originally planning to be there 4 hours before departure with the kids 3 hours before. 

The construction traffic had been solved so we arrived in the usual 1 hour drive time. 

With the already announced delays we were now planning to be at the airport for 6 hours. As we lined up to drop our luggage we began to wonder if we would be allowed that early. It was allowed. We wondered a 2nd time as we headed to security. Again we were allowed.  Once on the departures side we discovered the time on the board, the time in the app, and the time in the email did not match.  I then checked the arrivals airport, and discovered a further delay. Throughout the day we found the arrivals airport to have the most accurate information. 

We spent 10 hours at the airport. The first 4 hours with the kids. Their flight was the only flight that day with no official delay. 

Over the next 6 hours we moved gate to gate people watching. We made ourselves comfortable at 4 different gates. We had 3 gate changes, and one where we moved so a family of 8 could have more room. 

We entertained ourselves watching their 5 children bicker and tussle while sharing 3 chairs. Once we were no longer amused we let them know we were going to leave before we stood up so they could take them before the others standing nearby could swoop in.  There was not enough chairs for all the travelers at the airport due to cancelations and delays.

When we left that gate we made ourselves comfortable at a random gate. The board said the flight was going to St. Louis. Across from us was a father & daughter. Shortly after the mother and a 2nd daughter joined them. There was discussion that one of the daughters wanted to take some pesos home, but the stores on this side did not have any to give as change. Chris asked me if we had any pesos left. I pointed out he had given all that we had left to the server at lunch. He then asked if I still had Canadian. I replied I did, but it's not the same as pesos. He pointed out it's plastic like pesos & foreign. 

We offered Canadian bills, and were delighted at how excited the girls were for their gift from random strangers at the airport. For a moment I had wondered if it was weird, but the family's response left us feeling it wasn't AFTER we convinced the parents we didn't need any money or anything in return. 

As we continued to chat I asked for clarity when I overheard the daughter ask the mom something and the mom replied she didn't think so. Mom explained her daughter asked if we celebrate Hanukkah. 

I hesitated, and then explained about finding out at the age of 29 my Scottish grandfather didn't exist, and was the first born child in Canada to Ukrainian immigrants. I further explained that my Ancestry DNA results showed one of my great grandparents was Jewish, and I had never known about the heritage. 

My great grandparents
Alexander & Mary (nee Maximiw) Pellack 
from Our Courageous Pioneers 1

Without hesitation this youngster offered us Hanukkah celebration glasses. 


I felt my heritage/ancestors sing with this simple offering. It reminded me of the blog I wrote 2 weeks ago for the prompt traditions. You can read that one, and a few more that are somehow related linked at the bottom.

This family was intrigued by my tale of lost heritage and traditions. As I explained the family history confusion I was able to hear the tale through their eyes. It was then I realized just how bizarre my genealogical story is. As we continued to talk the bizarre tales of others were also shared. There really are a lot of unexpected results that turn up when doing DNA for genealogical purposes. 

The dad asked which test I would recommend for him. I asked what he was hoping to learn from doing the test. He said more about his family's locations before coming to the United States. I said MyHeritage would be the best one for him to do because there are more Eastern European testers who use them. I further explained that MyHeritage allows the uploading of results from other sites. For that reason I would recommend doing AncestryDNA, and then uploading the test results to MyHeritage. By following this plan he can increase his chance of matching more relatives. I told him that if he was interested in learning what genetic mutations he had inherited then 23&Me would be a good one. It sounded like he wasn't interested in knowing about his health traits. I mentioned to him that he could also upload his results to GedMatch where he could find more matches since they take uploads from all the testing sites. I did mention the cold case solving happening at GedMatch in case he was concerned about that. I hope I was able to give him the information he needed to assist him in making the best decision for what he is looking for. I also hope I didn't confuse him with genealogical jargon. 

The 6 of us connected very well. It was quite challenging for everyone to get a word in. The conversation came to a grinding halt when an overhead announcement  notified them of a gate change. It was about a half hour later we had our 3rd gate change for the day. 

A random stop at a gate resulted in new friends at the airport!

About an hour into the flight home there was an overhead announcement asking any doctors, nurses or paramedics onboard to please identify themselves. Chris took care of a patient who likely had food poisoning. About 20 minutes after his first patient one of the crew approached him saying another passenger was sick. His second patient threw-up, fainted, and split his lip. The remainder of the trip was spent doing regular checks on his patients. He & the doctor on the phone continued to assess whether our flight needed rerouting for emergency care. This does seem to be a common theme on our flights home from tropical places. In February 2020 on our way back from Costa Rica he looked after 2 patients who were experiencing panic and odd symptoms from the hallucinogenic products they have consumed at a 'health retreat'. Chris was treated like a Rockstar as we were leaving the plane & navigating the airport. Everyone (including us) was thrilled he was there to look after the patients so an emergency landing was unnecessary. 

Our kids' flight was the only flight out of Cancun that day that wasn't delayed even if it was a bit late. All was not right in their world. Every piece of their checked luggage was lost. One was delivered on the 26th. All remaining delivered the 27th. Our flight was 5 hours delayed. All of our luggage was in the carousal's first group. 

Not sure which was better - no lost luggage & a 10 hour day at the airport OR a 4 hour day at the airport and lost luggage.

When I got home I began researching Hanukkah realizing that I actually didn't know much about it.

I discovered that we received our gifts from this family on the 7th night of Hanukkah. 

The Festival of Lights is over 8 nights beginning and ending at sundown. 

I also learned that the Sabbath is the 7th day of the week.  My Ashkenazi ancestors may have called it Shabbos. It's the day of rest which is why food is prepared in advance - allowing the ability to not engage in work on the Sabbath. 

On the 7th day of Hanukkah my ancestors would have placed the 8 candles right to left. The middle candle is the shamash (the candle used to light the others). The Menorah would then be placed near the window where it can be seen from outside. Only the the last spot on the right would remain empty since this was night 7. That last one would be lit the following night on the 8th (and last day) of Hanukkah. 

Next they would recite blessings 1 & 2 of the Hanukkah blessings.

 "Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light. 

Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time." 2


They would then light the candles left to right using the shamash. They may have begun to sing 
"Maoz Tsur—"Rock of Ages" in Hebrew—is sung after the lighting of the candles on the menorah." 3

Once the candles were lit my ancestors may have eaten: brisket,  potato latkes, kugel, small donuts, cookies, and foil wrapped chocolates, and other treats. 
"From latkes to sufganiyot, we eat fried food on Hanukkah to remember the ancient oil miracle." 4
They may have continued to sing traditional songs all evening. Check the sources below for a link to songs & lyrics for Hanukkah Celebrating. 

As I wrote this blog I imagined my ancestors in their homeland. It looked surprisingly like Fiddle on the Roof & my forbearers sounded like Teyve. 



When your ancestors left their heritage behind, and the only way you can begin to understand what their life may have been like is researching!!! 


 


This is why I search - 


Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!







***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

1  Our Courageous Pioneers : History of Gronlid and Surrounding Districts of Argus, Athol, Edenbridge, Freedom, Maryville, Murphy Creek, Sandhill Creek, Taelman, Taras, Teddington,." (Melfort Saskatchewan: Phillips Publishers , 1991), page 188

2  Hanukkah Prayers: How to Say the Menorah Blessings. Chabad. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/103874/jewish/Hanukkah-Prayers-How-to-Say-the-Menorah-Blessings.htm

3  This Is The Song That's Been Sung at Hanukkah Through The Ages. Originally published December 11th 2017. Retrieved December 29th 2022 from
https://www.wrti.org/arts-desk/2017-12-11/this-is-the-song-thats-been-sung-at-hanukkah-through-the-ages

4  Nykiel, Teddy. Your Guide to 7 Traditional Hanukkah Foods. Taste of Home. Originally published December 20th 2022. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/traditional-hanukkah-foods/


Sources:

Blumberg, Naomi. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.britannica.com/story/hanukkah-the-festival-of-lights

Chanukah 2022. Hebcal. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from 
https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/chanukah-2022

Chanukah - Hanukkah 2022. Chabad. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default_cdo/jewish/Hanukkah.htm

Chanukah Songs. Hanukkah Songs & Lyrics. Chabad. Retrieved December 29th 2022 from
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/332451/jewish/Hanukkah-Songs.htm

The Eight Days of Chanukah. Chabad. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/103929/jewish/The-Eight-Days-of-Chanukah.htm

Fiddler on the roof - Tradition (with subtitles). guru006. Originally published Dec 24, 2006.  Retrieved December 28th 2022 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdfX7ut8gw

Gronlid and District Historical Society, Our Courageous Pioneers : History of Gronlid and Surrounding Districts of Argus, Athol, Edenbridge, Freedom, Maryville, Murphy Creek, Sandhill Creek, Taelman, Taras, Teddington, Melfort, Saskatchewan, Phillips Publishers Ltd, 1991

Hanukkah. Brittanica. Last updated December 16th 2022. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanukkah

Hanukkah 2022 FAQ. Chabad. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/605036/jewish/Hanukkah-2022-FAQ.htm

Hanukkah 2022: When is Hanukkah and Why Is It Celebrated? Chabad. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from 
https://www.almanac.com/content/when-is-hanukkah

Hanukkah Blessings Seventh Night. The Jewish Children's Learning Network. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from 
https://www.akhlah.com/jewish-holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah-blessings/hanukkah-blessings-seventh-night/

Hanukkah Prayers: How to Say the Menorah Blessings. Chabad. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/103874/jewish/Hanukkah-Prayers-How-to-Say-the-Menorah-Blessings.htm

Light Hanukkah Candles with Mademoiselle Menorah. PJ Library. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://pjlibrary.org/beyond-books/pjblog/november-2020/how-to-light-the-hanukkah-candles

Reich, Aaron. Hanukkah: The rules, history of the Jewish Festival of Lights - explainer. The Jerusalem Post. Originally published December 18th 2022. Retrieved from December 27th 2022 from 
https://www.jpost.com/judaism/jewish-holidays/article-725167

Nykiel, Teddy. Your Guide to 7 Traditional Hanukkah Foods. Taste of Home. Originally published December 20th 2022. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/traditional-hanukkah-foods/

Shabbat. Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/shabbat

Shabbat Conclusion: Havdalah Blessings. Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from 
https://www.reformjudaism.org/beliefs-practices/prayers-blessings/shabbat-conclusion-havdalah-blessings

Weg, Arielle. 10 Traditional Hanukkah Foods to Celebrate the Festival of Lights. Prevention. Originally published August 12th 2021. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.prevention.com/food-nutrition/g37292056/traditional-hanukkah-foods/

What Is Hanukkah? Chabad. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-Is-Hanukkah.htm

When Is Hanukkah 2022? Dates, History, Recipes, And Traditions. Farmer's Almana. Retrieved December 27th 2022 from 
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/when-hanukkah



Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/



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My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.
All rights reserved.
Please & Thank you!

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