{"id":3457,"date":"2023-11-24T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3457"},"modified":"2025-12-25T14:48:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T19:48:28","slug":"christmas-letters-and-family-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=3457","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Letters and Family History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hope our US readers had a good Thanksgiving! Once Thanksgiving is over, most people turn their thoughts to the next holiday. And there are bunches in the next few weeks, Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa among others. So what does this have to do with family history? Obviously there are many traditions, like the cookies<\/a> we talked about last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

One tradition for holidays is the sending of cards. Letters and cards from family members often contain information about weddings, births and other events in people’s lives. And people often save them. They can provide clues that can help further research. A mention of a birth of a grandchild can help you look for that person in records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A note about getting an airmail letter from a cousin in a foreign country can help you look for a family in that country’s records or emigration records. A comment on someone graduating from college might give you an approximate birth date. Be sure to read through the old letters, whether they came in a holiday card or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We send out letters most years (we don’t always manage to get them done). We love to get news and pictures in letters from our friends and family. We try to make our letters interesting, going so far as to make one a puzzle. This one was from ten years ago!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So be sure to read those letters. They can tell stories of earlier times and lead your research on new paths. Don’t forget to write a letter yourself. You never know what history you may be recording for future generations!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hope our US readers had a good Thanksgiving! Once Thanksgiving is over, most people turn their thoughts to the next holiday. And there are bunches in the next few weeks, Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa among others. So what does this have to do with family history? 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