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Little Christmas spirits with the Christmas spirit
How to express Yule-tide greetings in German and the Scandinavian countries - inspired by 1960s postcards. Plus examples of some Scandinavia
Pamela Israel
Dec 23, 20192 min read
74 views
1960 Christmas Card Mystery
Why were there piles of Christmas cards from 1960 sent from around the world to a young girl in Virginia?
Pamela Israel
Dec 12, 20193 min read
242 views
German in English I
Gesundheit! Bless you? In the American melting pot, you hear bits of the various ingredients still in the mix. Here are a few examples of Ge
Stefan Israel
Oct 7, 20192 min read
247 views
The Scandalous Pauline: Discovering a Fascinating Woman
One of the early things my father told me when I asked him about his family was that my great-grandmother, Pauline Volkmann, had left her hu
Christine Israel
Mar 8, 20195 min read
278 views
German in the Cemetery
Some old cemeteries have gravestones written in German. Here are some tips to help translate some key words.
Pamela Israel
Oct 23, 20182 min read
5,675 views
Tip: German-Language Newspaper Search
Here’s a fun tip for researching relatives, especially 1st generation German ones. The Library of Congress’ Chronicling America: Historic...
Pamela Israel
Oct 3, 20181 min read
130 views
Clues Hidden in "von" and "van"?
People's surnames often provide clues into their way back family history. Learn what Von and Van mean for the Dutch and Germans.
Stefan Israel
Sep 21, 20184 min read
22,962 views
When is October in September?
Beer lovers and German fans can likely answer this riddle in a second. We are talking about Oktoberfest! September brings a nip in the...
Pamela Israel
Sep 10, 20181 min read
65 views
the FEMININE of FAMILY NAMES
The history behind some of those last names - many had a feminine meaning. In some languages, the end of names still changes!
Stefan Israel
Mar 14, 20184 min read
1,900 views
What’s with the -ch- in German?
German has two variants for ch, depending on whether the surrounding letters are ‘bright’ or ‘dark’. If you say “ee, ey” versus “o, oo, a
Stefan Israel
Jan 18, 20182 min read
735 views
Ticket to a Year of Happiness
One of the fun things about digging through old family papers is discovering the whimsical pieces that someone has tucked away. Here's
Pamela Israel
Dec 30, 20172 min read
97 views
St. Nicholas - Bringer of Gifts
Martin Luther, who grew up with the tradition of gifts on Nikolaustag, shifted gift-giving to Christmas, since saints were no longer a focus
Stefan Israel
Dec 5, 20172 min read
497 views
St. Nicholas's Bad Cop: Krampus
Was zum Teufel? What the freaking devil? Santa. Krampus
Stefan Israel
Dec 4, 20172 min read
198 views
The Curious History of the German 'Doubled S' - ß
Ä, Ö and Ü are simple variations of familiar letters, but the fourth letter that German has that we don’t is the real kicker: ß Eszett
Stefan Israel
Nov 15, 20172 min read
6,048 views
Where is that in English?
When it comes to place names, getting from English to German and vice-versa can be challenging, but it's also loads of fun, and useful,...
Pamela Israel
Oct 10, 20172 min read
111 views
Are those even the same letters in old German?
Old German letters are tough to read but they are mostly the same alphabet we use - just with a few variations.
Stefan Israel
Oct 2, 20172 min read
603 views
Why'd Germans have a different alphabet way back when?
Explanation on why old German writing was different than today's writing.
Stefan Israel
Sep 26, 20172 min read
791 views
The Twins from Two Different Countries
One says he's German. The other says he's Danish. They're twins. It actually makes sense, but there's history to understand.
Pamela Israel
Aug 28, 20172 min read
124 views
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