I think probably the first time I heard the term Cracker was in Gone With the Wind. Maybe it’s a Southern word. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it used by a Westerner, at least not un-self-consciously. Many people I’ve asked have no idea what it means even though most have heard it. I read Gone With the Wind in high school, and got the basic meaning from the context and from...
What does it mean — a better diaspora? I started thinking about this a couple of weeks ago when a friend who is Latina mentioned how often people are surprised when they find out she doesn’t speak Spanish. At the time I just laughed. I don’t speak Swedish or any of my other ancestral languages, so we’re in the same boat. Later, though, I started thinking. Why would people...
I wonder sometimes. Genealogists are supposed to use the earliest attested name. The rule is often glossed as requiring genealogists to use the “birth name“. We had a debate on Geni.com a while back about the name of Jesus. I still don’t feel comfortable with the result. The Messianic Jews argued stridently in favor of Hebraicizing his name. The Christians argued just as...
Most experts agree this song is about the 1746 Battle of Culloden but there’s disagreement about who is singing and what they are doing. You can read about some of those at Wikipedia. The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond, sung by Ella Roberts The way I learned it—from Grandma Swanstrom, I think—the singer is a woman who has lost her lover in the war. “Ye’ll take the high road, and...
Mom asked me today if I remember the tomte’s name. No, I don’t think I knew the tomte has a name. But I’m intrigued by the question. Back up for a bit. We have a tomte (“house elf”). Of course we do. Our ancestors came from Sweden. Honestly, if I didn’t have one I’m not sure I’d admit it. A tomte is a guardian of the house, like the lares and...