Breadcrumbs: Double Your Impact During the Holidays

 [Breadcrumbs is a series on the Marian's Roots & Rambles blog that looks at ways to leave tangible breadcrumbs behind for your future descendants to find.]

The winter holidays are a perfect time to leave breadcrumbs for your descendants. In fact, you have the opportunity to benefit from a double impact and it's as simple as sending flowers.

At Christmastime, my church offers its parishioners the chance to buy poinsettias to decorate the church sanctuary for the holidays.  The bright red poinsettias give the church a festive look.  The poinsettias also give you a chance to leave some breadcrumbs behind.

When you donate poinsettias you have the opportunity to leave a remembrance.  People often dedicate the flowers to family members who have passed on whether they be children, parents or other loved ones.  Many people dedicate the flowers to their grandparents.  The remembrances are then printed in the bulletin for the Christmas service.

Do you know what happens to the church bulletins/programs?  They get archived! They become a part of the church history.  When your descendants come looking for you their ancestor they will find a trace of you in the church bulletin.  Not only will the find you but they will have the double benefit of  learning about your ancestors in the remembrances you have left behind each year.

Do your descendants a favor and send flowers each Christmas!  And get double genealogy benefit by leaving a remembrance for your parents or grandparents.


Merry Christmas!



Photo Credit: Photo by OiMax and used under the creative commons license.