It's that time of year for jingle bells ringing and angels singing. December ushers in a rush of shopping, carols, lights, and traditions. This year, let’s add our own light to Christmas amid the hustle and bustle of holiday activities.
#LightTheWorld is an invitation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to transform Christmas into a season of service to family, friends, and even total strangers. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Experience His Light,” referencing the light that Jesus Christ brought to the world through His example of love and kindness.
There are many ways to share His light with others this season, but if you’re looking for some ideas related to family history, read on.
1. Add What You Know to FamilySearch
How does adding information to FamilySearch help others? If you’ve ever been the recipient of an unexpected link, story, or photo connected to one of your ancestors, then you know the power of discovering new information about your family. You can give this experience to other FamilySearch users when you add what you know to Family Tree.
Your added information is the fuel FamilySearch uses to make connections for others. Those connections are made by FamilySearch’s powerful computer algorithms that find links between disparate pieces of information. The raw materials for making those connections come from you and the millions of others contributing what they know about their family to the FamilySearch Family Tree.
For good measure, help others in your family or circle of friends to add what they know as well!
2. Share a Fond Memory with a Loved One
Show genuine appreciation and love for your family members and friends. Reminding others of shared memories shows them that you are thinking about them. What better way to share light than by brightening the mood of those who mean the most to you?
- Record and upload a story to FamilySearch Memories about a truly touching moment when a family member made a positive impact on your life. Write out your family's holiday traditions, and upload them to FamilySearch Memories. Generations to come will want to know how you celebrated this time of year with those near to your heart!
- Find a photo of a treasured Christmas memory. Send the photo to the loved ones you experienced the memory with.
- Thank a parent, grandparent, or other relative for a lesson he or she once taught you.
- Write and send a heartfelt card to a family member you would like to thank for being a major part of your life.
- Share with another family member a tip or trick your grandparents taught you.
- Ponder on the qualities you admire in your parents or the life lessons you have learned from them. Share these meaningful insights with your parents! Don’t forget to write down these lessons so you can look back on them later.
- Apologize to a family member, or forgive a family member. Christmas is a great opportunity to create new beginnings and positive memories together.
Download the Memories App for Free!
3. Visit an Elderly Neighbor
Christmas can often be a lonely time for others. Spread some Christmas cheer, and help the elderly people in your life know that they are not forgotten.
- Offer to help with housework or yardwork.
- Help put up Christmas decorations.
- Share your musical talents at a local senior center or hospital.
- Record neighbors or relatives telling a life story. Check out this FamilySearch blog post for questions to ask!
- Help upload memories to FamilySearch Memories so future generations can be inspired by their experiences.
- Help organize and digitize old scrapbooks, journals, and photos. You can visit a FamilySearch center and digitize photos and documents for free! Find a FamilySearch center near you.
4. Help Others Research Their Genealogy
At Christmastime, many people think more about their families. Even 10 minutes of your time can help someone else connect with ancestors!
- Help a friend create a free FamilySearch account. As others add known family members to the shared family tree, their personal tree might populate with ancestors who are already in the shared tree. The guided family tree can make this process even easier!
- See how your contributions to the shared family tree have already helped others connect to your common ancestors.
- Review computer-indexed names on the FamilySearch Get Involved app to help make historical documents more easily searchable.
- Check out the Opportunities section on FamilySearch's Get Involved page to participate in these volunteer activities:
- Full Name Review: Make sure a person's entire name was indexed correctly.
- Family Review: Identify all the members of a family in a historical document so that they can be added together to the shared family tree.
- Verify Places: Improve the accuracy of person profiles in the shared family tree by connecting standard places to unverified places.
Download the Get Involved App for Free!
5. Learn How Another Culture Celebrates Christmas
Take some time to connect with your heritage this Christmas. Do you know where your ancestors are from and how they might have celebrated the holidays? Honor their memories by learning some Christmas traditions from their homeland.
Then consider what traditions you can start or continue that might add more meaning to the season.
Light the World
For more ideas on how to serve others this holiday season, click the button below. You can use a kindness randomizer to generate ideas, download a printout with 50 service ideas, and find out if a giving machine is near you.
As Charles Dickens once said, "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another." This year, give back to those who have lightened your burdens. Spread kindness wherever you go. And thank you for making the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time!
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