Roots Television | Og Blog

Did you know that Thanksgiving is National Family History Day in the U.S.? What better time to gather family stories and tall tales than while eating your fifth piece of pumpkin pie and ignoring the mountain of dishes in the kitchen. This holiday season, pull out your camcorder, cassete recorder, reel-to-reel, gramophone, or hammer and chisel, and make sure you record your favorite family legends before they fade away!

To help you get started, we are airing a special "Living History" lineup of programs. At the top of our list is Grand Generation, by Academy-Award-winning filmmaker Paul Wagner. Many of you may have seen some of his other work, such as The Stone Carvers and Out of Ireland. Grand Generation is oral history at its finest. Wagner, with Steven Zeitlin and Marjorie Hunt of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife, share interviews with hispanic farmer Cleofes Vigil, civil rights activist Rosina Tucker, Jewish baker Moishe Sacks, and other members of an older and wiser generation. Each shares a unique perspective on aging and gives important advice to those who follow. There is a little of everyone's grandma and grandpa in this remarkable documentary.

Later this week, we'll introduce Ancestors: Family Stories. You'll learn how and why to gather family stories, and you'll follow Fabiana Chiu's quest to document her family's journey from China, through Peru, to New York City.

Life is busy, and the holidays are often the only time we give ourselves to gather together and share the things that make us a family. Don't let these moments pass - do your part to preserve your family's unique legacy!