Knowing your roots have always been deemed important for humans. This is in many ways who we are, even when we have no social relationship to our ancestors. All across the U.S. for instance, communities take pride in their ancestors' nations, whether that is Norway, Ireland, Germany, France, or other European nations. Festivals, fairs, and other events take place annually to celebrate heritage.
This is despite the fact that many have not even been back to see where their families originated from. In recent years however, the idea of finding your specific heritage, and then visiting these areas to discover it, has become a great travelling trend. Why not combine your heritage with a wonderful trip to the country your ancestors came from? By taking a quick DNA test, you can scientifically determine your heritage and explore your origins!
Find Your Ancestry With a DNA Test
Advanced DNA testing has made finding your roots rather easy. If you go to this site, you may find some of the best DNA tests to get your adventure under way. Normally, a DNA test just requires you to send a swab from your tongue or a small test-tube filled with saliva. This sample is then compared to the DNA of a large sample of individuals across many regions.
From this large sample, one will be able to assess the origins of their genes. The test will normally display your heritage based on your percentage wise ethnicity. For instance, if your mom was fully German, and your dad was fully Irish, the test would display your DNA as 50% German and 50% Irish.
However, through the generations, few have kept their full ethnicity, and especially the U.S. with all its immigration, has truly become a melting pot. That is however just more exciting for the traveler inside of you, as you may be able to see a vast amount of countries on your heritage trip! For many Americans this trip would be like a "Europe around trip."
Many Americans for instance have a genetic makeup that consists of around 5 different major nationalities. German, Anglo-Saxon, Nordic, Italian, French, and many more dominate here. Of course, this is because of the settlers that once came to seek joy in Europe. By going back to their origins, and effectively your origins, you may walk through the footsteps of your ancestors!
Travelling Through the Footsteps of Ancestors
Every trip to Europe is undoubtedly very exciting, but for many Americans, especially those on a heritage trip, it means just a little more. Here, one will have the opportunity of walking in the footsteps of their ancestors. If you put in the due diligence on searching deeper into your ancestry, such as looking for living relatives, you might enjoy the trip even more.
DNA test sites will normally have the option to connect with those that have matching DNA on the site. However, these tests are not as popular in European countries as of yet, considering most people living there usually know their ethnical makeup. What you could do instead is to look for information on your family that emigrated to the U.S., and potentially find the name of their hometown.
From this point, you could contact historians in that town and enquire information. Likely, the best step here would be to set a professional on the case, but if your ancestors that came to the U.S. were diligent with their information, you might possibly find enough information to do the search all by yourself. After all, social media sites usually only require a last name and a city, before several alternatives pop up.
Give Your Next Trip Some Extra Excitement
A trip to Europe is already rather exciting, but with the intention of finding your lost relatives through your ancestors, you might be able to add that extra excitement to the trip. Visit the walking grounds of your great, great grandpa, or see where your great grandma was born. While you might have never even met these individuals, it is a touching and important experience to discover your roots.
It all starts with a DNA test for many individuals. Through these, lost relatives are found, and a heritage you maybe did not even know of may be found, and memories that last for a lifetime might be made. If you are interested in finding out how "exotic" you are, and of course go on an exotic trip, then give your next trip some extra excitement by looking for your heritage!
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
