Luxembourg, where my grandmother is from, is a tiny and relatively unknown country located between Germany and France. They hold a festival called Éimaischen, celebrated on Easter Monday. It’s a craft market- specifically for pottery and ceramics. A traditional item sold at this festival is a little bird whistle called a Péckvillchen, which is shaped like a little bird with two holes at the tail end that produce different sounds. They’re adorable, and it’s tradition to purchase one while at the market. They are an old and beloved tradition. Being from Luxembourg herself, the Péckvillchen are familiar to my grandma. She has a small collection of them in her living room all sitting on one table. They were sent out as gifts from family still residing in Luxembourg, either made by them or purchased for her. My siblings and I always thought they were charming and were very fond of them growing up. We used to play with them when we visited her. However, we’ve grown up since then and don’t play with them anymore. Instead, I have a newfound appreciation for them. My siblings, parents, and I aren’t deeply connected to Luxembourg. We’ve been there once and met a few members of our family there, but we don’t speak any of the languages they do and we don’t know much of anything about the culture. We have old family photos and other family-specific things, but when it comes to culture exclusively, we don’t have as much as other families do. The Péckvillchen bird whistles provide us with a small but meaningful connection.

– Bethany

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant