I'm struggling with my culture - I grew up Polish in America. DNA test.

Okay if people wanna discuss anything other then what the TOPIC is about make YOUR own THREAD. I don't want racism or any negativity if there was a block button trust me I'll be using it right now

And you have been warned against it, so just ignore posters which you don't like.

Genetics is complicated science, so it is natural that some people want to simplify it and make money out of it. As has been shown, talking about "British" DNA is silly in itself as the British population is composed of many waves of migrations. Basically, there are Celtic people, there are Anglo-Saxon people, and there are descendants of the Viking people there. The old waves of migrations may have perhaps been more homogenous than the present ones. Let's take the Czech people, for example. Even if they consider themselves Slavic, genetics reveal that the population is onle half-"Slavic", that is gene R1a is present in half of them, but the rest are Celto-Germanic (even the once commonly used name for the country "Bohemia" is of Celtic origin). So how can you detect "Czech DNA" in people, for example?

Her mother isn't Polish. One set of her mother's great grandparents were Polish so it's hardly surprising that the OP doesn't have that much 'Polish' DNA although as we've discussed, that in itself is a bit meaningless. I think we just have to accept that it's an American thing, this need to figure out your European origins.


That theory is a bit discredited nowadays as well Ziem. Apparently it seems that being a Celt was more of a cultural thing than a genetic thing.

Some research they did on the DNA of the English,Scots, Welsh and Northern Ireland at Oxford University a couple of years ago turned up the following:

"Although people from Cornwall have a Celtic heritage, genetically they are much, much more similar to the people elsewhere in England than they are to the Welsh for example," said Prof Donnelly.

"People in South Wales are also quite different genetically to people in north Wales, who are both different in turn to the Scots. We did not find a single genetic group corresponding to the Celtic traditions in the western fringes of Britain."

Sorry,I misread it.That is very little Polish then.........My parents were both Polish and my wifes were both Irish and my kids do identify as Anglo/Polish/Irish :-)

You only inherit 50% your mother's dna and 50% of your father's dna so there is always a mix and skipping of generations in dna samples.

When testing shows odd and unexpected percentages from around Europe you have to consider migrations from 1000 years ago which are only recorded in legends

For an example, when Troy defeated Sparta, one legend is Spartans left by boat and travelled north to Scandinavia. If you look at the history of Viking Burgundians, they inhabited an island in the Baltic sea, settled and migrated down the Vistula, eventually settling in Burgundy. Genetic testing also found ancient central Europeans settled in current Scotland and brought agriculture. Ancient migrations abd invasions result in dna shared with far flung enthnic groups.

A Pole with 38 percent "western European" is so german! :)

Ok from my DNA test, I'n 98% Eastern Europe. My mother's parents came from Poland and Czechoslovakia. Though my grand mother said she came from Austria. On my fathers side I'm Polish and German. The other 2% was Lithuanian. Three grandparents were born in "the old country". One in America. All have passed away and I wish I would have learned more about their early life but being a child I didn't care. Their broken English was hard to understand at times and I was embarrassed when friends came over. My mother's grand mother lived with us after my grandfather died. Now I would give anything to talk and here stories about their lives. My grand mother was an amazing cook. After moving from Czechoslovakia she cooked for people and took in wash. I loved her Duck soup and potato dumplings. I used to find a place in Pittsburgh, Pa to buy duck and pigs blood. Now I don't know where to get the ingredients. I'm trying to lean more about their heritage now to pass along to my children and grand children. Let's start with making some of the food I loved as a child. Does any one know where to get duck with blood? Thanks in advance.