What exactly is a "heritage"?

Question:People always say heritage, but in so many fashions that I can't understand. People, for example are telling me I have a Jewish heritage, yet I am not Jewish and not even part Jewish, so what is a Jewish heritage? Second, when does a blood line fade away from you because I learned that it fades away soon, so you can't be part Irish, English, Spanish, Italian, Polish etc. if you are like anything below 1/8, so what exactly is the use of dicovering your ancestors if your blood fades and what is a heritage?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: People always say heritage, but in so many fashions that I can't understand. People, for example are telling me I have a Jewish heritage, yet I am not Jewish and not even part Jewish, so what is a Jewish heritage? Second, when does a blood line fade away from you because I learned that it fades away soon, so you can't be part Irish, English, Spanish, Italian, Polish etc. if you are like anything below 1/8, so what exactly is the use of dicovering your ancestors if your blood fades and what is a heritage?

Here are some dictionary definitions:

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practices that are handed down from the past by tradition; "a heritage of freedom"

inheritance: any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors; "my only inheritance was my mother's blessing"; "the world's heritage of knowledge"

inheritance: that which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner

inheritance: hereditary succession to a title or an office or property

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Usually when people say they have a Jewish heritage, at least one of their parents or grandparents were Jewish, but they don't practice. If people are saying that about you, with your Chinese name, they are very odd. (If "Mo Sung" is not your real name, or it isn't Chinese, your last name may sound Jewish.)

Blood lines fade when you want them to. I'm proud to be 7/128ths Huguenot, for instance.

Genealogy has no "use", any more than fly fishing, nature photography, stamp collecting or reading about the Civil War. It is a hobby many of us enjoy; nothing more, nothing less. I often compare it to fly fishing, in fact. We don't always land that elusive ancestor, but we keep casting.

Some people say it provides valuable medical information. A good MRI scan can tell you what you need to know about your health, and people should check themselves for lumps anyway, even if none of their grandparents ever had cancer. You don't need to know that your GG grandparents all keeled over at 45 to know you should eat less fat and more vegetables, stop smoking and exercise more.

Heritage is what you make of it. I feel more comfortable in a cobbler's shop, restaurant or grocery store if the sign out front says "& Son, est. 1944", but there are lots of first-generation Americans who are computer programmers, concert pianists or senators who are doing things their fathers never did.

Simple answer - a heritage is anything that you inherit from your ancestors - your relatives, looks, skin colour, money, property, language.
Normally a heritage is seen to be something that you can be proud of. If you were descended from John Wilkes Booth or a serial killer, for instance, you would not necessarily be proud of your heritage.
The term is also applied to buildings, treaures and even scenery and places that are particular to a country and that the people of that country can take pride in.
As far as "part this or that" goes. It is meaningless unless you look, feel or want to be the way your heritage dictates. You should be the way YOU feel, not the way that others say your heritage should make you!