It was the most unusual, unexpected Christmas present ever.

And I didn’t find it beneath the tree.

Instead, it was an email sent to my computer on the most special day of the year.

I awoke early Christmas morning to discover a list of 1,000 newly discovered relatives identified through DNA testing at Ancestry.com.

Strangers, yes, for now. Potential new friends, to be sure. But best of all, they’re relatives.

For a retired older adult living alone, it’s a gift that keeps on giving.

It all started a few months ago when I decided to play around with the magic of DNA medical technology.

Anybody can do it. It’s simple. You pay $50 to $100 to spit into a glass vial and mail it off to Utah.

Several weeks later, you find out more about yourself in one email than gleaned through nearly 70 years of living.

Is there anything more interesting than finding out what you’re made of? Where your ancestors were from?

Many, or even most, learn they’re actually Heinz 57. But not the case with me.

My DNA shows nearly 90 percent of only one region, Germanic Europe. This means Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Switzerland. There’s only a slight, negligible touch of Sweden, Denmark, England and France.

Turns out, my family came from the Bavarian Alps near the Austrian border.

Quite a Christmas surprise, as I’d just finished watching “The Sound of Music,” a holiday TV special. The story and film are set in the mountains of my ancestral home.

My late mother, Marie Mae Hill, one-time church organist, certainly would have enjoyed knowing these details. The Hills are alive.

No wonder photos of the brilliant, snow-capped Alps have always inspired me.

Truth is, I grew up in the mountains, the Appalachian range. Not nearly as majestic or poetic as the Alps. But enough for me to realize that mountains are part of my DNA.

Results revealed that one of my closest relatives is Monica Serfass Sellers of Slatington. Monica and I grew up 26 miles apart yet never knew each other. We were separated by mountains, the towering Big Blue.

I met her by accident in October at the Walnutport Canal Festival.

She introduced herself when she noticed my name tag. We compared notes and instantly recognized family ties.

Sure enough, DNA testing confirms it. She’s my second cousin. And we share similarities.

Nearly the same age, we both spent decades doing volunteer work. We both are social and outgoing and enjoy meeting people. We both love Victorian décor and deep, vibrant color schemes.

Of course, we bonded.

And that’s part of the beauty of DNA heritage research.

It tells you about yourself and expands your circle.

It reveals family members near and far, an ongoing process. Updated regularly.

In fact, over the past six weeks, Ancestry has identified 36,000 people who share a portion of my DNA. The gift of instant relatives.

I’m getting in touch with some, little by little.

I’ll never be able to contact all. There are too many names. So I’ll settle for just a fraction.

I’ll do my best to reach out. Each is a relative, even if distant. Someone to get to know and maybe meet.

Yes, it’ll be a daunting challenge.

But my ancestry research has taught me a lesson - it’s important for me to climb every mountain.

I suppose I knew it all along.

It’s in my DNA.

Email Donald Serfass at dserfass@tnonline.com