Can Anyone Help with a Czech or Slovak Kids Song?

Lewis Grimm wrote: Hi. My grandmother used to sing a children's song to me in Czech or Slovak. I believe it is about a little hunter. It went along the lines of (phonetically): Ya simali nissli vechek… Any ideas? If anyone can help Lewis, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks! Lisa Share on Facebook and other [...]

Can Anyone Help with a Czech Rhyme that Sounds Like “Hou-py, hou-py, hou-py”?

Anna wrote: Do you know the nursery rhyme that begins: Hou-py, hou-py, hou-py, Ko-cka sue-dla krou-py Do-cour hruch I’ll try my best to write this poem-rhyme out for you. Of course, I will not be able to add the correct accent marks, punctuations marks, etc. The writing I have to copy is very small, so I [...]

Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group

We'd love it if you'd join the Mama Lisa Facebook Group. You can post anything you'd like about your culture. You can post your own musical recordings or YouTube videos… Links to culture and musical sites… Photos of your country… Questions about songs or cultural issues… Anything related to World Culture and [...]

Good King Wenceslas – A Carol with a Video – Come Hear it Performed!

Good King Wenceslas was written in 1853 by the Englishman John Mason Neale. The tune is from “Tempus Adest Floridum”, a spring carol from the 13th Century. I've posted these lyrics before. Since then, there's been an explosion of videos on YouTube. It seemed like a good time to post this [...]

Can Someone Help with a Children's Song (that's possibly Czech)?

Dave wrote: Hello! I came across your website and it's fantastic! There is a kid's song that I'm dying to find out if 1) it's Czech and 2) if you've heard it and know what it actually means. It would be amazing if you could help me with this one. Here is the phonetic version, please don't be [...]

The Symbolism of the Egg

As Easter approaches, it's natural to think a little about eggs! In days gone by the egg, due to its shape, was a symbol of the earth. Thanks to its obvious association with the beginning of life, it has also been the basis of many ancient creation stories. It has been a symbol [...]

Elaborately Decorated Eggs for Easter In Eastern Europe

Guest Blogger, Ed Gawlinski, has been involved in many cultural organizations throughout his life. Here, he discusses Easter traditions in several Eastern European cultures. A common custom is to color hard boiled eggs for Easter. We usually colored them on Good Friday, while eating hot cross buns… Hot cross buns, Hot cross buns, one ha' penny, two [...]

Can Someone Help with a Czech Rhyme?

Jennifer wrote: My husband's aunt always does a little hand rhyme/song with my children that goes something like, “smudgala mischka krukeelaka….” I know I'm butchering the spelling and I'm trying to find the correct words and the meaning of this Czech rhyme in English. My daughter wants to share it with her class for [...]

Looking for an Old Czech Rhyme

Julie wrote: I'm looking for the old czech rhyme/finger play ditty my grandma used to play with me. It was about an insect-spider who crawls up (your arm) finds a hole (ear) and crawls in (tickle ear). It phonectically sounds like “broczech leza pludla meza daya jerka tomza leza”. Ideally, I would like the actual [...]

How to Find Sheet Music, Tunes and MP3's on Mama Lisa's World

In addition to this blog, I also host Mama Lisa's World. Mama Lisa's World is a large collection of children's songs and rhymes from countries all around the globe. Matt, a music teacher from Rhode Island, wrote a question to me, the other day, about Mama Lisa's World: Hey Mama, I love the concept of your site. [...]