As you may already know, a housewarming is a party for someone who has just moved into a new home. Last month I wrote a little about housewarming traditions. Since then, I’ve discovered that many people are interested in learning more about housewarming traditions, gifts, sayings and poems.
I found some proverbs related to buying or having a house…
-One’s house, one’s castle.
-My house is my castle.
-The house shows the owner.
-Home is where the heart is.
-He that buys a house ready wrought, hath many a pin and nail for naught.
-Better one’s house too little one day, then too big all the year after.
I particularly like this French proverb…
A chaque oiseau, son nid est beau.
Meaning… To every bird, its own nest is beautiful.
If anyone’s aware of any other housewarming sayings, poems or traditions, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
UPDATE: There’s one other saying I just remembered… Home, Sweet Home. My mother used to say this to me when I was a child, and we’d just get home. Now I say it to my children. I’ve seen it on signs that can be hung in the house.
This article was posted on Tuesday, August 8th, 2006 at 9:43 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, Customs and Traditions, English, English Proverbs, France, French, French Proverbs, Housewarming Traditions, Languages, Proverbs, Proverbs about Home, Proverbs about one's House, United Kingdom, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
12 Responses to “Housewarming and Proverbs about One’s House”
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August 10th, 2006 at 6:51 am
In French, we also have “On est bien chez le roi, mais on est mieux chez soi” which means “One feels good at the king’s house but one feels better at home”
August 11th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
Monique sent me some proverbs in Italian, Spanish, French and Occitan (a language spoken in southern France and parts of Spain and Italy.), about having a house or home. Here’s what she wrote…
Lisa,
I found 2 Italian sayings about home and having a house:
Casa mia, casa mia,
benché piccola tu sia,
tu mi sembri una badia*.
English Translation:
My home/house, my home/house
Though you’re small
You’re like an abbey to me
*”Una badia” also means a large and magnificent house.
The other one is…
Casa propria non c’è oro che la paghi = There’s no gold that would pay for one’s own house.
The French proverb you mention (A chaque oiseau, son nid est beau) also exists in Occitan too. It’s A cada aucèl, son nis es bèl or Cada aucèl trapa son nis bèl = Every bird finds its nest beautiful.
About one’s having a house: when we gather at someone’s house and everyone brings something to eat, we say in Occitan that, Lo que pòrta l’ostal pòrta mai que çò que cal = He who brings the house brings more than is needed = the main/best thing.
There’s a Spanish one that goes El casado casa quiere or El que se casa casa quiere which means A married man wants a house (of his own) or He who gets married wants a house (of his own).
There are also proverbs about being one’s own master at home. In French there’s Charbonnier est maître chez soi = (literally) A coalman is his own master at home = A man’s home is his castle.
In Italian there’s, A casa sua ognuno è re = Everyone is king at home. In Spanish it’s, Cada cual es rey en su casa = same as the Italian proverb.
Monique added the following, with a note that she didn’t want to offend anyone by it. I said I’d post it in my own house for my husband to see… (Just kidding!)
There’s also one in Spanish, Cada uno en su casa es rey, pero su mujer hace la ley = Every man is king at home but his wife rules.
We’ll I could put that last one in my house, but I don’t think my husband would pay any mind to it!
Thanks for sending these Monique!
-Lisa
August 12th, 2006 at 2:47 pm
Monique later added…
I found two others in French. One goes:
“Ma maison est mon château” = “My house is my castle.”
The other goes:
“Ma maison est mon Louvre et mon Fontainebleau” = “My house is my Louvre and my Fountainebleu.” (Both were dwellings of kings of France.)
October 24th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
I loved these sayings. I am looking for a saying in French to be painted on my living room wall. I used to have “Du bon vin et de l’amour Font d’heureux jours” (good wine and love make for happy days) but my husband thought it a bit too hedonistic. I just may go with A chaque oiseau, though it seems a trifle plain. Anyway, enjoyed my visit to your website.
October 25th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Monique sent me this link for you of hundreds of proverbs in English and French at…
http://www.e-frenchtranslation.com/fr/proverbes.htm
December 27th, 2007 at 4:30 am
I was looking out for some good proverbs regarding building a house, to design a brochure for interior designs. I enjoyed the proverbs and as said in every proverb “home is where the heart is”.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Una mas en espanol:
“Mi casa es su casa” = English translation: “My house is your house.”
February 24th, 2008 at 8:23 am
My Baba taught me that you NEVER enter someone’s house empty handed – poor manners and bad luck – but she never told me how or why it was bad luck. So, to this day, I always bring something to someone’s house whether it’s a home baked pie (or store bought due to time constraints), flowers from my garden when in season, or a jar of my homemade pickles. That tradition has stuck in my head and I wouldn’t dream of breaking it – still concerned about the bad luck, I guess :]
January 4th, 2011 at 1:37 am
I heard one while watching House Hunters International. A couple was looking for a house to renovate in France and the realtor told them the proverb: “Peu a peu, l’oiseau fait son nid” which translates to “Little by little, the bird builds its nest” (Sorry, but I do not know how to use my keyboard to place the accent on the word “a”)
January 6th, 2011 at 7:05 pm
It’s “Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid”
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Purely for the sake of humor .. I began thinking about “my house es tu casa” etc … and I thopught I’ld add … “If your wife or girlfriend don’t mind” .. I one gives it the thought it deserves .. you’ll get the message… may your house and family remain as secure and safe as is necessary .. I think .. :º)
September 5th, 2011 at 5:03 am
I want to know if their are any English traditions that is followed for a housewarming