Mama Lisa's World
International Music & Culture
A place for poems, songs, rhymes and traditions from around the world for both kids and grown-ups to enjoy!
Italian Kid Songs & Rhymes
A Book & App..
Over 80 Italian children's songs and rhymes, with commentary and translations. An iPhone/iPad App or Book starting at just $1.99! More
Articles about 'Belgium'
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French Pronunciation is a site that helps you improve your French pronunciation.  You can listen to recordings of the sounds you find difficult to pronounce and then practice along with them.
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How the Finch Got Her Colors is a Flemish legend. Below you can listen to it in English and read along with the tale… MP3 of How The Finch Got Her Colors How The Finch Got Her Colors A Flemish Legend There was once a time when all the birds were gray and...
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Open Culture has a page of free language learning links covering 40 languages. Here are some of the languages you can find links for… Arabic, English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Bulgarian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Finnish, Gaelic, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Maori, Norwegian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swahili,...
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Today is St Nicholas Day!  Many children in Europe receive gifts and treats in the shoes they left out last night for St. Nick. Read all about the traditions of St. Nick here.
Mrs. Brein from Argentina is looking for two Dutch songs that her father sang to her when she was a child. Here is what they sounded like -the spelling is phonetical 1. Traláreche: Traláreche, traláreche, oh my muther so fader chessen, eisi bebirj, eisi bebirj, oh my muther so fader cheseen. (It was sung while turning...
Donna Bratton wrote to me on the Mama Lisa Facebook Group: I am looking for games that children in Belgium play for a project. Does anyone know any? Thanks If anyone can help out, please comment below. Thanks in advance! Mama Lisa
These tongue twisters were recited by François Martini, who gives the instructions: “À dire très vite” (To say very quickly). Below the video, you’ll find the tongue twisters written in French with their English translations… “Un chasseur sachant chasser sait chasser sans son chien.” (A hunter knowing how to hunt knows how to hunt without...
Peter pointed out an online collection of traditional Dutch songs published in 1895. The site is only in Dutch. Some of the songs may have archaic language. But it may be interesting for those of you who speak the language. Thanks for letting us know about this site Peter! -Mama Lisa
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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...
Etiennette was looking for help with a French lullaby: I was wondering if anyone knew the complete lyrics to a lullaby my mother would sing to me and then to my children. I only remember a few, it’s a bit scary. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember too much. Here it goes… Entendez-vous dans la pleine, Un...
People often write me looking for songs about the four seasons, from around the world. Here are some! The links below take you to the different pages on Mama Lisa’s World of International Childrens Songs. There, you’ll find the lyrics in the original languages, with English translations. Songs about Winter Yuki (Snow) – Japanese A,...
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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...
Ed Gawlinski wrote to me about his family’s holiday traditions. His letter shows how you can be creative and expose your children to many different customs around the world at this time of year… Lisa, The Polish Custom is for Saint Nicholas (świętego Mikołaja) to bring children presents on December 6th …. The traditions that go...
Gail wrote me: Greetings Lisa, I am wondering if you have ever heard of a Dutch children’s song that starts out: “In the Vintertime when the vind blows…” some of the other words were vindowpane and vestibule. It goes something like: In the wintertime when the wind blows (and something) then frost forms...
Lorraine simply wrote, regarding “Het Maria Klokje”: Do you know this song? Thanks Lorraine from Ontario Canada If anyone knows the lyrics to this song, please comment below or email me. If you can possibly provide an English translation, that would be great too. Thanks! Lisa
Liliane from Belgium is looking for the origins of a lullaby that her mom used to sing to her. She’s curious about the country, area it’s from and the possible author, if any. The name of the lullaby is Dans le chemin creux de la lande (In the Sunken Lane of the Moor)....
Sarah wrote: My father-in-law came back from Spain singing this song called “Chichiwa”, and my 5 year old son loves it, but none of us know the words. Can anyone help? I’ve been trying to find it on the internet and there are references to it on a couple of Dutch websites, but no...
People all around the world are familiar with the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It’s at least 245 years old! The tune is originally from France and it was first seen in print in Paris in 1761 – though the current song, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star didn’t exist back then. In the 1770’s,...
We were recently fortunate enough to receive a selection of recordings of French kids songs, sung by a French music teacher, Tiphaine Woerth. Here’s a wonderful recording Tiphaine did of Ainsi Font, followed by the lyrics and an English translation. MP3 of Ainsi Font Ainsi font (French) Ainsi font, font, font Les petites marionnettes Ainsi font font font Trois petits tours Et puis...
Nancy wrote: Dear Lisa, Do you know this Dutch song? My mother used to sing it to our children in the 1960’s: Klap eens in je handjes, blij blij blij… Appreciate if you can let me know the rest of it and any background history you may have. Thanks, Nancy Reimers If anyone can help out with this song, and an...
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