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  • Archive for the 'Greece' Category

    Contents

    Can Anyone Help with a Greek Translation of Palamakia (Clap)?

    Chenodia – Mother Goose in Dead Languages

    Some Proverbs about Earth for Earth Day

    Can Anyone Help with a Greek Kids Song?

    Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group

    The Symbolism of the Egg

    Symbolic Foods Eaten Around the World for New Years

    Can Someone Help Jog a Memory of a Song Sung in Greek School ?

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

    Mama Lisa’s World News and Multimedia Features

    Please Send An Endearing Term for Grandma and Grandpa in Your Language

    Posts

    Can Anyone Help with a Greek Translation of Palamakia (Clap)?

    Saturday, October 24th, 2009

    We received a Greek kids clapping song called Palamakia that we could use a little help with. Below is the Greek text, a transliteration and a rough translation. We’d like to know if the English translation is okay or if it needs to be changed at all…

    Greek Text

    Παλαμάκια

    Παλαμάκια παίξετε
    κι ο μπαμπάς του έρχεται
    και του φέρνει κάτι τι
    κουλουράκια στο χαρτί

    Παλαμάκια παίξετε
    κι η μανούλα έρχεται
    να το πάρει αγκαλιά
    το μικρούλι της παιδιά.

    Παλαμάκια, παλαμάκια
    παίζουν όλα τα παιδάκια
    Παλαμάκια και χορό
    νταχ ντιρντι και
    νταχ ντιρντο

    Transliteration

    Palamakia

    Palamakia Peksete
    Kai o babas tou erhete
    Kai tou ferni kati ti
    Koulourakia sto harti

    Palamakia Peksete
    Kai i manoula erhete
    Kai ta perni agalia
    Ta mikroulia tis pethia

    Palamakia Palamakia
    Pezoun ola ta pethakia
    Palamakia kai horo
    Tihdidi kai Tihdido

    Rough English Translation by Penelope Karagouni (with some editing by me)

    Clap

    Clap your hands
    His dad is coming
    To bring him something,
    Cookies in a paper-wrapper.

    Clap your hands
    Mommy is coming
    To get the little one
    To hug the children!

    Clap, clap,
    All the children clap
    Clapping and dancing
    Dah didrdi and dah dirdo.*

    *Dah didrdi and dah dirdo’ are sounds only with no meaning.

    You can hear part of the rhyme in the 2nd part of the YouTube Video below…

    If anyone can help with the translation, or let us know if it’s okay, please let me know in the comments below or by emailing me.

    Thanks!

    Mama Lisa

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    Chenodia – Mother Goose in Dead Languages

    Sunday, May 10th, 2009

    Chenodia, The Classic Mother Goose (1871) by John Bigelow was just released online.  It appears to be the traditional English nursery rhymes translated into Latin and Ancient Greek.

    If anyone knows anything else about this text, please let us know in the comments below.

    Mama Lisa

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    Some Proverbs about Earth for Earth Day

    Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

    Image of Earth by Lisa Yannucci

    Here are some proverbs for Earth Day…

    Old Proverbs:

    -The Earth produces all things and receives all again.
    -Earth is the Best Shelter
    -What the heaven showers down, the Earth drinks up. (Greek Proverb)

    This one is not about the Earth, but it involves the Earth.

    -Six feet of earth make all men of one size. (Italian – Sei pie di terra agguaglion tutti.)

    Here’s a line from Tennyson, The Day Dream (L’ Envoi.):

    We are Ancients of the earth,
    And in the morning of the times.

    Happy Earth Day!

    Mama Lisa

    PS Feel free to add any poems or proverbs about Earth in the comments below.

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    Can Anyone Help with a Greek Kids Song?

    Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

    Mary wrote:

    I am of Greek decent but I have forgotten most of my Greek. I do remember vaguely a song my yia yia used to sing. I was wondering if you could help me with it.

    I found this on the internet, but the song I remember is much shorter and ends with “ya ma ta zahara, ta!”. The first 2 lines are the same.

    From the internet:

    Κούνια, μπέλα 
    έσπασε η κουτέλα, 
    βγήκε μια κοπέλα, 
    που’ τρωγε σταφύλια. 
    Της ζήτησα μια ρώγα, 
    μου δωσε ένα μπάτσο, 
    έπεσα στο βάτο, 
    βγήκα το Σαββάτο. 

    Thanks for your help.

    Mary

    If anyone can help Mary, and/or translate this song, please comment below or email me at lisa@mamalisa.com .

    Thanks!

    Mama Lisa

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    Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group

    Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

    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 Music…

    Click on the icon below to access the group. If you have a Facebook account already, you just need to click on “Join the Group” to join. If you’re not a member, you simply have to sign up for free to become a member and then you can join the Mama Lisa Group…

    Mama Lisa's Facebook Group Badge

    Looking forward to seeing you in Facebook!

    Mama Lisa

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    The Symbolism of the Egg

    Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

    Photo of 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 of fertility, rebirth and the cycle of life. These latter symbols are so close to what Springtime is all about that it’s no wonder it’s been an important part of Spring celebrations since pre-Christian times.

    As Europe became Christian, eggs became a symbol of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus. In the past, Christians gave up eggs for Lent (the 40 days before Easter when it’s customary to give up different types of food). But even though people didn’t eat them, the hens kept laying them! So people would hard boil and decorate them. This would help preserve them longer and serve as part of the holiday festivities.

    The egg is also part of the Jewish Passover holiday that takes place in the Spring. The egg is placed on the Seder plate and is a symbol of sacrifice and loss. Yet to some it also symbolizes the full cycle of life, and therefore hope and rebirth. (The egg is a more recent addition to the Seder plate compared to the other symbolic items that are found there and its symbolic meaning seems to be more open to interpretation.)

    In China, red eggs are given out at the one month birthday of a new baby. It’s customary to hold a Red Egg and Ginger Party at this time. Once again, the source seems to be the egg’s role as a symbol of fertility and the beginning of life.

    So here we come full circle (or oval) with the egg as a wonderful symbol of birth, renewal and rebirth. This is something wonderful to consider as Springtime approaches in the northern hemisphere, where the Earth will soon come back to life!

    Feel free to let us know about any special symbolism of the egg in your culture in the comments below.

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    Symbolic Foods Eaten Around the World for New Years

    Saturday, December 29th, 2007

    In many parts of the world, the foods eaten on New Years Eve and New Years Day have important symbolic meanings. These symbols seem to fall into several major categories.

    The first class symbolizes financial prosperity. This type of food is round like coins. Often, the dish will be round beans, like lentils, that will expand when it cooks, symbolizing expanding fortunes. Another financial symbol is food with big green leaves, representing paper money. The green may also be for growth. Foods like this are cabbage, collard greens and kale. Golden colored foods are also good for financial rewards in the New Year.

    The second type of New Years food symbol represents the hope of having food on the table throughout the year. Pork is one important symbol of eating well year round. It’s also a sign of prosperity. In the olden times, if your family had a pig, you were doing well!

    In some countries, actually having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.

    A third symbol involves eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year. In some countries people bake a coin in a sweet cake and the person who gets the coin will have good luck throughout the year. In Spain, Portugal, and parts of South and Central America, 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight. The hope is to eat 12 sweet grapes to have 12 sweet months!

    Fish is thought to symbolize good luck in many countries.

    Another symbol for good luck involves eating food in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year – that’s good luck.

    In Japan, long Buckwheat Soba noodles symbolize long life. Just don’t break them while you’re eating them!

    Here’s a list of some symbolic food types and the places where they’re eaten for the New Year. Feel free to let us know what’s eaten for New Years in your country, in the comments below.

    Round Food (Like Coins for Monetary Luck)

    Italy, Brazil & Germany (Lentils)
    Germany (Pancakes)
    Philippines (Round Fruit)
    Southern US (Black-eyed Peas)

    Green Leafy Vegetables (Like Paper Money for Monetary Luck)

    Southern USA (Collard Greens & Turnips)
    Denmark (Kale)
    Germany (Sauerkraut)

    Golden Food (Like Gold for Monetary Luck)

    Southern USA (Corn Bread)

    Pig (Symbol of Plentiful Food in the New Year)

    Hungary (Roast suckling pig with a 4 leaf clover in its mouth)
    Italy (Cotechino con lenticchie – pork sausage with lentils)
    Germany (Kassler mit Sauerkraut – financial luck)
    Pennsylvania Dutch (USA – Pork with Sauerkraut)
    Austria
    China

    Food on the Table or Plate at Midnight (Symbol of Plentiful Food in the New Year)

    Germany
    Philippines

    Sweets (Symbolic of a Sweet Year or Good Luck)

    Hungary (Doughnuts)
    Greece (Round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside – whoever gets the coin is lucky throughout the year)
    Israel (Jewish New Year – Apple dipped in honey & grapes)
    India
    Egypt (Candy for kids)
    Korea (Sweet Fruits)
    Norway (Rice Pudding with an almond inside – good luck to the one who gets the almond)

    12 Grapes at Midnight (Symbolizing 12 Sweet Months)

    Spain
    Portugal
    Mexico
    Cuba
    Ecuador
    Peru

    Ring Shaped Food (Good Luck)

    Mexico (Rosca de Reyes – Luck)
    Netherlands (Olie Bollen – Doughnut)

    Fish (Symbol of Good Luck)

    Germany (Herring & Carp)
    Poland (Pickled Herring)
    Denmark (Boiled Cod)
    Italy (Dried Salted Cod)
    Japan (Red Snapper – Pink is a lucky color)
    Vietnam (Carp)
    China
    Sweden (Seafood Salad)

    A Happy, Lucky and Prosperous New Year to All of You!

    Mama Lisa

    Many thanks to Ed Gawlinski for pointing out that they eat lentils in Italy for the New Year, which lead me on this long quest that resulted in this discussion!

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    Can Someone Help Jog a Memory of a Song Sung in Greek School ?

    Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

    Frances wrote:

    I think it was some kind of political song the 2nd graders sang. It is from many years ago and the song went something like this (very loosely phonetic)…

    Eme na zakou tharo zoe ros po i

    Pia no ti zulia proi ollo proko pi

    My Greek is pretty horrible, and I remember even then as we sang it, lots of people thought it didn’t make much sense… Does it sound like any old song you may have heard of? Any information would be great!

    Fran Vlahos-Rohm

    If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below or email me.

    Thanks!

    -Mama Lisa

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

    Saturday, January 6th, 2007

    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. It’s been exciting to watch it grow. My only frustration is not being able to find either written (preferably) or audio music to accompany the lyrics. How do I find the tunes for all these great lyrics?

    Matt
    Music Teacher, Rhode Island, USA

    Here’s what I wrote back, I’m sharing it with you, in case it helps you too…

    Hey Matt,

    Thanks for writing!

    We’ve just added basic sheet music to a lot of songs on the Germany, France, Hungary, Spain and Mexico pages – plus many others.

    We’re now in the process of converting the whole site to a database. We’re halfway through. Hopefully by the summer we’ll have a feature that will let you do a search on songs that have sheet music, midis or mp3’s. Midis play the tune of a song. MP3’s are recordings – usually of someone singing the song.

    But for now, the songs on the countries that are in the database are working on a simple system. On the country pages they have symbols next to the song if they have special features. Here’s the key…

    KEY TO SYMBOLS

    Musical Symbol – this song has sheet music
    Midi – this song has a Midi tune
    MP3 – this song has an MP3 recording
    Video Icon – this song has a Video recording

    If there’s anything in particular you’re looking for, you’re welcome to ask – in case I know if we have it or not – I may be able to guide you to the right place to find what you’re looking for.

    And, of course, we’re always looking for more sheet music, midi’s and mp3’s, so if you’d like to contribute any from your culture, we’d be thrilled!

    I hope this helps!

    Mama Lisa

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    Mama Lisa’s World News and Multimedia Features

    Thursday, November 30th, 2006

    A significant part of the Mama Lisa sites is a large collection of songs and nursery rhymes from around the world. We currently have about 750 songs from around 90 countries and cultures.

    When you consider how many languages there are in those cultures – that’s a lot of information! In order to make it easier to access all of the songs, we are in the process of converting the sites to a database. The database allow our visitors to search for songs on the site by language, by songs with sheet music, recordings, etc.

    While we’re putting the songs into the database, we’re trying to obtain as much information as possible about each song. So if we can find the tune, we’ll include a midi tune and sheet music. If we find a recording of the song on the internet, we’ll provide a link to the recording. Sometimes we’ll make a recording ourselves. Anything we can do to help you know everything possible about that song.

    If you happen to see any songs on the site that are missing a tune or recording and you know it, we’d be very pleased if you could help us get the tune. We’re able to make midis from sheet music, if that’s what you can send. We’re also happy to post recordings if you’d like to sing the song, play it on an instrument, or even hum it. Really, anything to help others get an idea how to sing or play the song.

    Once the database is complete Mama Lisa’s World will have 98 countries and cultures and over 850 songs. How great is that!

    -Lisa

    UPDATE: The Database is now complete! We have 100 countries and cultures. We’re now working on a Spanish version of Mama Lisa’s World which will feature children’s songs, folks songs and nursery rhymes from around the world with Spanish translations.

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    Please Send An Endearing Term for Grandma and Grandpa in Your Language

    Wednesday, March 15th, 2006

    Kathy wrote me…

    Dear Mamalisa,

    I was delighted to find your website and will be using it in the future. I am researching translations for the word “grandma” in various languages. I am most interested in the familiar, sweet terms children might call this individual. I am aware that in some cultures this would be a different word for the mother or the father’s side of the family. I have spent hours on Internet, through many websites as well as your website and links. I have thus found: Cajun, Hawaiian, Ukrainian, Italian, Scottish, Irish, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Farsi. I am not clear about Russian or Greek since I am not completely sure of their letters. Now I am certainly not expecting you to do hours of research for my project. But I thought you might be familiar with an easier way for me to accomplish my task.

    For example, I happened on a page called “I Love You” in Various Languages and found 18 pages for “I love you”. Wow! Anyway, whatever help you can give me would be much appreciated.

    Thank you in advance for your assistance.

    Kathy

    If anyone knows any endearing terms for “grandma” and “grandpa”, including any in those languages listed, please comment below.

    Thanks!

    Lisa

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    ________

    Copyright ©2009 by Lisa Yannucci. All rights reserved.
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