Articles about 'Norway'
April 12th, 2012
Can anyone help with the lyrics to this pretty Norwegian lullaby?
Byssan lull liten tull (Folkesang)
If you can help with the original lyrics and/or an English translation, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks in advance!
Mama Lisa
April 1st, 2012
Rhiannon Daymond-King sent me a counting-out rhyme called “Zinty Tinty” with this note:
“I was taught a counting rhyme by my father, who said it came from his mother. Her mother was Swedish, so he thought it was in Swedish (or possibly Norwegian given that the part of the country she was from used to be...
February 17th, 2012
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,...
Advertisement
December 15th, 2010
People around the world leave different "treats" for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
In the US and Canada, we put out milk and cookies for Santa. I have to say when he comes to our house, he leaves a big mess of crumbs on the table… but he always writes us a note of thanks.
In...
May 17th, 2010
Rida, Rida Ranka is a rhyme and song known to many in Scandinavia and to the families of Scandinavian immigrants in the US. Lance N. Peterson wrote to me of its significance to his family. (I added links below to the versions of Rida, rida ranka he talks about.)
Dear Lisa:
Words are what we...
March 30th, 2010
Karin wrote:
I was named after a song, “Lille Karin” and I can’t find it anywhere. Can you help?
The song is definitely Norwegian. I think it’s a child’s song. I cannot sing (properly) in Norwegian but the first line sounds like this:- “Var har du varet du lille Karin, du ar so…?...
January 29th, 2010
Rachel wrote asking about a childhood rhyme…
Hello,
My Norwegian Grandfather – passed away 30 years ago – used to put me on his knee and do something like:
Bunka Bunka Roona,
Smacka Smacka Doona,
Kahoong and Kahoong
& Set the Butchin up!
How Many?
At the end, he’d put so many of his fingers on my back and I had...
January 12th, 2010
Rachel wrote…
Hi there Lisa,
I was hoping you (or someone on your site) could help me. I’ve been trying to find the translation and/or the rest of the lyrics to a Norwegian lullaby my Grandpa used to sing to me. Pardon the lack of correct spelling, but it sounds like:
Be a lulla barna
Papa nesta garna
Mama...
January 7th, 2010
Tyler wrote:
My grandmother used to sing us kids a song all the time. I never knew the name of it or the entire song. Here is what I remember…
Row row da fiska shad munga fisk and a drov e ded entel far entel mor entel suster and entel brod…?
Sorry I don’t have any idea...
June 22nd, 2009
David Russett wrote:
I’m trying to find the words to a Norwegian rhyme or song. The only part I know goes something like:
Kan du gleme gammel Norge?
O vey! Ya, ya, gleme kan!
Or it may be:
Kan du huske gammel Norge?
Ove! Ya, Ya, huske kan!
Does anyone know the rest of this little rhyme? Some of the old Norwegians...
April 19th, 2009
Here are lyrics to the Norwegian Birthday song “Hurra for deg som fyller ditt år!” (Hurray for You for Celebrating Your Birthday). It’s a birthday song written by Margrethe Aabel Munthe (1860 – 1931):
Hurra for deg som fyller ditt år!
(Norwegian)
Hurra for deg som fyller ditt år!
Ja, deg vil vi gratulere!
Alle i ring omkring deg...
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...
September 18th, 2008
Guest Blogger, Ed Gawlinski, has been involved in many cultural organizations throughout his life. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, near Bay Ridge, which was then a Norwegian neighborhood.
The Norwegian neighborhood is now a great place for Middle Eastern cuisine. There are many fine restaurants in this area. Many of the...
July 20th, 2008
Janice wrote:
My grandmother used to sing me a Norwegian song that sounded like this:
Kishey louie barnay
Glueten stewie yarnay
I remember that it meant “Rock-a-bye my baby, put her in the kettle”, but of course my mom says that’s not true!
Do you have any idea what the song was or what the translation would be?
Thanks,
Janice
If anyone can...
April 29th, 2008
Guest blogger Ed Gawlinski sent me this short post about celebrations in May…
On May 5th a lot of people in the United States are going to have tacos or burritos for lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. On May 5th of 1862 Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halted a French invasion of Mexico in...
April 26th, 2008
Jeanette wrote me…
Good Evening;
My husband’s Grandmother was from Norway and she used to sing a song to him as a little boy about a poor man’s horse, a rich man’s horse, a soldier’s horse etc. My children and Grandchildren only remember the chorus – and only phonetically as they remember my husband (who is...
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,...
December 4th, 2007
Several days ago I wrote a post about the Santa Lucia holiday in Sweden and Scandinavia.
A popular saying associated with this holiday is:
Lucy Light,
The Shortest day &
The Longest Night.
This saying celebrates the association of St Lucia’s Day, December 13, with the Winter Solstice which, under the old Julian calendar, used to fall...
December 2nd, 2007
Santa Lucia’s Day is celebrated on December 13th in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. It commemorates the life of Santa Lucia, who is also known as Saint Lucy.
St. Lucy was born in Syracuse, Sicily around 283 and died in 303 AD. The myth is that her parents wanted her to marry a man...
November 27th, 2007
Ed wrote:
Lisa,
I sing in a choral club which is sponsored by Travelers Insurance, in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the oldest company sponsored choral club in the country. This Christmas we are doing a piece called Christmas Bells, which is a Norwegian Folk Carol. I am wondering if you posted the lyrics and...
Main Topics
