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Contents
Posts
Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009We’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…
Looking forward to seeing you in Facebook!
Mama Lisa
International Student Exchange Programs
Monday, February 11th, 2008Ed Gawlinski, who’s been involved with various cultural organizations throughout his life, sent me this email…
I get emails from AFS (American Field Service) from time to time. AFS is an organization that promotes cultural exchange. It was started by members of the United States’ volunteer ambulance corp (American Field Service) who served during World War I in France. They saw, first hand the horrors of war and believed that if people from different countries got to know each other as individuals they would work to prevent future wars.
When my daughter was a year old, we had an exchange student from Switzerland. She became part of our family. The last day of her stay with us was the birth of our second daughter, which she witnessed. Our second daughter went to Switzerland during the summer of her high school sophomore year to study French and stay with the parents of our former exchange student.
Hosting an exchange student is a wonderful experience. AFS and other organizations that promote these are always looking for volunteers. I would think many parents who regularly visit this site would enjoy this experience.
Thanks for sharing that information with us Ed! -Lisa
Symbolic Foods Eaten Around the World for New Years
Saturday, December 29th, 2007In 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
ChinaFood on the Table or Plate at Midnight (Symbol of Plentiful Food in the New Year)
Germany
PhilippinesSweets (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
PeruRing 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!
Can Anyone Help with Some Swiss German Songs?
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007Renee wrote:
I’m looking for three children’s songs my grandmother sung to me.
One was: Here comes the bear, where does he want to go? He wants to go to (name of child)’s
house. She would say this in Swiss German.The next was: Rumpity bumpity halter stock, vermind. She would also speak in Swiss German and I am unsure of the rest of it. The middle of the song she asked how many fingers she held up. If you were correct, the song continued, if not, she went back to the beginning. But the end was: What do you want water or wine? If you wanted water she would vigorously rub your back. If it was wine she would tell you were too young for wine and slap your behind.
The third was a song she would sing while walking with us. She would hold both our hands and she would criss cross hers and swing us from side to side while saying (hail a room boom boom) and I think it referred to the kaiser – something about kick him in the pants.
If you could help in Swiss and English I thank you.
ReneeIf anyone can help Renee with any of these songs or nursery rhymes, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
New Recordings of French Children’s Songs
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007We 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.
Ainsi font
(French)Ainsi font, font, font
Les petites marionnettes
Ainsi font font font
Trois petits tours
Et puis s’en vont
Elle reviendront
Les petites marionnettes
Elles reviendront
Quand les autres partiront.They Do This Way
(English)They do, do, do this way
The little puppets
They do, do, do this way
Three little turns
And then they go away
They will come back
The little puppets
They will come back
When the others go away.Many thanks to Tiphaine Woerth for the recording and Monique Palomares of Mama Lisa’s World en français for the English translation.
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World France pages to hear more of Tiphaine’s recordings.
How to Find Sheet Music, Tunes and MP3’s on Mama Lisa’s World
Saturday, January 6th, 2007In 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, USAHere’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
– this song has sheet music
Midi – this song has a Midi tune
MP3 – this song has an MP3 recording
– 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
Mama Lisa’s World News and Multimedia Features
Thursday, November 30th, 2006A 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.
“Roti Rösli – Red Roses” – A Swiss Song with it’s English Translation
Wednesday, March 8th, 2006Julie Steiner has been kind enough to answer the request I posted a few days ago for the Swiss song Roti Rösli (Red Roses). Here it is in the original language, with an English translation…
Roti Rösli
(Swiss German Dialect)Roti Rösli im Garte,
Maieriesli im Wald
Wänn de Wind chunt choge blase
so verwelked si baldChlini Fischli im Wasser,
grossi Fische im Meer
Hei lueg wie si gumped
und schwümed juheeLiebi Sunne chum füre,
liebi Sune chum bald
Das mir chönd go spaziere
über Wiese und WaldRed Roses
(English)Red roses in the garden,
Lilies of the valley in the wood
When the wind comes blowing
They’ll fade soon.Small fishes in the lake,
Big fishes in the sea
Hey look how they jump
And swim, yuhee!Dear sun come forth,
Dear sun come soon
That we can go walking
Over meadow and wood.Julie sent me the English translation. Here’s what she wrote about the dialect…
The dialect printed here is from Zurich, but it actually exists in all dialects (the words vary a little).
I know this because my mum and dad are originally from Bern and so my brother and I spoke the Bernese dialect until we went to school. As we lived in Zurich, we obviously learned the other dialect as well.
Normally there is no difficulty in understanding the different dialects (besides the ones they speak in the mountain regions, these are difficult to understand (even for Swiss people!). I don’t know exactly how many dialects of Swiss German exist, there are 21 cantons* in which German is spoken, but the dialects can differ even within one canton.
*Cantons are states or political divisions in Switzerland.
Many thanks to Julie for the translation and the interesting commentary!
-Lisa
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Switzerland Page for more Swiss Songs.
Looking for the lyrics to a Swiss song called “Roti Rosli”
Tuesday, March 7th, 2006Kimberly wrote me…
Hello Mama!
Actually, there is a very sweet Swiss bedtime childrens’ song called: “Roti Rosli”. My daughter learned this song when she was about 3, and I am trying to find the lyrics in both Swiss and English. How can I find them? Any suggestions? Or do you have them? I just happened upon your site by chance.
Thanks very much for any help.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Folts
If anyone knows the lyrics to Roti Rosli, please comment below.
Thanks! Lisa
UPDATE: The original lyrics have been posted in the comments below. If anyone can provide an English translation, that’d be great!
Recipe for Cheese Fondue
Sunday, January 1st, 2006Every year my husband and I make a delicious Cheese Fondue for New Year’s Eve. Years ago we realized that, after the November/December holiday craze, we’re very happy staying home, making a special meal. When my son was little we would start cooking after he went to bed and have a nice romantic evening.
The year our son was five, it was the eve of the year 2000, and we just had to keep him up for the event. Since then he’s become part of the celebration and so has our four year old daughter. (We make a separate, non alcoholic fondue pot for the kids. It’s delicious too!) We also added going outside at midnight and banging pots and pans, which is the highlight of our son’s night!
Here’s the recipe we like. You can add the brandy or leave it out depending upon your personal preference. It’s excellent either way. We like to dunk 1 ½ inch cubes of Italian bread and 1 inch pieces of thin sausage. The combination is great together!
Cheese Fondue
1 pound mixture of Swiss Cheese (I prefer a mixture of Gruyere and Swiss)
1 cup White Wine (I use Chablis)
1 T. Lemon Juice
2 cloves Garlic
1 ½ T. Flour
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
3 T. Brandy or Kirsch (optional)Slice the cloves of garlic in half the long way so the most inner surface is showing. Rub a heavy saucepan with two halves of the garlic for flavoring. Rub the fondue pot with the other two garlic halves.
Grate the cheese and mix with the flour.
Place the wine and the lemon juice in the saucepan over a low heat. Once bubbles start rising to the surface, add a handful of cheese. At this point you can raise the heat to medium. Stir constantly. If the mixture starts boiling, lower the flame.
Once the cheese melts, you can add another handful and so on until all the cheese has been added and is melted.
Add a dash of salt and 2 dashes each of pepper and nutmeg. Mix well. Stir in brandy or kirsch.
Quickly pour mixture into fondue pot and place over Sterno. Eat immediately! Spear bread or sausage with fondue fork, occasionally scraping bottom of pan with bread to keep the bottom from burning. If the cheese starts bubbling, lower flame.
Just beware! If you’re adding the brandy it can go to your head! Over the years, a couple of our guests have passed out on our couch from this meal. But maybe that was when we were younger and added more brandy to our cheese fondue than we do nowadays!
Bon Appétit!
Lisa
The Turnip Fair in Switzerland – Marked by Thousands of Lanterns made out of Turnips!
Friday, November 11th, 2005To celebrate the end of the harvest, people in the Swiss town of Richterswil have a turnip fair called Räbechilbi. The fair takes place every year on the second Saturday in November.
Nowadays, they harvest 25 tons of turnips! In honor of the festival they make lanterns out of the turnips. There are so many turnips that they’ve made a machine to help hollow them out. Once the turnips are hollow, they carve beautiful designs into them.
For a few days before the fair, the whole town is busy making these lanterns.
After dark on the day of the fair, they parade through town with their lanterns lighting the way.
The tradition of carving out the lanterns came out of a legend dating back to the mid nineteenth century, telling how the farmers’ wives living in the hills around the town would make lanterns out of turnips, to light the way home from church at night in the middle of the winter. The first known parade dates back to 1884. Nowadays the parade is led by churchgoing women dressed in dark colors.
The people in Richterswil also make large group sculptures by placing many lanterns in a pattern. Every year, on this night in November, the town glows in a beautiful yellow light.
I couldn’t find a song related to this festival, so I thought you might enjoy a different Swiss children’s song, courtesy of The Embassy of Switzerland…
Sepp Has a Little Hen
Sepp has a little hen
And in the morning on its perch
It cackles and it cackles.Now that Seppy has a hen,
He wants to have a goat,
Shaggy Coat he’ll call his goat.Now that Seppy has a goat,
He wants to have a cow,
Sturdy Brow he’ll call his cow.Now that Seppy has a cow,
He wants to have a horse,
Steady Course he’ll call his horse.Now that Seppy has a horse,
He wants to have a lad,
Not So Bad he’ll call his lad.Now that Seppy has a lad,
He wants to have a maid,
Pull Her Braid he’ll call his maid.Now that Seppy has a maid,
He wants to have a wife,
Strain and Strife he’ll call his wife.Seppy has a little hen,
He calls her Henny Pen.Come visit The Mama Lisa’s World Switzerland page for more Children’s Songs from Switzerland.
If anyone knows of any songs related to the Turnip Festival or other Swiss songs, please comment below.
________
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