Recipe for Egyptian Kahk Cookies

Kahk Cookies are eaten in Egypt for the end of Ramadan holiday called Eid'l Fitr.They're sometimes even called Kahk al-Eid, cookies of the feast. They're also eaten for Easterand Christmas in Egypt and are sometimes given to newlyweds the day after the wedding. InLebanon, Syria, Jordan, [...]

Middle Eastern Recipe for Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ghanoush (also spelled baba ghanouj) is an eggplant dip that's eaten in the Middle East. Variations can be found in Egypt, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordon, Lebanon, Turkey and Armenia. Baba Ghanoush is often served with other dips like hummus. Pita bread is usually sliced up and dipped [...]

The Muslim Festival Eid al-Adha – Festival of Sacrifice – is Celebrated Today

This year Eid al-Adha (a holiday that's also known as Eid Kbir) is held on the 18th to the 20th around the Muslim world. It's a festival celebrating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah. Everyone dresses up and goes to the mosque to perform the Eid prayer. Families that can [...]

Arabic Children's Songs with Recordings

This week we were fortunate enough to receive recordings of four Arabic songs from Lebanon. I'm posting one of the songs below for you to hear. Here's Tic Tic Tic Sleiman's Mother in Arabic, with an English translation and the transliteration, so you can listen along to hear how to pronounce it. [...]

Mama Lisa's World News and Multimedia Features

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 [...]

Can Anyone Help with a Cuban Rhyme/Finger Play that starts with “Chiquitica así”?

Jeannie Backer wrote to us for help with a Cuban Finger Play. Here's her note... My mother from Cuba used to sing a song/rhyme to usthat I only partially remember, maybe you have heard something similar. It's not a song as much as a cute thing that a child says to adult to ask for

The [...]

About the Song “Cooma Lotta Veesay”

We received the note below with the song “Cooma Lotta Veesay”. Many variations of this song exist, including “Kumala Vista”. It also shares lyrics with the action song called “Flee, Fly, Flo“. Here's the email: “In the late 1950s, we lived near a [...]

Does anyone know this version of Catalina Matelina?

Dennis Lytle wrote to us asking for information about a rhyme: “Any info on the rhyme my parents taught us would be appreciated... I tell you bout vat girl of mine vat looks so sveet and dress so fine, vat come from Dootchland on the Rhine a couple of veeks ago. Her eyes are blue [...]

Make a Dragon Card for The Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is on February 10th this year. It's the year of the Dragon! The dragon symbolizes power, nobility and ambition. Since dragons are so cool, I decided to make homemade cards featuring them. Fortunately, there's a free tutorial online showing how to draw one. You can purchase [...]