Living traditions

pondělí 14. dubna 2008

Romanian proverbs

http://www.box.net/shared/e3yesi3okg

This is a very nice presentation from our friends. We will compare the proverbs now.
here are the proverbs from the presentation.

1. Streams go, rocks remain

2. He that fights and runs away may live to fight another day.

3. Strike the iron while it is hot

4. What doesn´t kill you, makes you stronger

5. Apearences are deceptive

6. Bad news travels fast.

7. Cowards die many times before their death

8. Call it Nature, Fate, Fortune, all these are names of the one and salfsame God.

9. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

10. All is well when it ends well.

11. God watches prevents misfortune.

12. Walls have ears.

13. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

14. As the work, so the pay.

15. Lies have short legs.

16. Never bite the hand that feeds you.

17. A small leak sinks a great ship.

18. The early bird catches the worm.

čtvrtek 27. března 2008

neděle 2. března 2008

Helpa

This song comes from Slovakia and it is in Slovak. Both languages are very similar, we are Slovonic languages. We understand each other quite easily.

Czech folk song

It is a Czech folk song which comes from the south of our country.

pátek 29. února 2008

Easter Quiz

http://helpforenglish.cz/cz/realie/c2007040402-Easter-Trivia.html

How much do you know about history of Easter? You can try it now.

Famous people in Romania - by Anna B.

•Nadia Comaneciová-She was good at gymnastics.

•Michal I.-the king of Romania

•Pavel Stratan-Very famous

•musician

Flag and the national anthem of Romania

http://www.box.net/shared/mq2sfgk84c

Basic information about Romania

http://www.box.net/shared/0s9d9tgws0

Dragaica (or Sanzienele) is an important Midsummer Day festival and fair which takes place on the 24th of June, when a specific Romanian lively folk dance is performed.When the harvest is almost ripe, the girls from the village gather together to choose Dragaica. This is the name given to the most beautiful and hard-working peasant girl who is selected to lead the dance. A procession is formed, sweeping through the fields. A wreath is plaited of grain stalks and put on Dragaica's head. The practice has auspicious and benefic functions.To the tune of a lad playing the flute or the bagpipe, the girls dance a jig from house to house, while singing ironic verse:" Jig, Dragaica, jig,/For in winter you will spin/Till your fingers will grow thin."

Dragaica or the procession of lasses is an agrarian midsummer custom in preparation for reaping.

The Wreath

This is an augural agrarian custom practised at the end of harvesting, designed to ensure the perpetuation of the vegetative process. It's fairly widespread especially in Muntenia, Oltenia, Transylvania and Dobrogea. The harvesters sing apposite verse: "Whence the wreath comes,/Stately corn staks shall grow./Whence the wreath goes/Many loaded carts shall follow."....by the 8th grade A (Cristiana, Roxana, Paula, Irina, Victoria, Francesca and Alexandra) and the 5th grade A - School No. 191, Bucharest, Romania

Here is the text in Romanian: Steaua sus rasare/ Ca o taina mare/ Steaua straluceste/ Si lumii vesteste/ Ca azi preacurata, cea nevinovata, Fecioara Maria/ Naste pe Mesia/ In tara vestita/ Bethlehem numita.

"Paparuda"/ "Paparudele" (The Paparudas)

This is an augural agrarian custom. It has multiple motivations,mainly concerned with drought and its consequences.A little girl clad with a dress made of leaves or shoots of willow goes dancing and singing a rain-invocation through the village lanes, together with other boys and girls until an older woman comes along and sprinkles the Paparuda with cold water. The incantation should release rain and save the harvest."Paparuda, Paparuda,/Come and sprinkle water,/Sprinkle from a pail/Until we cry hail....Let the rain pour down/ From dusk till dawn/...

For example:

In Romania, the winter feasts start on 24th December and finish on 7th December. Their central events occur during the Christmas Days, New Year and Epiphany. The most important feature of these feasts is their rich repertoire of customs, traditions and beliefs. Everything that happens over this period must have an augural significance.

Children go from house to house singing Christmas carols. The traditional gifts which they naturally expect to receive include fruit, nuts and knot-shaped bread.

"Steaua" (The Star)

Another interesting custom is the Star (Steaua). This is a large star made of coloured glossy paper, lighted inside like a lantern, which school children, in groups of three carry in the evening of Christmas from house to house, singing: The Star is rising high / Like a hidden mistery/ The Star shines brightly/ And to the world announces/ That today the pure/ The Immaculate Virgin Mary/ Gives birth to Messiah/ In that famous city/ Known by the name of Bethlehem. / written by Aneta S. /

Easter symbols in the Czech Republic

Romanian Easter

Romanian traditions
Here, Easter is the second most imporant religious holiday so we have many traditions related to it. One of them is to paint eggs red then crack them and say "Christ has ressurected!" and "He truly has!".

On the Ressurection Night we go to Church and we eat "pasca" (hallowed bread and wine). On the following day we eat lamb, boiled red eggs, traditional pie "cozonac" (a sweet bread with different fillings).

I love Easter because all the family gets together. ^_^ Catalina/

FROM CATALIN P:

I understand you have a nearly agressive Easter. :P We, on the other hand, have a lot of respect for the female sex.

They are considered flowers, that boys have to "water" - with perfume - and sing a short poem, encouraging the flower to blossom. It'a a spring-related habbit, signaling the coming of the warmer season, and the blossoming flowers!

We have traditional dished for easter - most noticeable are the lamb stakes and the coloured eggs, but this varies between regios! We also greet eachother with the sentence "Jesus resurected!", and "Truely, he did", after the easter day, for 40 days.

Czech Easter and its traditions

Symbols of Czech Easter are cross, Easter whip, Easter Lamb, Easter Bunny and painted eggs. We decorate eggs with eggs colour, wax and adhesive tape. We make Easter lamb and sweet Easter bread. Holidays are long for one week. At Easter it is fun and people are very noisy./ Pavla/

One of symbols of Czech Easter is Easter lamb.It can be chocolate,vanilla,etc.Boys go with Easter whip and girls give them painted eggs or tape to their whips.

Easter whip consists of eight,twelve or even twenty-four twigs and it,is usually from half a metre to two metres long and decorated with coloured ribbons at the end. / Barča /

Symbols of Czech Easter

1.Easter lamb - We have chocolate lambs, roast lamb and other smack.

2.cross - It's remembrace of Jesus Christus.

3.fire

4.candle

5.eggs - We decorate many eggs. We paint many designs. It's very funny.

6.hares

7.Easter whip - Boys knit Easter whip and they strap girls and woman. We must give eggs to him./ Eliška Z./

Easter food-sweet easter bread-people make it of flour,butter,salt,sugar,eggs,raisins and almonds.Then we bake it.

Easter lamb-People bake it in a special shape.We sprinkle it with sugar. / Ann B. /

about Easter stuffing

What do you need:

soaked bread ( ou..it is terrible)

smoked meat

chopped herbs

young nettles

eggs

People eat it with potatoes..We don't eat it and I think it must be nauseating food../ Adela Z./

Let´s go talking about easter food

.All families have their traditions,but ALL families eat eggs.Boys are carolling girls and they give boys Easter eggs.People cook sweet Easter bread,sweet Easter lambs and make Easter stuffing.Easter lambs have a ribbon around the neck.

We can smell a nice goodness,and all families are happy! / Eliška Š. /

Every Easter almost all families bakes Easter lamb. It is something like Easter cake ...

Some families bake Easter stuffing prepare of soaked bread, smoked meat, chopped herbs, young nettles and eggs - and Easter buns servered with butter and honey.

Next day after Easter, many people eat something with eggs, because eggs are prizes for carolling... / Lucy/

I will talk about Czech tradition called "Carroling".

Carroling

The special thing of carroling is whip. If you want to make Easter whip, you have to cut thin branches, then plait some kind of braid of these branches and tie colourful ribbons on your special Easter whip!

Only men make Easter whips. They are called carollers. On Easter Monday they go around houses, from door to door to chase girls and women. It´s very funny.. but sometimes painful, too. After chasing men receive some eggs, sweet and spirit in return.

In my family no one goes carroling and we don´t open the door for carrolers./ Dana/

Easter

In our country we have Easter as folk-memory. For boys it is a very good day, because we can punch girls. For this we use Easter whips. We must make it from twigs and ribbons and we can go carroling but we must be fast, because girls after 12:00 a.m. can throw cold water on us. I like carolling because I can get a lot of eggs and sweets. / Peter/