LL-L "Rituals" 2002.01.10 (02) [E/S]
Lowlands-L
sassisch at yahoo.com
Thu Jan 10 17:13:24 UTC 2002
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L O W L A N D S - L * 10.JAN.2002 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: Thomas <t.mcrae at uq.net.au>
Subject: LL-L "Rituals" 2002.01.09 (09) [E/S]
on 10/1/02 9:36, Sandy Fleming wrote wrote:
> "The Hoosekeeper's Grace" emphasises good husbandry and manners:
>
> Holy, holy, roond the table,
> Eat nae mair than ye are able;
> Eat ane, pootch nane,
> Holy, holy, Amen.
In Edinburgh schoolkids chanted a less reverent version...
Roly Poly roond the table,
Eat as much as ye are able.
If ye're able, eat the table,
Hallelujah, Amen.
Regards
Tom
Tom Mc Rae PSOC
Brisbane Australia
"The masonnis suld mak housis stark and rude,
To keep the pepill frome the stormes strang,
And he that fals, the craft it gois all wrang."
>>From 15th century Scots Poem 'The Buke of the Chess'
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From: "Legato" <legato at pt.lu>
Subject: LL-L "Rituals" 2002.01.09 (08) [E]
From: Carina van Tonder legato at pt.lu
>
> Dear Lowlanders,
> Randy Elzinga wrote:
>
> The school that I attended (located in southern Ontario, Canada) that
> practiced both these rituals/customs had a very high percentage (in the
> nineties, I would say) of students, including myself, with parents or
> gradparents from the Netherlands. I spoke recently with my housemates on
> the birthday ritual of bringing treats to school on the childs birthday,
and
> none of them recall ever doing anything like that. Is this practice based
> on something from the Netherlands, and perhaps related to the practice in
> Germany that Ron mentioned? What about the bumps?
>
I reply,
I have lived and worked all my life in South Africa until 7 years ago. There
the custom is to bring some sweet and later also some savoury treats, like
sausage rolls or savoury tart to work on one's birthday. Each person should
have at least 3-4 pieces of something small. At school , if one did not have
another celebration party, a cake would have been taken for everybody in
the class to share. Otherwise children would come to one's home to eat cake
and play. Later some of my children had a birthday in South Africa when we
were visiting on a farm there. Although there was no official party the
neighbours would come along and eat cake throughout the day.
Here in Luxembourg I have noticed the same trend in the primary school but
not in the later schools. (Probably because those schools are in the city
and relatively far from home) The mother of the birthday child would bring
some sweet treats to school and all the kids would eat cakes and drink some
fruit juice. For adult birthdays at work the birthday person is supposed to
bring something sweet for all to share.
We never dished out bumps but some boys and men would give a slap on the
shoulder.
So, I do not know where the custom comes from, but it is similar in
Luxemburg and in South Africa.
Regards,
Carina
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From: Pat Reynolds <pat at caerlas.demon.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Rituals" 2002.01.09 (09) [E/S]
Ritual 'Birthday bumps' were alive and well in rural/suburban
Northamptonshire, England in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Not
everyone participated - boys more than girls, and 'rough' (i.e. working
class') rather than 'nice' (i.e. upper working class) children.
I think one of the Opie's books documents this, but can I find it ....
Best wishes,
Pat
(girl, and from a 'nice' family, so didn't participate).
--
Pat Reynolds
pat at caerlas.demon.co.uk
"It might look a bit messy now, but just you come back in 500 years time"
(T. Pratchett)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Rituals
Of course, most of you know the birthday song "Happy Birthday to You," since
it is now sung internationally:
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear {name}!
Happy birthday to you!
It may be interesting for some of you to know that lately I have been hearing
a Mexican birthday song more and more often, not only among Mexican Americans
and in Mexican restaurants on the American West Coast but also among
non-Hispanic Americans, as Hispanic influences and the number of Americans
learning Spanish as a second language are increasing. Please bear in mind
that the Mexican population here has been growing rapidly, many Americans
spend their vacations in Mexico, and there has been a strong Mexican,
predominantly Spanish-speaking presence ever since what are now the
southwestern states of the U.S. were wrested away from Mexican rule.
The birthday song is based on a popular love song, _Mañanitas Tapatías_, of
which usually only the first or the first two verses plus the chorus are sung,
and the word _Virgencita_ (lit. "little virgin") is replaced as appropriate.
You can find the entire original song here:
http://ingeb.org/songs/mananita.html, and you can click on "Melody" to hear
the tune.
Here is the usual birthday version:
(LAS) MAÑANITAS (TAPATÍAS)
1.
¡Qué linda está la mañana
en que vengo a saludarte!
Venimos todos con gusto
y placer a felicitarte.
Coro:
Ya viene amaneciendo
ya la luz del día nos dio.
¡Levántate, Virgencita,*
mira que ya amaneció!
2.
El día en que tú naciste
nacieron todas las flores,
y en la pila del bautismo
cantaron los ruiseñores.
Coro:
My translation (corrections welcome):
1.
How lovely is the morning
On which I come to greet you!
It's wonderful for all of us,
A pleasure to congratulate you.
Chorus:
It's appearing now already,
The light the day has given.
Arise now, little lady,*
See how it's dawning for you.
2.
The day on which you were born
All the flowers came to bloom,
And as baptismal waters flowed
The nightingales were singing.
Chorus
* can be replaced
Another Mexican feature at American birthday parties, especially children's
parties, is the _piñata_. A piñata_ tends to be made from painted and
decorated paper mâché and/or plaster, usually in the shape of an animal. It
is hollow and holds candy (i.e., sweets) and sometimes also small toys and the
like, and it dangles on a string from the ceiling, pergola or such. The
birthday child is blindfolded and tries to hit the _piñata_ with a stick until
it breaks and all the goodies fall out, which are then shared among the party
guests.
Belatedly happy birthday (on Hogmanay), Sandy! Scots studies and Lowlands-L
definitely wouldn't be the same without you.
Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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