Mango Languages

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, and is 46 days before Easter. It can occur anywhere from February 4th or as late as March 10th, and gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on one’s forehead as a sign of mourning and repentance.

A lot of the people here in the office celebrate Lent every year – a period of 40 days of fasting and reflection before Easter. Most followers of Christianity observe Lent during the period beginning from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday. Sundays do not count as a day of fasting because they are each observed as a “mini-Easter.”

Lent, which comes from the Germanic word for Spring time is often seen as a spiritual spring cleaning. This is why Lent begins with a symbol of repentance in the form of  ashes and oil on one’s forehead.

Have you seen anyone with ashes on their forehead today?

It’s Fat Tuesday!

Happy Mardi Gras Everyone!

This Tuesday we celebrate Mardi Gras which is French for “Fat Tuesday.” This day is celebrated before Ash Wednesday,  also known as the last day before Lent in the Christian calendar. The name “Fat Tuesday” comes from the tradition of eating rich foods made with, butter, sugar and other fats and meats.  This cultural holiday includes popular traditions such as wearing masks and costumes,  dancing, sports competitions, parades, etc.

Mardi Gras is celebrated in many different ways all around the world, making it a very unique and an international holiday. Some traditions consider Mardi Gras as the whole period of celebratory activity, beyond just a single day. Some of the cities that Mardi Gras is considered a big celebration are, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Barranquilla, Colombia, Sydney, Australia, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Quebec City, and many more.

In the United States Mardi Gras, or “Carnival” as some people call it, is most famous for the party that the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, hosts every year for the celebration. In 1857 parades were hosted and the lavish creation of floats became a yearly tradition. The “Krewes” were formed and exist to this day as organizations that build floats and throw beads and other gifts to the crowd during the Mardi Gras parades.

People travel from all over the world to New Orleans to experience the celebration of Mardi Gras.

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras? If so, what traditions do you follow?

Hey, You Punched my Blini!

Maslenitsa, also known as “Butter Week,” “Pancake Week,” or “Cheesefare Week,” could possibly be one of the most intriguing religious holidays in the world.

A folk holiday that has not been officially celebrated for 85 years, Maslenitsa began again in 2002.  Its roots are actually in pagan ritual, celebrating the sun and the end of winter, though the festival is now Christian in nature. It is held the last week before the Orthodox Lent begins every year, and is considered the last time of year that Russian Orthodox Christians can eat things like milk, cheese, and other dairy products. Naturally, this is a time when many people like to feast, especially on pancakes (called “blini/bliny” in Russian). Blini are an essential food for Maslenitsa, and unlike American pancakes, they are usually topped with caviar, mushrooms, jam, sour cream, and butter.

Although the roots of the festival are interesting, some of the activities during the week of Maslenitsa are really uncanny. Take the group fist fighting, for instance.  It may sound violent, but this is all done in good fun to commemorate Russian military history, when soldiers supposedly fought each other in hand to hand combat.  Not unusual enough for you? In the past, tamers and their bears used to perform and wrestle during the festival. I’m sure you can imagine who usually won.

Other activities include bonfires, sledding, theater, puppetry, singing, and fireworks. So if you have an extra pair of boxing gloves and a week to eat some tasty pancakes, head on over to Moscow.

Do you know of any other holidays which have both pagan and religious roots?

Celebrate Mother Languages

Today is International Mother Language Day. It is a celebration of all the things we at Mango Languages believe and are inspired by: the emphasis and acknowledgment of the value of language as a integral part of communication throughout humanity. International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It has been observed for over a decade to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, multilingualism, and to preserve and protect all languages spoken by all people.

Here at Mango Languages, we strive to do just that. Our passion for languages and cultures have allowed us to see the diverse world we live in as storybook full of history. The story can be told in many different ways and it is our responsibility to uncover as much as possible of it through the power of language. This in turn will force us to be more aware of the cultural diversity around us and allow us to take further steps to peace.

Embrace what makes our world such a beautiful place: the diverse people who live in it. We may all come from a different background, and may speak a different language, but we all have a story to tell. Let’s all listen and try to understand.

“Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage.” -United Nations

What is YOUR mother tongue?

Celebrate Greek Carnival

Halloween and dressing up occurs in October in the United States, but in Europe and South America (Rio) it is in February. So here are some things about how we celebrate it in Greece, including a bit of linguistics, folklore, and religion.

According to one view, the word “carnival” comes from early Italian carve + levare, which means “take away the meat” (carne). The Greek word for it is apokreea (stress on the last -a-), which again means “away from meat.” In both Orthodox and Catholic religions, the focus is on eating what meat is left in the house before Lent (the traditional period of fasting before Easter) starts.

Greek carnival is a combination of religious and pagan festivities. Following the Church, there are three weeks dedicated to gradually reducing the consumption of certain foods up to the beginning of Lent. In these three weeks people should also celebrate and have a good time before starting the fast, a period of repentance. Two are the high points of this season: the Thursday of the first week, which is dedicated to eating meat, is called tseeknopemptee: pemptee is the name of the day (Thursday or the fifth day of the week) and tseekna refers to the smell of charcoaled meat, what you smell at barbecues. On that Thursday night people go out to tavernas to celebrate and drink and have a good time; you can smell tseekna everywhere.

The last of the three weeks is dedicated to the consumption of dairy products and fish and the Monday just after it is called Clean Monday, something like Shrove Monday, which marks the beginning of Lent. On this Monday we should not eat meat or dairy products – we should be “clean” of all that.  Only shellfish is allowed, and people go out to the countryside and have picnics and fly kites since the weather is usually permitting .  During these weeks people dress up and play pranks.  Parades are held in all the cities. Dressing up is a pagan custom that has to do with scaring away the evil winter spirits before spring comes.

How all this is connected to the way people lived:

According to Professor N.S. Margaris, all these traditions are closely related to the way people lived. Sheep and goats usually breed in January. Because there was lots of snow on the ground,  shepherds could not take them out to the pastures and were forced to reduce their number: tsiknopemptee is a relic of this tradition. After that, spring comes and there is plenty of grass; eating meat is thus forbidden up to Easter so that sheep and goats can grow.

Another tidbit:

On two of the Saturdays during this period people honor the dead. In many places in Greece people cook pasta. Now, the food that is given to those who come to wake the dead is called makareea, which means “blessing.” According to one view, the word “macaroni,” a kind of pasta, derives from makareea, or makareea + (e)oni(a) [eon] = “eternal blessing.” And all this time you thought that pasta was Italian?

Baoutha

Exactly three weeks before the start of Lent, the Chaldean Catholic Church celebrates Baoutha — a three day celebration composed of fasting and prayer.

As the story goes, in the 6th Century, a severe plague was inflicting the northern regions of Iraq, what would today be the city of Mosul. Out of desperation, the people ran to their Bishop to help them with this plight. A three day fast was declared, and the city was not destroyed. On the fourth day, the Chaldean people rejoiced, giving rise to Baoutha.

Baoutha is a word which in Aramaic means “pleading.” Since the actual event, Chaldeans all around the world have celebrated this by fasting for three days. In modern days, this event is treated as a penance, wherein people ask for forgiveness.

We have several people in the office who celebrate this holiday.

International Love

Love, a universal concept, is in the air today. It’s Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate love and affection between couples.

It may sound different but in every nation, every culture, and in every language, but the notion of “being loved” means the same thing.

Over the weekend I got to know the story behind the red “I am loved” buttons that you maybe have seen around. I found out that the creator of the buttons, Barnett Helzberg Jr., had a personal and romantic story behind the three words that have now become an icon.

Helzberg came up with the “I am Loved” button in 1967 when his fiance accepted his marriage proposal.  He was was so ecstatic that she said “yes,” that he wanted the whole world to know that “he was loved.” The buttons were also immediately popular with religious groups delivering messages of love. Schools used the buttons to encourage students and build self-esteem. Everyone connected to the message on the button in their own unique way. It wasn’t long before “I am Loved” spread around the world and Helzberg responded by producing buttons in French, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Japanese, Italian, German, Hebrew, Chinese, and Portuguese. Over 50 million buttons have been given away.

Spread the message of love. Here are a couple of ways,

I am loved.

Soy Amado

Io sono amato

Kto’s Mnie Kocha

Je Suis Aimée

меня любят

אוהבים אותי

What language do you spread the message of love in?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Chinese New Year from Mango!

Today marks the Chinese New Year. The Chinese year 4709 begins today; it is also the year of the rabbit.

In China, the New Year is a time of family unity. Last year Jamie Zhang, our Senior Accountant, who speaks Chinese, taught us how to say Happy New Years in Mandarin.

Here’s a review:

Guò nián hǎo!
Happy New Year! (This is the more traditional greeting and can only be used for the Chinese New Year)

过‭ (‬guò) – to spend time
年 (nián) – year
好 (hǎo) – good

This year we would like to wish a Happy New Year from our family here at Mango, to yours!

The Muscat Festival

Beginning in 1998, the Muscat Festival in Muscat, Oman, is a celebration of both traditional arts and culture. Muscat as a city itself is one of the most multicultural centers in the world. Its blend of extreme tradition mixed with modern attractions, along with its position geographically make it a perfect link between Asia, Africa, and Europe.

This year’s festival begins on the 27th of January, and is expected to outdo last year’s attendance of over 2 million people. The festival lasts literally just days short of a whole month, and includes everything from fashion shows, to food festivals, to an extreme sailing series. Littered with concerts, traditional artists, as well as educational events like lectures and novel discussions, this festival literally has something for everyone to enjoy.

Have you been to an international or multicultural festival anywhere in the world? Tell us about it!

Haxey Hood

What happens when a Lord, a Fool, and Eleven Boggins get together with a big leather tube? Haxey Hood.

Every year on the 6^th of January, save for those which fall on a Sunday (in which the event is moved to the 5^th), people gather around in the town of Haxey, England, to push a leather tube, called the “hood”, to one of four pubs where it will remain until the same time next year. The game itself resembles rugby, and may very well be the oldest local tradition in England.

The origin of this custom is a bit cloudy, but the most accepted story is that sometime during the 14^th century, Lady de Mowbray, the wife of an Isle Landowner, was out riding when her hood blew off. 13 farm workers in the field rushed to help her and chased the hood down for her. In exchange, she donated 13 acres of land in exchange that this practice be reenacted every year.

There are thirteen characters from this original tale represented every year in this game: the lord, the fool, and eleven boggins. After everyone is gathered around and warming up is completed, the Sway Hood is thrown up in the air. Everyone then begins the game to try and get the Sway Hood into one of four pubs in either Haxey or Westwoodside. The game ends when the Hood arrives at one of the pubs and is touched by the landlord from his front step.

At any time there are about 200 people in the “Sway” (the fight to push and pull the actual hood), and around 1,000 people watching.

Have you participated in anything like this before?