International Day of Portuguese Language and Culture

        Today, May 5, is the International Day of Portuguese Language and Culture. This day is designed to celebrate the cultural diversity and richness of the countries who speak Portuguese, and are all unified under a dialect of the language.

According to the United Nations, Portuguese is spoken by an estimated 250 million people worldwide, throughout nine countries, and four continents. The countries that utilize Portuguese as its official language, are:

•  Angola
•  Brazil
• Cabo Verde
• Equatorial Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Mozambique
• Portugal
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Timor-Leste

       In addition to being spoken colloquially by millions of people, Portuguese is also widely used in diplomacy, as the official language of several international organizations, including:

• The Commune of Portuguese Speaking Nations of the UN (CPLP)
• The Organization of The Cooperative Treatment of the Amazon
•  The Latin American Association of Integration
• The African Union
• The Commune of Latin American and Caribbean States
• The Common Market of Africa and Australia
• The European Union
• The Latin Union

       Portuguese is also a diverse language within itself, with several dialects and pronunciations spread throughout its rich landscape. Happy International Portuguese Language and Culture day, to all of the passionate Lusophones out there! 

This article was written by Andrea L., LAMP Portuguese Interpreter.

Nowruz - Persian New Year

The Nowruz special table

        In Afghanistan the New Year’s first day, called NOWRUZ, It is also the first day of spring; therefore Afghans considers Nowruz a symbol of hope, and new and fresh life.

         The wild tulips and other plants start to bloom at this time of the year. Every year, there is a traditional celebration called the RED FLOWER FASTIVAL “Maila e Gule Surkh” which thousands of people traveling from all over the Afghanistan to Mazare Sharef province to join Maila e Gule Surkh the Red Flower Fastival,  last for forty days. 

         Families and groups of friends go on picnics to parks or green fields playing different kind of games, playing  music and dancing  . Another custom on Nowruz is preparing Haft-mewa which is literally means, “Seven Fruits”. It is a mixture of seven kind of dried fruits soaked in water. 

     
       The soaked fruits usually include walnuts, almonds, pistachios, two different black and red raisins, sinjed( a kind of berry)and dry apricot. After being mixed and soaked for a night or two, the fruits are served along with their flavorful syrup on New Years day (Nowruz). If you visit an Afghan family on the New Year’s Day, you will get to try this tasty treat.

The Nowruz special table is called 7 S’s or (Sufra e Haft seen):

Senjed (Special kind of Berries)

Sabza (Grasses)

Sir (Garlic)

Sib (Apple)

Seka (Coins)

Serka (Vinegar)

Somaq(Spices)

Samano(Weeds)

Nowroz Mubarak! 

      To learn more about Newroz, visit http://thekurdishproject.org/history-and-culture/kurdish-culture/kurdish-newroz/ or http://www.ibtimes.com/what-norooz-greetings-history-traditions-celebrate-persian-new-year-1562607 

This article was written by Frozan S., LAMP Dari/Farsi Interpreter

Defender of the Fatherland Day - Russia

Defender of the Fatherland Day is a holiday observed in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and several other former republics of the Soviet Union. It is celebrated on February 23, except in Kazakhstan, where the date is May 7.

Men's Day:

On Feburary 23rd, Russia celebrates its men. Although this holiday has a military history, first celebrated around WWI, it has evolved to become Russia’s somewhat odd counterpart to Women’s Day on March 8th. On February 23rd, Russian women (and sometimes men) celebrate the important men in their lives – fathers, brothers, teachers and even co-workers. This holiday is also the Russian equivalent of Father’s Day in other Western countries (which has not traditionally been celebrated in Russia).

A brief history:

Defender of the Fatherland Day (or Men’s Day) is a truly Russian creation, first observed to mark the date of the creation of the Red (Soviet) Army in 1918. The holiday was originally known as Red Army Day, and then Soviet Army and Navy Day; in 2002 it was given its current name, Defender of the Fatherland Day by President Putin and declared an official public holiday.

Although some more feminist societies may find issue with the concept of celebrating a “Men’s Day”, in Russia it is not seen as strange, offensive or inappropriate. While Russian society can be quite (frustratingly) patriarchal, nonetheless it is widely accepted by both sexes that both men and women have put a lot of work into the prosperity and success of Russia. Men, in particular, helped to do so by fighting in the wars, and their military achievements are the reason for this day. However, even if the men in one’s life have not been involved in war, it is still seen as polite and important to at least recognize them on February 23rd. In part this is because Women’s Day (March 8^th) is so widely celebrated – to forget to celebrate Women’s Day is considered quite rude in Russia – and Men’s Day is a way to recognize that men and women are both important to one another.
Men’s Day celebrations are usually smaller and more perfunctory than Women’s Day ones – except the public celebrations and parades, which conversely are much bigger for Men’s Day.