1 Apr
Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone! One of my favorite singers of all time is Rufus Wainwright, so I thought I’d let him bring it home with this song named for today’s holiday.
نيسان nisan
:April (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon)
أبريل abreel
:April (Egypt, Sudan, Yemen)
مقلب maqlab
:April Fool’s joke; intrigue, scheme, plot
نكتة nukta
:joke, wisecrack; pun; anecdote
تنكيت tankit
:teasing, [...]
17 Mar
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Will you be eating corned beef and cabbage tonight? Maybe drinking some green beer? I enjoy this March holiday, particularly because green is my favorite color. (The pictures are from here, here, and here, in the same order.)
ارلندا irelanda
:Ireland
ارلدني irelandi
:Irish
قديس qiddis
:saint
باتريك batrick
:Patrick
عيد قديس باتريك ‘ayeed qiddis batrick
:Saint Patrick’s Day
كرنب kurunb
:cabbage; coleslaw
لحم [...]
2 Feb
Ah, I love those pointless holidays like Groundhog Day. Here’s the premise: a groundhog is forced from its hole every year in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2. If it is a sunny day, it will see its shadow, retreat back into its hole, and we’re stuck with winter for an additional six weeks. If it [...]
1 Jan
It’s the first day of 2009! Will you be eating any unusual foods today to bring you good luck in the new year? While doing research for this post, I discovered this guide on Wikipedia (where else?) to the names of the month in the Arabic speaking world, because, of course, there isn’t exactly unity [...]
31 Dec
It’s time for sparkling wine, glitter, goofy glasses, and a song that makes no sense to me- New Year’s Eve! J and I are having friends over tonight for a small gathering- nothing too fancy, but it is bound to be a great time. Here’s some Arabic vocabulary to ring in the new year.
٢٠٠٨ alifayn [...]
25 Dec
And now for the Christmas entry. Merry Christmas, everyone!
عيد الميلاد ‘ayeed al-milad
:Christmas
ليلة عيد الميلاد lelat ‘ayeed al-milad
:Christmas eve
عيسى ‘isa
:Jesus
بابا نويل baba noel
:Father Christmas
شجرة عيد الميلاد shajara ‘ayeed al-milad
:Christmas tree
مدخنة madkana
:chimney
هدية hadiya
:gift, present, donation; offering, sacrifice
24 Dec
Every year I attend an annual Christmas eve party at the home of close family friends. Tomorrow’s post will be all about Christmas, but today’s post is all about…you guessed it…parties!
حفلة hafla
:party, assembly, gathering, meeting, congregation
(حافل (ب hafil (bi)
: full (of), filled, replete; abundant, copious, lavish; eventful, rich in content (history)
محتفل muhtafil
:the participants in a [...]
22 Dec
Today, J and I embark on our extremely long road trip to North Carolina. Wish us luck.
سار sara
:to move on, set out, strike out, start, get going; to move along; to march; to travel
سير sair
:trip, tour; walk, errand; march, procession; marching, parade, walking tour
سيار sayyar
:traveling frequently, always on the move, continually moving
جرائد سيارة jara’d sira
:daily [...]
21 Dec
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. I did some research on the Hebrew meaning of the word Hanukkah, and discovered that some Jewish scholars say that the Hebrew meaning can connote “to educate” or “to dedicate.” A Google translate later, and I find that the Arabic translation for Hanukkah (from the Hebrew, not the [...]
