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Newsletter: 2022 September

TCG September 2022 newsletter greetings

“A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home.”

- Christian D. Larson, American author, teacher, 1874-1954

There are two new year celebrations this September. First, in Ethiopia, Ethiopians follow a 13-month solar calendar with 12 months of 30 days and another 5 or 6 days for the 13th month. This year, the Ethiopian New Year celebration (Enkutatash meaning the ‘gift of jewels’) shall take place on Sept 11th. The festival traces its root to the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Soloman over 3,000 years ago. The second is the Jewish New Year; our Jewish friends will celebrate Rosh Hashana, on the 26th and the 27th. You can wish them ‘Shana Toval’ and maybe join them to have some apple slices dipped in honey for a sweet new year.

As for national day celebrations, Slovakia will celebrate its Constitution Day on the 1st, followed by Vietnam (2nd), Brazil (7th), Mexico (16th), Chile (18th), Malta (23rd) and a few others too.

And when you look up at the night sky on the 10th, you are likely to marvel at the beauty of the full moon, for it is the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Traditional Chinese families worldwide still celebrate the Mid-Autumn (also known as Moon or Mooncake) festival. Similar celebrations take place in Japan (Tsukiumi), Korea (Chuseok) and Vietnam (Tết Trung Thu.)

Mother Teresa once said: Peace begins with a smile. The United Nations has declared the 21st as the International Day of Peace. Here is an extract of a poem by Spike Milligan, a well-loved British comedian (1918-2002) for the month:

Smile

 

Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu. When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin. When he smiled, I realized I’d passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile, then I realized its worth. A single smile, just like mine, could travel round the earth…

 
 

A smile is a priceless gift one can give at no cost but will have great benefits to all!

question mark

 

A Journey A Month…

Your Story. Our Story. The Human Story.

Several of you wrote to let me know that you enjoyed the Country fun facts Q&A last month. Michelangelo, the famous painter of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, once said when he was 87 years old: “I am still learning.” Why not? Let’s continue our fun-facts hunt with the questions for the month:

Q1. Why do the Slovak and Slovenian embassies meet once a month? Allegedly, they meet to swap wrongly addressed letters! There is constant confusion between the two countries because both countries have similar names, flags and histories. Slovakia calls itself Slovenská republika, while Slovenia is Republika Slovenija. Slovaks speak slovenčina, and Slovenians speak slovenščina. Ironically, the two countries are not even neighbours.

Q2. Was Rio-de-Janeiro once Portugal’s capital? Yes. In 1807, before the Napoleonic invasion, the Portuguese royal court left Lisbon for the Portuguese colony of Brazil, and Rio de Janeiro functioned as the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal until 1820.

Q3. Is Mexico a South American country? No, Mexico is part of Central America and one of the Latin American countries. Latin America is generally understood to consist of the entire continent of South America and Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean, whose inhabitants speak a Romance language.

Q4. Why is Caesar salad called a “Caesar” salad? Well, no, it is not named after the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. The salad was invented in Tijuana, Mexico, in the 1920s, by an Italian immigrant, Caesar Cardini. Its origin is quite a distance away from Rome…

Q5. Do you know where is the world’s most remote airport? Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. Visitors fly to the remote Chilean island to visit the famous mo’ai figures. The closest airport to Isla de Pascua Airport is 3,759km away in Santiago, the capital of Chile on the mainland.

 

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Well, we hope you have enjoyed the questions. If you wish for more, you can click the Youtube links below (Youtube clips credit: Office holidays).

1st Sept: Slovakia Constitution Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NDDOzHEPEE

7th Sept: Brazil Independence Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtGD8X70UXQ

16th Sept: Mexico Independence Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYYeCzsK5To

18th Sept: Chile Independence Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDnPAl6_r-Q

With this new set of fun facts, perhaps you can put some smiles on the faces around you. Remember to stick to your good intention of having fun, friendly, light-hearted conversations, and not debate as an expert. Enjoy!

“Wishing you a blissful September filled with miles of smiles!”

 

The world is fascinating simply because differences exist!

Join us to spread the words, share the vision, and do our parts.

At TransCultural Group (TCG), we are determined to play our part in making the world a better place. We have launched an e-book for Youth. We have also uploaded the complete series of “Food around the World” on our YouTube channel.

Please share it If you love our effort, and please give us a “like” and subscribe to our “YouTube” channel (it is free!) Come support us!


Crossing Cultures – Beyond Boundaries

Secret Garden of N
KengKengTan

Keng Keng Tan
Founder & CEO
TransCultural Group
kengkeng@transculturalgroup.com
www.transculturalgroup.com