L Ḱariif
Rijix Aylul wil Ḱariif bi ṡawṫo nnaḣiif
Yrandiḣ laḣno żżariif, xarram cayḱ l fuṡul
Talla tleelna snunu, w min ṡawto ṡawt zzaġlul
Fajro w ḣululu ma aḣla w dammo l ḱafiif
Baxdo Ticriin, nide w cite, ġalle w ḣaniin
Li mweesim btiḱlaṡ, wi mnil karke cu ṫayyib
Xara`na, talimna jirḣo byikbar ḱṡayyib
L ġaym bizurna kill marra xal mawxad amiin
L Birbaara ṫallit bil aṫaayif, w Kenun
Ḋayyaf mcabbak w xuwweem, w maxhad l funun
Addam N`ula, Yiḣya, Yusif, l Xaḋra w Yasux
Alla maxna w maxak, mḣabbe w ḱucuux, jaliil
L abyaḋ ismak, ramzo arzak, nasmak xaliil
Naḱlak ḱaliil, Rabbak l karme, niḣna li frux
Copyright July 18, 2009 Hicham Khalil Bourjaili
Our Lady of Lebanon, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
English Version
Fall
Welcome back September and Fall with its smooth voice
Humming its beautiful tune, the elder season presiding
Filled our hills with swallows, and its cheering songs
Its dawn and dwelling how amazing and its tender presence
October (1) followed, with dew and rain, harvest and longing
The seasons gave their yields, and from the distilling pan how delicious
Our anisette, our ploughs grow in the fields like fertile wounds
The clouds always visit us faithful to the time
The feast of Saint Barbara (2) came with its pastries (3), and December (4)
Offered its fried sweets in net and ball shapes (5), the school of arts (6)
Presented Nicholas, John, Joseph, the Virgin and Jesus
God is with us (7) and with you, love and reverence, honorable
Are you whose name is white (8), your cedar his symbol (9), your breeze tender
Your palm trees (10) friendly, your Lord the vine, and we the branches (11)
Notes
1) Ticriin in Lebanese refers to two months October and November: the former is Ticriin l Awwal, the First Ticriin, the latter Ticriin Tteene, the Second Ticriin. Ticriin cannot be translated with one word in English. I, the author and translator, proposed “October”.
2) Saint Barbara is a Christian martyr who was beheaded by her pagan father for her faith in Christ and the Holy Trinity, in nowadays City of Baalbek, Bxalbak in Lebanese, called also Heliopolis in Antiquity and meaning in Greek the City of the Sun. It is the same city in the Bekaa Valley, li B`eex, in the East of Modern Lebanon, that is associated with the legend of the Phoenix. Her popular feast is celebrated on December 4 in a similar fashion to Halloweens. Kids bear masks and go for a trade and treat.
3) Aṫaayif is a special Lebanese pastry prepared for Saint Barbara celebration. It is made of tender dough in the shape of a disc, filled with nuts, or cream topped with a red flower of orange, half-closed and sprinkled with honey-like syrup.
4) Kenun in Lebanese refers to two months December and January: the former is Kenun l Awwal, the First Kenun, the latter Kenun Tteene, the Second Kenun. Kenun cannot be translated with one word in English. I, the author and translator proposed “December”.
5) Mcabbak and Xuwweem are special pastries served on Saint Barbara (December 4) and the Epiphany of the Lord (January 6). Both could be made of rice powder dough fried in oil. Mcabbak has the shape of a net and Xuwweem that of a ball. They are soaked in a honey-like syrup before serving.
6) Advent is a great time in the Church referred to as a season in the liturgical calendar year. It culminates with Christmas (December 25) and is followed by the Epiphany (January 6 in the Catholic Church). Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas December 6), John the Baptist, the Nativity are very popular in Lebanon. People celebrate with music and songs, art productions, clothing fashions, pastries, neighbor visits, family and Church gatherings and theater plays. Since the Orthodox Churches might celebrate Christmas on January 6, Santa Claus and the Nativity of Jesus as well as Epiphany (the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan) and Easter (the Resurrection of Jesus) are celebrated twice.
7) “God is with us” is the literal translation of the Hebrew Emmanuel, also the name of Jesus Christ in Christian tradition. In Lebanese expressions like “Alla maxxak”, “Alla maxxik” and “Alla maxkon” meaning “God is with you” or “God be with you” when addressing a man, a woman or two or more persons respectively, are very common forms of salutations and blessing.
8) “honorable are you whose name is white”: the name Lebanon means literally white and the word meaning honorable in Lebanese “jaliil” is the same word for Galilee “l Jaliil” where Jesus grew in the town of Nazareth. Lebanon was called the white very likely because of its mountains covered with snow and its springing waters. Water meant and still means life in the middle of the deserts of the Middle East.
9) and 10) The cedar and the palm tree are both characteristic trees of Lebanon. The cedar botanic variety found in Lebanon was coined “the Cedar of Lebanon” and became the symbol flaunting the Lebanese national flag. The cedar wood, also called timber, was a precious raw material in Antiquity. The Phoenicians, a seafarer people originating in Lebanon, used it for building their ships and for trade. It was prized by Kings from all over the Ancient World for its beams in building and making furniture. Cedar trees could live for thousand years and their wood was viewed as long lived raw material (eternal?) for manufacturing. The Cedar of Lebanon was used in the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem by King Salomon. Less obvious, the palm tree is a common tree of the Lebanese littoral, growing next to the Mediterranean Sea eastern shores, though it is often associated with Arabia in the western imagination. Both the cedar and the palm tree are symbols in the Hebrew Scriptures of the just. Psalm 92, 13: “The just shall flourish like the palm tree, shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon.”
11) “your Lord the vine, and we the branches”: by reference to the Gospel according to the Apostle John, Chapter 15, Jesus is the vine and his disciples the branches. Wine is a popular drink in Lebanon since Antiquity. The Baalbek Greco-Roman vestiges, called in Lebanese “Alxit Bxalbakk” and meaning “the Castle of Baalbek”, in the Bekaa Valley, “li B`eex”, reveal a temple dedicated to Bacchus, the Greek god of the vine, wine and orgies,. The temple is decorated by grapes and weeds carved on its stones! Vineyards are common in Lebanon. They have a specific name: li krum. There, people often grow the vine, olive trees and fig trees. Vine trees, l xaraayic, could also be found growing next to home walls, climbing on the roof over a special net designed for this purpose. In the summer, it shelters the house from the heat and provides its delicious grapes for the thirsty. People would meet in the evening under it to have fun.
Copyright July 19, 2009 Hicham Khalil Bourjaili
Our Lady of Lebanon, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
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