Mama Lisa's Books

Krampus: A Scary Creature who Travels with St. Nick in Alpine Cultures

Krampus is a nasty demon with horns and a long red tongue.  His name comes from the word for "Claw".  He accompanies St. Nick on his rounds the night before St. Nick's Day (December 6th).  St. Nick gives all the good little boys and girls gifts.  Krampus, on the [...]

The Symbolism of the Egg

As Easter approaches, it's natural to think a little about eggs! In days gone by the egg, due to its shape, was a symbol of the earth. Thanks to its obvious association with the beginning of life, it has also been the basis of many ancient creation stories. It has been a symbol of fertility, [...]

Elaborately Decorated Eggs for Easter In Eastern Europe

Guest Blogger, Ed Gawlinski, has been involved in many cultural organizations throughout his life. Here, he discusses Easter traditions in several Eastern European cultures. A common custom is to color hard boiled eggs for Easter. We usually colored them on Good Friday, while eating hot cross [...]

Valentine's Day Around the World

GUEST BLOGGER Lisa Smith of Regionz Kidz has graciously shared this interesting post about international Valentine's Day traditions. February 14th has come to mean red and pink hearts, flowers, chocolates and Hallmark cards here in the US. But, how did Valentine's Day become a day that we [...]

Mama Lisa's World News and Multimedia Features

A significant part of the Mama Lisa sites is a large collection of songs and nursery rhymes from around the world. We currently have about 750 songs from around 90 countries and cultures. When you consider how many languages there are in those cultures – that's a lot of information! In [...]

Can Anyone Help with a Cuban Rhyme/Finger Play that starts with “Chiquitica así”?

Jeannie Backer wrote to us for help with a Cuban Finger Play. Here's her note... My mother from Cuba used to sing a song/rhyme to usthat I only partially remember, maybe you have heard something similar. It's not a song as much as a cute thing that a child says to adult to ask for

The [...]

About the Song “Cooma Lotta Veesay”

We received the note below with the song “Cooma Lotta Veesay”. Many variations of this song exist, including “Kumala Vista”. It also shares lyrics with the action song called “Flee, Fly, Flo“. Here's the email: “In the late 1950s, we lived near a [...]

Does anyone know this version of Catalina Matelina?

Dennis Lytle wrote to us asking for information about a rhyme: “Any info on the rhyme my parents taught us would be appreciated... I tell you bout vat girl of mine vat looks so sveet and dress so fine, vat come from Dootchland on the Rhine a couple of veeks ago. Her eyes are blue [...]