Today I want to share more about the Congolese culture. When I was adopting I immersed myself in learning about the country where my son was from. Since returning home, I am still learning. I hope to continue to share different ways to learn about the culture of the DRC. Congo's Independence day is June 30 and is the most important celebration of the year. I was on my blog break during that time so I didn't write about what we learned. I thought I'd share today. These activities are great to do while you are waiting or when you get your child home.
"Sky blue field divided diagonally from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red stripe bordered by two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed star appears in the upper hoist corner; blue represents peace and hope, red the blood of the country's martyrs, and yellow the country's wealth and prosperity; the star symbolizes unity and the brilliant future for the country"
source: CIA factbook website
Activity #1:
Print out this printable DRC flag. Color or paint it and talk about the meanings of the colors.
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| Cookie that we made for our Gotcha Day Celebration |
Activity Idea #2:
Make Africa shaped sugar cookies and then decorate the cookies in appropriate DRC flag colors. Pictured below is the ones we made. The Krotzer family is selling the Africa shaped cookie cutters as a fundraiser for their adoption.
Get yours at: One Starfish Web Store
Tips from the kitchen: I found the best tips for making your icing smooth/shiny and professional looking when I made these peppermint cookies for Christmas last year. I used the same method for these sugar cookies, using a toothpick to make the star, and red tubed piping icing for the stripes. Check out this link from Bakerella (this blog rocks if you like to bake) if you need icing help. We are talking lots of pictures so you can get the concept, a must for me and a great sugar cookie recipe to boot -----> Sugar Cookies
The other thing I wondered about was if the DRC had a national anthem. I thought I would share this video and you can find lyrics in English/French below.
When I first read the lyrics my throat lumped up and when I got to "Let us live our motto:" tears silently slipped down my face.
On this day the sun rises
And our Congo stands resplendent.
A long night is ended,
A great happiness has come.
Let us all, with wild joyfulness, sing
The song of freedom.
CHORUS
Arise, Congolese, proud every man,
Proclaim the unity of our nation.
Let us forget what divides us
And become more united than ever.
Let us live our motto:
Unity, work, progress.
(repeat previous two lines)
From the forest to the bush,
From the bush to the ocean,
One people, one soul,
One heart, ardent and proud.
Let us all fight, every one of us,
For our old black country.
CHORUS
And if we have to die,
What does it really matter? Our children
Everywhere will be able to say how
Triumph comes through battle,
And in the smallest village
Sing beneath our three colours.
CHORUS
Anthem Lyrics in Official Language
Zairois dans la paix retrouvee
Peuple uni, nous sommes Zairois
En avant fier et plein de dignite
Peuple grand, peuple libre a jamais
Tricolore enflamme nous du feu sacre
Pour batir notre pays toujours plus beau
Autour d'un fleuve majeste
Autour d'un fleuve majeste
Tricolore au vent ravive l'ideal
Qui nous relie aux aieux a nos enfants
Paix, justice et travail
Paix, justice et travail
Source: LinkonLearning
Activity #1: Listen to the video and then read the lyrics of the song in English.
Activity #2: Go to this link and read the speech written for their Independence Day – first celebrated in 1960 - source: www.helpchildrenwithaids.org
Want to read more about Congolese culture? Click this link: #Tag: Congolese Culture
Tune in next Friday for a feature on one of my favorite non-for-profits doing amazing things in the DRC!!
Thanks, Tessy!
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