WEDDING

http://www.zawaj.com/weddingways/egypt_customs.html

Egyptian Marriage Customs of the Past and Present
By Ahmed Negm
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An Islamic wedding procession in Egypt leads the bride to the home of the groom. The bride, hidden from view in a tentlike covering, is riding the camel. Elaborate processions like this one are chiefly a rural tradition of the Islamic wedding ceremony.
Marriage has special importance to Egyptians. They consider marriage as the most important event in their lives because it means a moral way of psychological and biological satisfaction. Egyptians assume marriage is the main method to protect youth from any sacred relationships; moreover, marriage reinforces society's relationships.
Marriage is a religious imposition, and we can find many parts in the Quran as, well as prophetic instructions, which encourage getting married. There is no doubt that marriage customs indicate the society's culture, behaviral patterns, thoughts and feelings.
Egyptian Marriage Customs in Ancient Egypt
Now let's indicate some Egyptian marriage customs in the past and present and their main effects.
The ancient Egyptians were the first people who stated marriage laws in the world. They regarded marriage as a civil and legal relationship. Marriage in ancient Egypt was a religious imposition. The ancient Egyptian laws organized the marriage relationship and indicated all rights and duties for the couples. Many of the old marriage contracts have been found, and they were registered and signed by three officers. The ancient Egyptian laws gave the right of divorce to women as well as men. The wife was respected greatly, and she had high prestige. The couple had a lot of chances to get to know each other before the engagement; for example, in the temples or at the common feasts. There was a custom in the Egyptian family which allowed the adult daughter to welcome the guests who came to visit her parents.
The Engagement Party in Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptians knew the engagement before getting married, and its customs were similar to the engagement customs in Egypt's countryside nowadays. It started by the suitor's parents visiting to his fiancee's house to get her family approval to complete this marriage and reaching an agreement, which contains two main items: an amount of money, called Mahr, paid by suitor to his fiancee's family to help them prepare the furniture of their daughter and a valuable jewelry gift, called Shabka, given by the suitor to his fiancee. The value of this gift depended on the financial and social levels of the suitor"s family.
When the two parties completed the agreement, they fixed an appointment for the engagement party. Most of relatives and friends attended the party in one of the common banquet halls, which was decorated with several kinds of flowers and lights. The fiancee wore the engagement dress which was simpler than the wedding dress and its color was blue or pink while the groom put on the finger of his fiancee a ring, the ancient Egyptians' gift to the old and new world,which was a symbol of immortality.
In addition, the groom gave his fiancee the valuable jewelry gift agreed on before. During the party, the attendands ate and drank several kinds of food and drinks.
The Night Before the Wedding
When the house of the new family became ready, the two families fixed an oppointment of the wedding party. The night before wedding day, the relatives, the friends and the neighbors got together to celebrate the "Henna Night". The women went to the bride's house, while the men went to the groom's house.
At the bride's house the women danced and sang all night while the bride wore a pink dress made with silk or cotton fibers, and her hands and feet were bleached with henna. Meanwhile, the men danced and sang all night at the groom's house, and the groom wore an expensive clean suit.
The Day of the Wedding
The next day, the marriage contract was signed and registered by priest in the temple in the attendance of the couple and most of their families and friends
The Wedding Party
After sun set, the wedding party started, and the couple wore their best dresses and jewelry. The bride was transferred to her new house on a horse or a camel with a musical band, and the attendants sprayed the cortege with green wheat as a symbol of fertility. Several kinds of cooked meats as well as vegetables and fruit were prepared for the attendants, who danced and sang with music all night.
The Day After the Wedding
In the morning, the wife's mother and her sisters visited her and gave her some food. The wife's friends and relatives visited her after seven days from the date of her wedding party, and they offered gifts and some food, while she gave them some sweets and fruits.
Ancient Egyptian marriage customs are the most effective marriage customs in Egypt's history although Egypt has been exposed to many civilization, such as, Greek, Roman and Islam.
Islamic Marriage Customs
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The Islamic marriage doctrines are very simple, they are basically two factors. First, the acceptance of the couple, or their representatives, each other to be husband and wife is the most important term for marriage. Second, the publicity of the marriage (making it known to the people) is an essential condition of marriage; however, Islam emphasizes that marriage is the only available way to satisfaction the biological need between the man and the woman and to make the family; therefore, the available chances for the couple to get to know each other before the engagement have become limited, mainly through family visits or at public places.
The engagement and wedding customs in the Middle Ages remained as they were in Ancient Egypt although these customs are in disagreement with the simplicity of the Islamic spirit.
Marriages in Modern Urban Egypt
Nowadays, the marriage customs in the Egyptian countryside are similar to the ancient customs, but in the city the picture is quite different, where the couple has many chances to get to know each other at university, work, clubs and other public places.
However, the engagement agreement between the families still includes the two main items: the "mahr" and "shabka"; furthermore, the engagement party is quite similar to the engagement party in Ancient Egypt. Frequently it is held in one of the hotels.
However, the engagement period has be come longer because of the preparation of the new house is costly and does not suit the income of the couple or the income of their parents (housing is very expensive in Cairo).
The marriage contract is signed and registered by "maazon", a man who has an official license to sign and register the marriage contract, in attendance of the couple and their families and friends, and this procedure happens in the birde's house or at a mosque.
The Wedding Party
At the wedding party, the bride wears a while dress with a white mantilla while the groom wears a black suit with white shirt and necktie, and in the hotel the couple walks among their invitees from the entrance of the hotel to their seats, and infront there is the music band. The attendants spray flowers over the couple. When the couple takes their seat the party program starts with a drink called "Sharpat",a rose water juice, and after that the singers and the dancers start to present their shows, and in the middle of the party the couple cuts the wedding cake and opens the food buffet. When the party finishes early morning the couple thanks the guests and either the couple goes to their room or they go to their new house.
Bad Marriage Customs
Egyptian marriage customs in the past or in the present generally reflect the cooperative and brotherly spirit of the community; however, we should get rid of our bad marriage customs and habits because they cause a lot of serious problems for society.
The marriage between relatives (i.e. first cousins) is one of our bad customs in Egypt. Although marriage between relatives is a very old custom, it is still common in Egypt, and there are many reasons behind this kind of marriage. First, increasing the family size and consequently the power and the prestige of the family is the most important reason. Second, keeping the family's heritage and wealth among its members is another important reason.
However, marriage between relatives has many disadvantages like hepartinson and diabetes (in the children).
Furthermore, marriage between relatives causes tribal racism giving the chance for power struggles and superiority fights.
Another bad custom is that the marriage customs in Egypt are costly and do not suit the income levels of most Egyptian families; for example, the average of marriage cost in Egyptian cities is LE 100,000 ($ 30,000) while the average income is LE 150 ($ 44) per month. This situation creates heavy load on the young couple and their families.
I think although our marriage customs indicate deep emotions between the Egyptians, and illustrate the great civilization, we should work hard to minimize customs by organizing social campaigns to clarify our marriage custom's disadvantage. In addition, we should spread education and concern for women's education , especially in the countryside. In my opinion, if we do not get rid of most of our bad marriage customs, our problems will increase cutting off any economic growth and decreasing the development of the society..
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English idioms

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or

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Labor Day Jokes
Father: Do you know, most people don't have to work today, because it's Labour Day.

Son: If people are not working, shouldn't we call today 'No-Labour Day?'

May day, may day
By Lubna Abdel-Aziz
So you thought May 1st celebrates International Worker's Day! Just look around you! "All Nature wears one grin," exhibiting its spectacular vistas, ablaze with sunshine, bluebells and forget-me-nots. It dresses Earth in its finest greens, it urges the wild plants to bloom, the garden crops to sprout, the trees to blossom, and the birds to sing. Following the dark winter days and the long winter nights, Nature celebrates Earth's revival. It is the time for joy and hope, for love and romance! Could all this have escaped the senses ot early man?
May Day is a feast of ancient origins. Egyptians, Babylonians, Indians, Romans and others, celebrated the new season of beauty and pleasure. Records of the earliest May Day festivities of the Roman Empire describe the celebrations of Floralia, in honour of Flora, goddess of fruit and flowers, or Maia goddess of spring and growth. The feast was held annually from April 28th to May 3rd. At that time February 1st was the first day of spring, while May 1st was the first day of summer. That explains why the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, was mid- summer, and not the beginning of summer as it is now. With the conquest of much of Europe between 300 BC and 100 AD, the Romans brought their new traditions to each native lore! Such celebrations were held in Germany, France, Italy, etc, but never taken so earnestly as with the Celts of the British Isles. Perhaps it was the added influence of the Druids, whose name means "oak tree" or "knowing the oak tree," regarded the oak and the mistletoe as sacred and frequented the forests as worshipping grounds. They held Druid festivals at the beginning of each season. As Europe became Christianized the pagan holidays lost their religious character. Many indigenous celebrations were barred or Christianized, as with Christmas, Easter and All Saints Day. Others, like May Day became popular secular celebrations. In Medieval England, May Day became the favourite holiday of many English villages. People gathered spring flowers to decorate their homes and churches. Girls would wash their faces in the dew of early morning because they believed this made them more beautiful all year. Traditional dances circled a Maypole, holding the ends of multicoloured ribbons until it was covered with a beautifully plaited pattern.
They sang madrigals, exchanged gifts and wooed their loved ones. May Day was a day of courting throughout Europe. This was well-depicted in the film version of Camelot, as Guinevere sang with joy and gusto around the Maypole: " It's May. it's May, the lusty month of May." It was customary for everyone to go a-Maying early on May Day. Young girls would make May garlands with leaves and flowers. The highlight of the day was the choosing of the May Queen, the human replica of the goddess Flora, a custom which lingers on to the present day, as seen in the movie Picnic, with Kim Novak crowned as May Queen. In France, King Charles IX received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm on May 1st 1561. It became a French custom to offer a fresh sprig of lily of the valley as a symbol of springtime. It also became the flower of May. In Germany young people dance around the maypole, build bonfires and eat and drink wurst and beer as they "Tanz in dem Mai" (dance into May).
The early settlers in America, such as the Puritans, frowned on such frivolous celebrations, but accepted the custom of offering May Day baskets. Filled with spring flowers, candy, and other treats, the baskets are left at someone's doorstep, the giver remains unknown, and in 1920 in Hawaii, May Day became Lei Day, what else! A May Day parade is held in several American cities. It was the American city of Chicago, Illinois that inspired the May 1st celebrations of Labour Day or International Worker's Day. American workers were demanding shorter working days and more humane conditions. They had achieved some of their demands, but a 10-hour day was much too strenuous.
In 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labour Unions declared that 8 hours would constitute a legal day's work effective May 1st 1886. When workers went on strike on May 3rd 1886, police fired into the peacefully assembled crowd, killing four and wounding many more. A mass rally was held the following day in Haymarket Square to protest police brutality. The rally was peaceful until the end when 180 policemen ordered the crowd to disperse. An unknown person threw a bomb killing a police officer and wounding 70 others. The police fired back. The heads of the movement were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, even though only one was present at the rally. All were sentenced to death despite the lack of evidence connecting them with the person who threw the bomb. Four were hanged on November 11th 1887, one committed suicide, and three were pardoned in 1893. The Congress of World Socialist parties in Paris in 1889 voted to support the US labour movement's demands of an 8- hour day rather than the gruelling 10-hour day. They chose the date of May 1st 1890, as the day when labourers all around the world would demonstrate in solidarity with their American brethren of Chicago, who started their uprising on May 1st. This date came to symbolize the long and bloody struggle of the worker's labourers throughout the world with the exception of the US and Canada. It is rather ironic that the country that inspired the May Day festival of the working class does not celebrate it. Following more violence with the American Railway Union and Pullman workers, a Labour Day on the first Monday of September of 1894 was passed by Congress. .
In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is a sacred month honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary. May Day is dedicated to a church mass, some school skits, and adorning Mary's head with flowers. The French select May Queens in their churches to lead the procession in honour of the Virgin Mary.
The ancient Egyptians chose the egg to signify birth and resurrection. They buried eggs in their tombs, and the ancient Saxons also offered eggs to their pagan god of spring - Eastre.
As for the international distress call "My Day May Day," it is the corrupt English translation of the Voulez vous "m'aidez, m'aidez." Now adopted universally, it is not remotely related to either May, Spring, or Labour.
The whole world is celebrating one thing or another today. Let us join in the spirit of hope in the air we sniff, filled with promise of renewal and resurrection for the coming season.
Hail bounteous May, that doth inspire Mirth and youth, and warm desire -- John Milton (1608-1674)

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/895/pe2.htm

Preparing for the Fair
View the video, "How to Make a Job Fair Work for You," available at UMD Career Services.
Plan exactly what professional attire you will wear. You should look as good as you would for an interview.
Review standard interview questions and formulate your responses.
Participate in mock interviews.
Prepare a 45 second description of who you are and what you want. Your objective is to say one memorable thing to the recruiters as you hand them your resume.
Obtain the list of companies attending the fair.
Gather essential items to take to the fair:
a letter-sized portfolio with notepad and pen,
more than enough copies of your resume,
your research notes on companies participating in the fair,
a compact professional portfolio of your work samples (optional).
Arriving at the Fair
Check-in at the registration table to pick up a name tag and a copy of the fair layout.Drop off a copy of your resume.
Review the information and organize the final list of employers, in order of priority, which you plan to visit.
Select the employer for your first contact from your priority list (not your first or second choice).
Develop an interview plan which includes taking a break to assure that you will look and feel your best.
Watch the traffic flow in the room and if a line seems too long, it may be more efficient to select another employer.
Check your appearance.
Organize all of your materials.
Have your resume ready.
Review the information about the employer you are approaching.
Approach the first employer.
Approaching the Employer
As you approach the table, respect other people's privacy as they complete their contact.
Conduct yourself professionally at all times, you are on stage even as you stand in line or move about the fair area.
As you approach the interview table, establish eye contact, present a firm handshake, introduce yourself and explain why you have chosen this employer.
If the employer invites you to sit down, put your materials in your lap or on the floor beside your chair, not on the table.
Interviewing with the Employer
Have a three-point agenda: know what you are looking for, what you have to offer and what questions you will ask about the company.
Listen carefully and take conversational cues from the employer (e.g., when to end a response, when the contact/interview is over).
Try to generate and maintain interest. Smile, respond to questions with specific and concise examples, keep your voice lively, maintain a pleasant vocal tone, use a slightly forward body posture and use humor appropriately.
Use transition statements to share information about yourself that the interviewer may not have addressed (e.g., "That's interesting, I had an experience which relates..." or "May I tell you about...").
Respond truthfully, while always painting a positive picture of yourself (e.g. "I have not yet had an opportunity to... but in a similar situation, I...").
Ask for company information, application materials and the employer's business card.
Ask about the hiring process and time lines, and determine actual and potential openings.
At the end of the contact, offer a firm handshake and express your appreciation, using the employer's name.
Walk away with confidence, remember that you are still on stage.
Immediately following the contact, make notes on topics of conversation, contact names and follow-up procedures. Then prepare for your next contact.
Following Up After the Fair
Within three days, send professional thank you letters addressed to the specific employers (include typed application materials if you have them).
Within ten days, make telephone calls to determine if the companies have received your application materials, to check on the status of vacant positions, and to express your continued interest.
Keep accurate records of your contacts with companies, include dates of your letters or telephone calls and copies of all application materials you send.
Final Tip
Focus on learning as much as you can about what employers are looking for in the people they hire. The primary benefit of participation in the Fair is to collect information and make contacts.

My Job
I want to be a:

I want to have this job because...

I need to wear:

I need these special clothes because...

This is what I will do all day, when I have this job:

This job is important because...

This is what I will do when I present in front of the class:

This is what I will say when I present in front of the class:

Job Descriptions
Geisha, gaffer, guru — what do they do? Do cowpunchers jab cows? Do stockbrokers break things? Here's what these people really do.
Bellhop: A hotel employee who escorts guests to their rooms, carries their luggage, and familiarizes them with their surroundings
Best boy: An assistant to a gaffer in TV and movie productions
Cabin boy: A boy who acts as a servant on a ship, especially to the captain
Caddie: A golf course worker who carries clubs and assists golfers
Cowpuncher: A ranch worker who tends cattle and horses
Diva: The principal female singer in an opera
Engineer: A person who uses the principles of math and science to plan structures such as bridges, engines, roads, and canals
Extra: A person with a nonspeaking part in a movie
Gaffer: An electrician in charge of lighting on a movie or TV set
Geisha: A Japanese woman who plays classical Japanese music and performs traditional dances at private parties in Japan
Guru: A Hindu religious teacher and spiritual guide
Hermit: A person who retires from society and lives alone, often for religious reasons
Intellectual: Someone who studies and thinks about ideas
Intelligence agent: Also called a spy
Maitre d': The person who shows diners to their tables and supervises the waiters in a restaurant
Medicine man: A healer or sorcerer in a Native American tribe
Page: One who delivers messages and serves as a guide
Patron: A person who uses wealth and influence to help a person or a cause
Pirate: A person who robs ships on the high seas (outside territorial waters). Today's pirates use speedboats and carry guns.
Spy: One who collects and analyzes secret information about armies and battle plans
Spycatcher: One who tries to discover spies, also called a counterintelligence agent
Stand-up comedian: A person who tells jokes alone on a stage, usually in a nightclub
Stockbroker: A person who acts for others in buying and selling stocks or shares in a business
Undercover agent: Someone, usually a law enforcement agent, who pretends to be someone else in order to gain information
Valet: A personal servant who takes care of one's clothes, or a hotel employee who cares for clothes and does other personal servicesReturn to the Have a Job Fair lesson plan.