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Category: Diverse

Ramadan Mubarak

Ramadan begins this year on March 23 and continues until April 20. Ramadan is the ninth month in the lunar calendar and begins with the appearance of the crescent moon. This date is determined by astronomical calculations by some Muslim countries and organizations, while others rely on seeing the crescent moon of Ramadan in the sky with the naked eye on the Wednesday before. The fasting person abstains from eating, drinking, sexual intercourse and smoking from sunrise to sunset. The purpose of fasting is not to suffer from hunger and thirst, but to draw closer to God and to recognize… Read More

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Indians, Chinese, Persians or Arabs: Who invented chess?

By Oula Mahfouz The interest in the origins of the game began with a conversation over a game of chess in the family. “Checkmate, Omar. Do you know that the origin of chess is Arabic, because ‘checkmate’ is Arabic and means ‘the king has died’.” “No, mum, chess comes from India,” the nine-year-old replied. His twelve-year-old brother Mohammad intervened in the discussion and said, “No, you’re both wrong, the game comes from Persia.” The two boys seemed very sure of their opinion. When I looked for the origin of the game, I discovered that there are very different explanations and… Read More

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A winter fairy tale: Bus driver Olga, two Ukrainian women and a bag

Around the turn of the year, miracles sometimes happen. Not only in movies, but also in real life. Yana and her family experienced one. She wrote it down for tuenewsINTERNATIONAL: “I was exhausted that day. Honestly, just like any other day since I moved to Germany. Or after the ‘escape’. I just don’t like that word. Classes at the university in the morning, German classes in the afternoon, then, English classes in the evening, and my office job very late in the evening. That day it was snowing. 10 minutes before my English class ended, my mom sent me a… Read More

 16,822 total views,  10 views today

Superstition: Hospitality

According to the definition of the online Duden dictionary, superstition is “a belief in the effectiveness of supernatural forces in certain people and things that are viewed as erroneous”. These include sayings, symbols, and rituals that are used in everyday life. The content differs depending on the culture, and even the region. By the tünews INTERNATIONAL’s editors, we have compiled the following examples from Afghanistan, Syria, and Germany: Many sayings and divinations revolve around hospitality in Arabian and Persian-speaking countries. For example, if a Syrian’s eye blinks, then he hurries to tidy up the home because an important or dear… Read More

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Superstition: good luck and bad luck

According to the definition of the online Duden Dictionary, superstition is “a belief in the effectiveness of supernatural forces in certain people and things that are viewed as erroneous”. These beliefs include sayings, symbols, and rituals that are used in everyday life. The content differs depending on the culture, and even the region. By the tünews INTERNATIONAL’s editors, we have compiled the following examples from Afghanistan, Syria, and Germany: This custom from Syria is considered a good omen for marriage: before the wedding, the bride sticks a piece of dough at the entrance of her husband’s house. Dough that sticks… Read More

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Superstition: money and symbols

According to the definition of the online Duden Dictionary, superstition is “a belief in the effectiveness of supernatural forces in certain people and things that are viewed as erroneous”. These include sayings, symbols, and rituals that are used in everyday life. The content differs depending on the culture, often even the region. By the tünews INTERNATIONAL’s editors, we have compiled the following examples from Afghanistan, Syria, and Germany: Afghanistan and Syria believe that a tickle in the left hand will bring money to the person. With the tickle of the right hand, on the other hand, one expects soon to… Read More

 3,727 total views,  1 views today

Why holidays don’t happen at the same time in Germany

By Oula Mahfouz “We don’t get a chance to see each other except during the Christmas holidays.” That’s what my sister said to me after she had planned to visit me and get the rest of her things here. She moved near Hamburg with her children last August. Her children finished the school year here and after moving there they had to start the next school year right away without having any holidays. When they then had autumn holidays, my children had to go to school here. The only chance we have is the Christmas holidays, when trains and motorways… Read More

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Iraq became Asian champion amid civil war

By Sameer Ibrahim On the occasion of the current World Cup, Sameer Ibrahim, an Iraqi member of the editorial staff of tünews INTERNATIONAL, recalls the Iraqi national team’s greatest success to date. Football is very popular in Iraqi society. All Iraqis are united in football. The national team consists of members of many ethnic and religious groups. It is thus a microcosm of Iraqi society, which consists of 40 million people. The Asian Cup, which is held every four years, was held in July 2007 for the first time in the tournament’s history in four countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and… Read More

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Customers pay more attention to spending

In Germany importation of grains was drastically reduced after Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine in February this year. Grain cultivation and harvest in Germany was nevertheless good and of high quality last season. But the constant increase in the cost of fuel and electricity also has caused food prices to rise steadily. Bright Igbinovia of the tünews-INTERNATIONAL team works at the Unterjesingen mill and sometimes assists in sales there. He says: “I can see that the majority of consumers now give a better and proper attention to prices.” Customers ask him how much and why prices constantly increase. Therefore,… Read More

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“This bread” or “that one”—German bread culture explained to refugees

By Oula Mahfouz “There is a joke that says there are hundreds of types of bread in Germany, most of them are called ‘that one’, directly followed by ‘No, the one next to it’.” That was the answer of Hubert Berger, an organic baker from Reutlingen, to a question from tünews INTENATIONAL about the many types of German bread. The presentation of the many breads in the bakeries makes it difficult to recognise the small labels with the names. And that’s why Syrians point to the bread they want with their hand and say “this bread, please”. The names are… Read More

 5,256 total views,  2 views today

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