Sayings of Lebanese origin
It’s a goat even if it flies.
The son of your son is yours, the son of your daughter is not.
If you fall in love let her be a beauty; if you should steal, let it be a camel.
You say it’s a he-goat, he asks you to milk it.
Don’t come near the scorpion, but sleep around the snake.
Hygiene is two thirds of health.
The camel limped because of his lips.
You become like that which you own.
A dog will always be a dog, even if he is raised by lions.
A cemetery never refuses a corpse.
Do today what you want to postpone until tomorrow.
The son of an old man is an orphan, and his wife is a widow.
He who slaps himself on the face should not cry ouch.
If you are too sparing with the cat’s food, the rats will eat your ears.
Good advice once was worth a camel; now that it is free of charge, no one takes it.
We’ve been craving chicken, so we ate it with its feathers.
A dressed up lie is worth more than a badly told truth.
Lock your door rather than suspect your neighbor.
He who took the donkey up to the roof should bring it down.
God hears things upside down.
It’s normal for a sieve to have holes in it.
The day will come for the despot to pay.
We taught them how to beg, they raced us to the gates.
Leave trouble alone, and trouble will let you alone.
Nights of pleasure are short.
The Lebanese Republic
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdom, a maritime culture that flourished for over a thousand years (c. 1550–539 BC). In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, and eventually became one of the Empire’s leading centers of Christianity. In the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion and identity. However, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church and asserted their communion with Rome. The ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era. (An excerpt from Wikipedia)
The official language of Lebanon is Arabic.
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon.
More Lebanese Proverbs and sayings
Towards the end of the night you shall hear shrill cries.
Better to have one thousand enemies outside the house than to have one single enemy inside it.
If you spit in the face of a coward he’ll tell you that it’s raining.
The son of a son is dear, the son of a daughter a stranger.
Tire out your body, but not your mind.
Ticks, bedbugs and a crying child are unendurable.
If someone puts their trust in you, don’t sever it.
A donkey is a donkey though it may carry the Sultan’s treasure.
Do good and throw it into the sea — if it is not appreciated by an ungrateful man, it will be appreciated by God.
The bear came to dance, he killed seven or eight people.
Love overlooks defects; hatred magnifies them.
When a mouse makes fun of a cat, there is a hole nearby.
He who has money can eat ice cream in hell.
If the camel saw his own hump, he would fall and break his neck.
If summer had a mother, she would weep at summer’s passing.
Exert effort, you shall be rewarded.
A wretched year has twenty-four months.
The monkey looks like a dear in his mother’s eyes.
Farther than earth from heaven.
Have faith in a stone and you will be healed.
A polite devil is more agreeable than a rude saint.
He is like a deaf man at a wedding procession.
Two things cannot be hidden: being astride a camel and being pregnant.
When you return from a trip, bring back something for your family — even if it is only a stone.
If anyone is not willing to accept your point of view, try to see his point of view.
His brains hang at the top of his fez.
Flies know well the sweet seller’s beard.
A bite from a loving mouth is worth more than a kiss from any other.
No one can give what he does not have.
You cannot cook your eggs with wind.
Whatever your uncle gives you, take.
If you beat my drum, I will blow your whistle.
If you conduct yourself properly, fear no one.
Beware of the man to whom you have done a good turn.
The pot always reveals its contents.
We traded in shrouds; people stopped dying.
The bear is full, now he thinks honey is bitter.
He who gossips to you will gossip about you.
When your son is young, discipline him; when he grows older, be a brother to him.
If your messenger tarries, expect good.
Lower your voice and strengthen your argument.
An intelligent deaf-mute is better than an ignorant person who can speak.
The person who knew you when you were young will seldom respect you as an adult.
Talking is not like doing.
It is easier to be a happy bachelor for a year than a widower for a month.
He who wants to eat honey should endure the stings.
The worst ache is the present ache.
No matter how fast the poplar grows, it will never reach heaven.
One bird in hand, rather than ten on the tree.
Some men will build a wine cellar when they have found just one grape.
When they came to shoe the horse of the sultan, along comes the beetle and sticks out her foot.
When the angels arrive the demons leave.
What luck! It is God-sent.
Only your nail scratches your skin.
A clear conscience shines not only in the eyes.
If a rich man eats a snake, people call it wisdom; if a poor man does the same thing, people call it derangement.
The last resort is the hot iron.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.
A man with one intention goes out to a man with two intentions becomes perplexed.
The Lebanese National Anthem
Lebanese National Anthem ( English Lyrics):
All of us! For our Country, for our Glory and Flag!
Our valor and our writings are the envy of the ages.
Our mountain and our valley, they bring forth stalwart men.
And to Perfection we devote our words and labor.
All of us! For our Country, for our Glory and Flag!
All of us! For our Country
Our Elders and our children, they await our Country’s call,
And on the Day of Crisis they are as Lions of the Jungle.
The heart of our East is ever Lebanon,
May God preserve him until the end of time.
All of us! For our Country, for our Glory and Flag!
All of us! For our Country
The Gems of the East are his land and sea.
Throughout the world his good deeds flow from pole to pole.
And his name is his glory since time began.
The cedars are his pride, his immortality’s symbol.
All of us! For our Country, for our Glory and Flag!
All of us! For our Country