Ishmabahu

Description of Our Nation's Flag:

Our flag consists of four quadrants. Each quadrant represents one aspect of our empire that is important to us.

Wheat and Grapes: The top left quadrant is golden-brown, representing wheat. The bottom left quadrant is colored purple, representing grapes. These two sources of food represent key parts of our diet. We use the wheat to feed our livestock. Addictionally, we can turn the wheat into flour through a process known as milling. This flour can be used for a number of staple foods such as bread, cookies, cake, and pasta. We often ferment the wheat as well as grapes (another one of our staple foods) in order to make alcoholic beverages. We also use olive trees, coral, and grapes in order to make a product that can be used to expand our island. Lastly, fish is another key part of our diet, and represents the final quadrant of our flag. Food is very important to us, and this is apparent in the way we designed our flag quadrants.

National Anthem

volo canere
nolo videre
nolo vicere
tu amabant nostro
omnes sunt sub nostro
(i want to eat, i dont want to see, i dont want to conquer, you will love us, everyone is below us)

Alliances and Connections

Ishmabahu does not have many alliances with other nations.  This is one, due to our inhospitable nature, and two, the fact that we have plenty of resources and power as a single nation.  Our small alliances lie with Italy, Egypt, and Greece.  This is mainly because they are out surrounding countries. Also, like us, they are rich in resources.  When we do trade, it is mostly with Egypt.  Our main imports from them are cotton and silk.  These products are very valuable and desirable around the world.  We can buy these cheap because of how close Egypt is, and sell them very high to foreigners and far away nations such as the U.S. and Mexico.

We often have trouble with negotiations because most nations consider us "hostile" or "savage."  However, this is only because we are very protective of our land, resources and people.  The people of Ishmabahu believe that involvement with other countries only creates more opportunities for conflicts and wars.  This is why we choose to isolate ourselves and trade very rarely.

National History
The province of Ishmabahu is located in the central Mediterranean. It is south of Sicily and is a small island. In the ancient word it played a major part in the connection between the Phonecians, Greeks, and Romans. After the destruction of Carthage at the end of the 3^rd Punic War, Ishmabahu officially became part of the Roman Empire. For the next 700 years, the Ishmabahu’s were under the rule of the Romans. They were given some rights, such as being able to go to Rome to vote as a recognized tribe and helped elect the Tribunes. Once the switch was made to Christianity by Constantine, tension began rising between Ishmabahu’s polytheistic ways and the new found Roman religion. After many bloody rebellions, they finally regained their independence and continued their polytheistic ways. An interesting aspect of their history is that after about 300 BC, the Ishmabahu’s remained isolated and participated in no trading. It was almost as if the Ishmabahu’s had been covered by a volcano, no one tried to take over the rebellious polytheistic island. Until 1575, all of the ports on this island were closed. They rellied heavily on wheat and fish, a main aspect of their diet even today. ON this day, curious French explorers went to the island.
The island by that point had hacked away at the edges of the island, creating sharp cliffs. This remains to be an amazing feat since the cliffs literally go straight into the ocean. There is one beach where the islanders perform sacred ceremonies to their gods on the night of a new moon. The French men attempted to make contact with the people, but the islanders savagely attacked the explorers torchering them for months before finally throwing them off the jagged cliffs. The French were so outraged that they arrived with guns and broke into the island. They saw absolute order.
ON the island the people dutifully farmed, switching their crops every season, maintaining the volcanic soil’s minerals. The island has an island a radius of about 20 miles so it is very important to save land. To quote from a solider’s journal
      “The houses are each no more than 3 rooms. Every family has only 4 children. ON the harvest moon, each family will send the oldest child to vote for the family on who will be the new leader. This is usually based of off the crop yield that that family has produced. While one family produces wheat, another will produce grapes and a tally is kept on which family has produced the most food. The eldest child in this family usually becomes the next ruler. The people speak in Latin. They have no idea of the outside world, it is like walking into an ancient village.”
Over the next 400 years, Ishmabahu caught up with the rest of the world. The 1700s was its golden age. While the rest of Europe was caught up with civil war, revolutions, and imperialism, Ishmabahu  created ingenious technology. They expanded their island using a product made from the bark of olive trees, coral, and the skin of grapes. Today Ishmabahu has increased its radius by 3 times since they were first visited by the French. They continue to grow every year. Although they have adopted many modern ways, their religion stays the same as well as their language and government. Who knows where Ishmabahu will go?

The Na'vi

Na'vi flag of Ewya

The four stars on the right side represent the four clans of the Na'vi. The blue background represents the color of our skin. The tree in the middle is what we call home tree and it is where we live and where our culture is based. The red triangles make it look kinda cool and serve no purpose whatsoever. The black and white circles represent our peace with between the good and bad in nature and our unity with nature and our home tree.

National Anthem:

O land of the Na'vi, of rivers and plains;
Made rich by the sunshine, and lush by the rains,
Set gem like and fair, between mountains and sea,
Your children salute you, dear land of the free!

Green land of Pandora, our heroes of yore,
Both bondsmen and free, laid their bones on your shore.
This soil so they hallowed, and from them are we,
All sons of one Mother, Pandora the free!!

Great land of Earth, diverse though our strains,
We are born of their sacrifice, heirs of their pains,
And ours is the glory their eyes did not see,
One land of two peoples, united and free!

Dear land of Earth, to you will we give,
Our homage, our service, each day that we live;
We guard you, great Eywa, and make us to be
More worthy our heritage, land of the free!

http://naviblue.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=122&start=10

National History:
We are known as the Na’vi. Our nation is located on the eastern coast of what is know Brazil, but we are spread out all across South America. There are 4 major tribes that fall under our nation, each one having its own unique dynamic that makes the Na’vi so powerful and diverse. The first tribe is known as the Omaticaya. The capital of the Na’vi empire is located in the center of the Omaticaya tribe in the dense forests of Brazil. We live in what we call the Hometree were everyone in the tribe is located. We all live in this tree because it enables us to connect with the one thing we value most, and this is our bond with nature. We feel that all beings including animals, plants, and humans are all connected and share one common bond. We feel that you should try and differ yourself from your common being but try and be with them. Some ways we try and make ourselves one with our planet is we wear minimal clothes. This helps be as much part as the Earth as the animals we live with. The only time we use accessories is when we go into battle, which has only been one time in our history. This is when the British came over to our homeland and tried to change our ways. They wanted to bring us new technology that would diversify ourselves from nature. They insisted on bringing new technology and even diseases to us, we resisted. We then summoned all 4 tribes of the Na’vi to fight off the evil Englishmen and were able to defeat them fairly easily. This truly send a message to the rest of the world that our land was not going to be taken over and we were not open to this outside influences that wanted to change our ways. We then broke back into our four tribes and went on with living our way of life.

One thing that is very unique to our people that no other nation obtains is our special bond we have with nature. We strongly believe in a secret bond that we share with all organisms and this helps us be that much more with our Mother Earth. This is a special ritual we do and accomplish this ritual by putting our feet in the roots of the plants. These plants then give us the nutrients that help them survive and let us be even more one with the world. We do this with animals by taming them completely and being able to rid the animals across the plains of Nagat. When we able to accomplish this, we are accepted into manhood because our Mother has accepted us as part of her. Our Mother is also called Ewya by our people and it is what we value most in We believe that all creatures on Earth’s fate is controlled by the sentient intelligence Ewya. We have no choice but to live in harmony and natural equilibrium with their surroundings. If we become too numerous, Eywa will devise a way to limit their numbers before they cause an ecological imbalance. Over the years of our existence as a nation, we have a healthy respect for their surrounding environment. In return, the environment has provided them with sufficient food and shelter, creatures to ride for ground and air transportation, and an ambient, comfortable temperature throughout one creature, but only for the balance of nature.

At first we were willing to interact with humans, but after concluding that humans had nothing of value to offer to them, they break off contact and start engaging in guerrilla warfare to resist the human's mining operations. The Na'vi have no far-reaching political structures on the scale of nation-states, but are organized into relatively structured clans. Occasionally different clans from far-reaching areas will cooperate in times of great crisis.

sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na'vi_language

http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Na'vi

Alliances and Connections:

Christmas town to Christmas land

Flag:


Anthem:


National History:

Halloween town was at the top of the world. Everyone knew about Halloween town; they had the best exported items, they had the money to buy anything in the world they wanted, and they even had possession of 4 different holidays (countries). Christmas town was a branch off from Halloween town, they were more peaceful and respectful rather than Halloween town. They didn't like fighting, but they were very patriotic and nationalistic. Over the course of 100 years, Halloween town became very needy and greedy. They started taking things from Christmas town and Easter town more than usual. They never asked or told the towns what they were taking, they would just TAKE. Christmas town was getting tired of being the nice one and decided the rebel. Even though it was going against their way to break the peace, they were being treated unfairly and they did not like that more than anything. Christmas town finally won after a long hard battle and was could finally become their own nation. As a part of their emancipation, they called themselves Christmas land. A new nation deserves a new name. I compared this "becoming a nation" to how USA broke off from Britain. They didn't like how the British were taxing them, so they decided to rebel. Both cases the weaker nation was treated unfairly and in order to be your own nation, you have to govern yourself.

Alliances and Connections

Elle, Kaitlin and I decided to make our nation named Christmas Tree Land. It is in the North Pole so therefore we decided to be allies with Europe, Canada, and Russia. We are very open to new cultures or different people. We have our own traditions but we are open to new options and suggestions because we try to have open views. Europe had part of the Ottoman rule which was very strong for a long time. Europe also had the rising Scandinavian Countries which were very strong and had powerful nationalism. We also have powerful nationalism and we take pride in what we do. We would be alliances with Canada because they are a big country and Russia is as well. The North Pole being relatively empty and weak needs those bigger nations and countries to help us when we need protection.

Pacifica

National Flag:

National Anthem:
Pacifica is so profound,
Battling the torment of our brotherʼs ground,
And as our city bells do sound,
Weʼll keep living on this world around.

National Culture of Pacifica
Pacifica has a free-form government and is very accepting of all races and religions. The only times we draw the line is when one forces religion on another. We have a very diverse palette of languages ranging from English, Spanish, French, and more. Our dominant language is English, due to the large percentage of our people previously being American. But when we broke off we did not lose the cultures that the US had, we simply added the other cultures. Holidays that were once practiced in the US are still practiced in Pacifica, but we do not make them mandatory. We still appreciate the efforts that brought the 50 states together, only now we thank them as a separate nation. Everyday life in Pacifica is fairly similar to the lives of most Californians. But we have tried to create eco-friendly communities and have self sufficient cities. We do not want to be forced into trades by other nations, but rather only export specialty goods. Being small in size, we do not have much to offer, but just like Japan and China, we have a large threshold for learning, and we will stop at nothing.

National History
Our nation is called Pacifica, our nation grew out of California and are located in the Bay Area. Unlike the Ottomans who became chunks and had its down fall, we became a very successful nation. Pacificans broke off from the US and bought the land that way we could build our own laws. We believed US was too independent, we wanted to build a strong bond between the rest of the Americas and maybe even the world. When we saw that Canada was lending out a hand to us, we immediately took it and that was our first step as a nation. Canada helped us with resources because the US was furious with our actions and henceforth they cut all connections between us at the time. After some years Mexico decided to take arms with us because they saw our prosperity. Also they people of Mexico were considered inferior and the idea of acceptance of all appealed to them. Not long afterward the US gave in to the Pacificans as allies and they became one of our strongest allies. We do not resemble other nations like China, because when they wanted to close their doors to westernization and make China for the Chinese they fell profusely. We instead do the opposite. We open our arms to the foreign allowing us to prosper because we have learned that we can prosper better as one. That is why our allies are so strong, since we have accepted them.


Allies and Connections
The main 3 allies are Canada, Mexico, and the United States. All four of us are on the same continent of North America, so it makes great sense for us to be friends. We watch everyone's back. If one of us is at war, we are at war. We watch our borders to the West, Canada to the North, the United States to the East, and Mexico to the South. All four of us are allied nations. We could be compared to brothers and sisters. Together we are the nations of the future. None of us can do it alone. Each and every one of us is necessary for this equation. If one of us backs out, in essence we all back out. Together we shall prevail, and alone we shall die.

Zalcra

Flag

National Anthem

From mountain to mountain
From snow to sand
Coco to coconut
Land to island

We wanted to talk
They wanted to fight
A tragic mistake
In the night

We won the battle
Us, proud and true
The beautiful land
For me and you

Now there is peace
Peace is our hope
We only want peace
Our only hope

National Identity

Lizzie, Agustin, and I created the nation of Zalcra where Zalcranians live. The original founders of this nation were from Switzerland, one of the only neutral countries that is involved in no wars. These people traveled to Hawaii, and planned to settle on an island off of the state. Since we are settled on an island, we have resources such as coal, iron from the volcanoes, water, sand to make glass, and forests for trees. Majority of our people are from Switzerland so they speak English, French, Dutch and German. Since we come from a neutral environment and then settling into a new are, our classes in society are all equal. I will be designing a national flag for Zalcra that is found as a logo on many of our products also.

National History

The history of Zorcra is a rich one indeed. Zorcra was founded in the early 1800s, after the great Battle of Hapunawaha. It is a small island near Hawaii, which was actually formed from a volcanic eruption as early as the 1600s. Originally, Zorcra was inhabited by Pacific Islanders who called themselves Palma’as.  They were fierce warriors and were also a very advanced society who had made many different types of weapons, as well as herbal medicines, vaccines, and sturdy building materials.  They were also very smart and most of the population was literate in the island language of Palms.  The Palma’as were indeed in tune with nature, as the name of their people suggest.  They had many natural resources that were worth celebrating, such as strong bamboo, all kinds of different fruits and crops, fresh water and mineral springs, coal and volcanic rock, rich farmland, and iron and other metals in the Ho’ana mountains.  In 1790, the Swiss government had heard about all of these incredible resources from some early explorers that had stumbled upon this island, and they began to grow extremely interested in the area.  They sent a fleet of ships to check out the area and meet some of the settlers.  The voyage was only intended to check the island out and see if the tales were true, but the islanders mistook the gesture as a threat.  Not only were the islanders threatened, but England was there as well, and they had settled part of the island in the hopes of conquering the Hawaiin Islands and taking them in the name of the queen.  The Swiss tried using their neutrality and their peacefulness in order to make a treaty with the islanders, but most of the islanders did not speak English, and the English weren’t willing to translate, so as a result the Battle of Hapunawaha began.  Hapunawaha was the Palma’a general in charge of the army.  The battle lasted 3 days, but in the end, the Swiss won out.  The battle wasn’t particularly bloody because the Swiss simply took out a few of the key leaders, putting the island into chaos and taking as few lives as possible.  The total death toll was around 200, 130 islanders and about 70 British people.  The total island population was around 2,000 at the time, comprising of about 1,800 islanders and 200 English settlers.  The Swiss fleet comprised of about 3,000 sailors.  After the battle, the Swiss cleaned up the island of any collateral damage, as well as treated the wounded and the sick of the island, as well as built a beautiful memorial to the fallen warriors.  This clearly pleased the islanders, who decided a treaty was indeed a great idea so that the Swiss and the Palma’as could live side by side peacefully.  This is how the country of Zorcra was founded. The people are called Zorcranians, as well as a few Palma’as.  The language is called Palmekens, which is a mix of Palms, German, Italian, and French.  These languages are also spoken separately in Zorcra, as well as Romanish, English, and Palms.  

Alliances and Connections
We Zalcranians look down on a lot of the nations around the world for being so violent. We don't like to acquaint ourselves to very violent nations, because we fear that they will bring all of their violent people to our island. We do accept people who are being prosecuted for reasons having to do with anything but crimes. We love to change these peoples lives and show them what a nation should be like. If we really had to be allied with three nations, even though we feel as if we are better off solo, we would be allied to Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland. We would be allied to them, because we never hear of any type of disputes in these places.

MustacheLand

National Anthem:  

 

What is your National Identity?

Our great country of Mustacheland is well known across the world as a country of happiness and good people. We welcome all and love all. We do not have one distinct faith. We believe in everyone having his or her own beliefs. We speak Mustache a mix of Pig Latin and Spanish. We are a mix of ethnicities being that we allow anyone to come live in our humble country. We have a wonderful president named Mr. Must Ardinstache. He is our leader and we would have nothing without him. He makes us strong and holds us together. Our main Industry is hair coats. These are coats woven from our countrymen’s great Mustaches. Every year on the fifth of May all men and women shave their mustaches for the first time that year. The hair is then used for the rest of the year to produce widely known hair coats that are warmer than fur coats. If you were to compare us to one other glorious nation it would be America. Even though America is not known as the United States of America yet we would best be described as that wonderful nation of the future.

Mustacheland- The Creation of the Nation; "A Fable"

The humble nation of Mustacheland was brought to this earth during the 1600s. The people of northeastern Cuba experienced a time of great depression, struggling through a deprivation of necessary items. One of these items happened to be shaving cream and razors. This led to the rapid growth of vast valleys of upper lip hair. The use of mustaches began being used for all common necessities, such as coats, blankets, clothing, hats, etc. When the discovery of great usefulness their upper lip hair was to them, it became the secure provider of warm clothing. This in turn led to the people of the land to shave their mustaches once every few months and make coats/warm clothing out of them. This nation became a strong community and gained much wealth through the vending of their newly discovered clothing. Since then, they have industrialized and created mass production industries, causing a great boom in their economy and coat sales. To this day, coats have kept their value and has made Mustacheland a valuable and dependent trade partner.

All hail Mustacheland!

Connections and Alliances

One country we would relate to is Japan, post Meiji Restoration. Mustacheland is know for its warm mustache hair coats, so since Japan is westernized we would partner up with them. At first we would trade with them, since their ports are open to western trade. We would trade our coats to them in return smelted iron, silk. Although it is a long distance to travel in order to trade, Japan had built steam ships by then, and would have no problem crossing the seas.

Eventually we would like to have Japan's help in mass producing the coats because they built many factories which specialize in mass production, and have large fleets of ship in order to trade with the rest of the world, so this could lead to a strong alliance. Their skill in production and trade, and our valuable and high quality coats.

Russian National Anthem

In 2000, Vladmir Putin altered the song and lyrics of the Russian National Anthem. There were complaints all across the country that the most recent form of the national anthem did not promote nationalism because of the lacking of lyrics. Even though there was great controversy in changing the national anthem, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, when the Russians won the gold medal, they played this version and it has stuck ever since. There have been 6 versions of the National Anthem and each one represents the different time periods and history of Russia well. 

O Russia, for ever you're strong sacred country!
O Russia, for ever the land that we love!
The glory that's great and the will that is mighty -
So be they thy virtue for ages to come.

CHORUS
Praised be the Fatherland, cherishing home of ours -
Cent'ries-old union of peoples in free,
Popular wisdom given us by forefathers.
Praised be our country! And we're proud of thee!

2. From seas in the South and up to polar border
Our woods and our meadows have stretched far away.
Alone in the whole world, you stand one and only!
By God saved as ever our dear native land.

CHORUS

3. For generous dreaming, for living and longing
The years approaching give us ample scope.
With faith in our Homeland we are getting stronger.
It was so, it is so and it will be so!

Sorry that I blogged in the morning, lost my power last night

Australian National Anthem

Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
"Advance Australia fair!"

Beneath our radiant southern Cross,
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"

Up until 1984, Australia used "God Save the Queen," the United Kingdom's national anthem. However, it then switched over to what it is known as today, "Advance Australia Fair." This new anthem was decided upon by a survey of the nation, which determined the overall will of the country (and continent). "Advance Australia Fair" beat out "God Save the Queen" and "Song of Australia" easily, and easily stood out as the winner over "Waltzing Matilda" in the second round of voting. The anthem was first used for Australia in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The anthem tells of Australia's place in the world, surrounded by ocean and full of nature's gifts. War is not a very important aspect to the life of Autralians because there are few people to fight with. Natura matters more to then and this can be seen in their views of their "golden soil" and how they will "toil" to save their sacred land.

http://www.nationalanthems.info/au.htm

Indian National Anthem

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
Mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is chanted by
The waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India's destiny,
Victory, victory, victory to thee.

The Indian National Anthem is written in a style in which all the languages of the country can be given respect to along with the most popular places in the country. The tone of the anthem is saying how the country has so much goodness in its roots, and almost thanking the country for creating some popular places like the Himalayas or the Ganga (Ganges) River. One line in the national anthem translates to, "They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise. The saving of all people waits in thy hand." Even though its not said in much detail, this line tells us how the people of India worship their country so much, and how much honor and pride they hold in their hearts. Hearing some things about India, a good example of pride for one's country, are all those men and women in the army. When I hear about the Indian army, it astonishes me how dedicated they are. In conclusion, the Indian National Anthem does a great job interpreting the wonders in their country and thanking their motherland for it.

  

Italian National Anthem

The Italian National Anthem was composed in 1847 by Geffredo Mameli. The National Anthem was first used as a some before italy was united as a whole and then later transformed to the NAtional Anthem. It is a temporary Anthem but its been that way for awhile and is very famous so if it were to be replace there would be a huge controversy. It tells people that Italy is finally one and how everyone has won the victory and everyone can be one together now.

Found at: http://www.nationalanthems.info/it.txt

ITALIAN LYRCIS  Fratelli d'Italia L'Italia s'è desta, Dell'elmo di Scipio S'è cinta la testa. Dov'è la Vittoria? Le porga la chioma, Ché schiava di Roma Iddio la creò.   Stringiamci a coorte Siam pronti alla morte L'Italia chiamò.  Noi siamo da secoli Calpesti, derisi, Perché non siam popolo, Perché siam divisi. Raccolgaci un'unica Bandiera, una speme: Di fonderci insieme Già l'ora suonò.   Stringiamci a coorte Siam pronti alla morte L'Italia chiamò.  Uniamoci, amiamoci, l'Unione, e l'amore Rivelano ai Popoli Le vie del Signore; Giuriamo far libero Il suolo natìo: Uniti per Dio Chi vincer ci può?   Stringiamci a coorte Siam pronti alla morte L'Italia chiamò.  Dall'Alpi a Sicilia Dovunque è Legnano, Ogn'uom di Ferruccio Ha il core, ha la mano, I bimbi d'Italia Si chiaman Balilla, Il suon d'ogni squilla I Vespri suonò.   Stringiamci a coorte Siam pronti alla morte L'Italia chiamò.  Son giunchi che piegano Le spade vendute: Già l'Aquila d'Austria Le penne ha perdute. Il sangue d'Italia, Il sangue Polacco, Bevé, col cosacco, Ma il cor le bruciò.   Stringiamci a coorte Siam pronti alla morte L'Italia chiamò

ENGLISH TRANSLATION  Italian Brothers, Italy has awakened, She has wreathed her head With the helmet of Scipio.  Where is Victory? She bows her head to you, You, whom God created As the slave of Rome.*  Let us band together, We are ready to die, We are ready to die, Italy has called us.  *[this is to mean that Victory is the slave of Rome who should bow her head to Italy, not that Italy is the slave of Rome]

American National Anthem

I chose to do the Star Spangled Banner because I have either sung or heard it at various different events, but i have never really thought about or researched the story behind it. It was inspired by a poem written by Francis Scott Key in 1814. Key had watched Fort McHenry get shelled all through the night, but amidst all the gunfire and battle, the American flag still flew high. The National Anthem gives Americans a feeling of strength and hope, along with independence and freedom. This is because America earned its freedom from Britain and is now a nation known for its freedom, rights, and strength. When i hear the song i feel thankful to be living in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave

Afghanistan National Anthem

The lyrics to Afghanistan National Anthem describe the different cultures and beliefs of the country and it's people. It says Afghanistan is home to Baloochs, Uzbeks, Pashtoons, Hazaras, Turkman, Tajiks, Arabs, Gojars, Pamirian, Nooristanian, Barahawi, Qizilbash, Aimaq and Pashaye. Such a diverse country culminates all different cultures and ethnicities. The song also has a line that says "the land of peace, the land of sword". Much like the eagle on the back of our $1 bill, Afghanistan shares the same common goals of being both a land of peace but with the ability to fight. The song then goes on to describe Islam and Allah being the one god they shall follow forever.

Panamanian National Anthem

I chose to do the Panamanian National Anthem for many different reasons. My dad's mom, also known as my grandmother, was born and raised in Panama until she was old enough to go to college. The song name is called "Himno Istemño" (Isthmus Hymn) and it was sung in the orginal Spanish language. The Anthem was first performed in 1903 by citizens singing in the streets of their new country, but the anthem was not fully adopted until 1925. The Anthem defines the nation because as I read in the English Translation, it connects to the agriculture that the country of Panama contains. For example, "In the happy field of union." is part of a verse in the anthem. Even vaguely, "happy field" can relate to the fields in Panama. Another example would be "On your flower-covered soil,..." "Of this fertile land of Columbus." These lines of the anthem really shows that Panama has great land to harvest crops and raise cattle. Just how the Anthem defines Panama as more of a farming land and growing fruits and vegetables, it also is a way to encourage people to farm and harvest crops. If their National Anthem refers to these attributes so many times, why wouldnt people want to show some nation pride and start farming?

China National Anthem

I chose the Chinese national anthem from 1911-1912 this was the first ever national anthem and it was used for a short amount of time. Although it was officially adopted on October 4, 1911, it was used centuries before. It was created by Bo Tong, officer from the Imperial guard, and Yan Fu, commander of the Qing Navy. The anthem speaks of happiness, and celebration with Qing rulers. Throughout the anthem they call the empire the golden and enlightened empire which shows their pride in their country. They believe their empire to be great and in a way holy because they mention the will of heaven. However something that threw me off a bit was when they say "all of mankind will be filled with happiness."(You can see this in the translation below) Is it truly all of mankind that will be happy when Qing is in rule? Or is mankind in their belief just the Chinese? I do not know how to interpret this but in all I understand that they believe happiness, and prosperity comes with the Qing ruling. Encouraging people to believe and support the Qing Empire.

Lyrics:
Gong jin'ou,
Cheng Tiandao,
Minwu xin fuzao,
Xi tongbao,
Qing shi xingzao.
Zhen xi hao,
Diguo cangqiong bao.
Tian gaogao,
Hai taotao.

Translation:
Solidify our golden empire,
Follow the will of Heaven,
All of creation will celebrate,
All of mankind will be filled with happiness,
As long as the Qing rules.
May the enlightened empire,
And its vast boundaries be protected.
The sky is high,
The sea is turbulent.

http://www.nationalanthems.info/cn-12.htm

National Anthem of Sweden

Sweden originally just had a Royal Anthem that sort of served as their National Anthem. Then they made "their own" National Anthem but it was intended to include a small group of other countries or their newly found group. The National Anthem was written in 1844. This was during the "pan-Scandinavian movement" which was very strong then. They included them in their anthem and generalized it to the North rather than specifically to just Sweden. The name of this is "Sång till Norden" (Song of the North) and this shows how they were inclusive of The Scandinavian Countries. The Scandinavian Countries are Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, which is sometimes included. This was the northern area as said in the title and they were in the process of being included as part of the group at the time.

Below is the lines of the song first in Swedish then translated to English.

In the lyrics they mention "my own Nordic land..." and this is referring to being a part of The Scandinavian Countries. I thought that in the song they were trying to show their excitement for this newly found relationship or connection that they had with the other Nordic Countries. I think that this is intended to get people excited about this new group that they have joined. It may also help them realize the beauty that they are surrounded by, and that they need to continue to maintain it.

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SWEDISH LYRICS

Du gamla, Du fria, Du fjällhöga nord Du tysta, Du glädjerika sköna! Jag hälsar Dig, vänaste land uppå jord, Din sol, Din himmel, Dina ängder gröna.  Din sol, Din himmel, Dina ängder gröna.  Du tronar på minnen från fornstora dar, då ärat Ditt namn flög över jorden. Jag vet att Du är och Du blir vad du var. Ja, jag vill leva jag vill dö i Norden.  Ja, jag vill leva jag vill dö i Norden.

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Thou ancient, thou unbound, thou north of the far. In beauty and peace our hearts beguiling. I greet thee thou fairest of lands upon the earth, thy sun thy heaven and thy land so green! thy sun thy heaven and thy land so green!  Thou rest on thy mem'ries from great ancient days, when honoured your name flew far and wide I know that you'll always remain the way you were In my own Nordic land I'll live forever!  In my own Nordic land I'll live forever!

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Links of sites used:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Sweden.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia

http://www.nationalanthems.info/se.htm

The Star-Spangled Banner

I chose the United States National Anthem because I had never read it in its entirety, despite the fact that the first stanza is often sung at major events in our country. The anthem's lyrics come from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key entitled, "Defence of Fort McHenry."
I don't believe that our anthem defines our nation. I can't speak for all 300,000,000+ Americans, but I can say that it does not inspire me or encourage me to do anything. For some, it may make them feel independent or free, as the anthem was written about the United States fighting against Great Britain in 1812.

Japanese Portrayal in Film

Hi,

I think that a lot of people liked my last presentation on Native Americans in film, so this time I'm going to do one on the Japanese (and how they were portrayed by the US). I haven't finished it yet, but it will be ready by tomorrow. I'm just posting this blog so that Ms. Xia knows what I'm planning on doing, and I will post the actual presentation as soon as I'm done making it.

Australian National Anthem

I chose to do the Australian national anthem. Their national anthem is "Advance Australia Affair", and has only been that since 1984 (before it was "Waltzing Matilda"). It starts off by saying that Australians should rejoice because they are young and free. Australia has only been its own country since 1901 when the six colonies joined together and created Australia, so it is a very young country, barely over 100 years old. By saying they are free means that they have no foreign influence controlling them at this point. They are no longer a colony of the United Kingdom, and they share their continent with no one. For the rest of the anthem, they are mainly stating how proud they are to be their own country, and to not have anyone to answer to. They are their own country, and they control their own lands.

Jamaican National Anthem

I chose to do the Jamaican National Anthem, because of the interesting diversity of people. Jamaica had one of the largest slave populations of the Americas, yet had a lot of Christian Europeans. I thought that perhaps their national anthem would sound somewhat reggae but in fact it sounds like a church organ. The lyrics also have a religious tendency, saying phrases like eternal Father and Heavanly Father. The anthem was first adopted in 1962, when they had a national anthem committee to decide what in fact the national anthem would be. The music was written by Robert Charles Lightbourne and the words were written by Hugh Braham Sherlock.

Sepoy Rebellion- Nationalist; why or why not?

Before one can determine whether nor not the Sepoy Rebellion, also known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857, was nationalist or not, one must be provided information regarding both what the rebellion was and what being a nationalist was.

The Sepoy Rebellion, also known as the Indian Rebellion, took place from 1857-1858. It was triggered by the "introduction into the colony's military forces of a new cartridge smeared with animal fat from cows and pigs." (Page 596, Strayer) The use of the animal remains was "deeply offensive" (page 596, Strayer) to both the Hindus and Muslims, going against both of their religions. They saw this as an act of complete disrespect, as well as a plot to convert them all to Christianity. "Behind this incident were many groups of people with a whole series of grievances generated by the British colonial presence: local rulers who had lost power; landlords deprived of their estates or their rent; peasants overtaxed and exploited by urban moneylenders and landlords alike; unemployed weavers displaced by machine manufactured textiles; and religious leaders threatened by missionary activities. A mutiny among Indian troops in Bengal triggered the rebellion, which soon spread to other regions of the colony and other social groups." (Page 596, Strayer) This fighting lasted a year, more or less, and although the flame of dispute was put out abruptly, the rebellion resulted in the racial divide to be greatly widened in colonial India. It also caused the British to act more conservatively and cautious when it came to attempting to change Indian society and religious views.

"The term “nationalism” is generally used to describe two phenomena: (1) the attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their national identity and (2) the actions that the members of a nation take when seeking to achieve (or sustain) self-determination. (1) raises questions about the concept of nation (or national identity), which is often defined in terms of common origin, ethnicity, or cultural ties, and while an individual’s membership in a nation is often regarded as involuntary, it is sometimes regarded as voluntary. (2) raises questions about whether self-determination must be understood as involving having full statehood with complete authority over domestic and international affairs, or whether something less is required." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, see link) This definition of the word "nationalism" sums up the entire meaning along with everything that the word stands for. With that said, did the Sepoy Rebellion fall under the category of all of that being a nationalist stands for?

I feel as though the Indian Rebellion was nationalist due to the fact that the cause of it was the action two religions took when taking a stand for what they believed in. Both the Muslims and the Hindus felt that the British using animal remains as contributors to weapons was both wrong and cruel and went against what their religious views. They voiced their opinion and along with many others who felt the British had caused them to go against their beliefs, rebelled. They took a stand through self determination and aspired to save their national identity, which are both two fundamental aspects tying into what nationalism stands for.