In Luxembourg, it’s time for Schueberfouer when the summer holidays are nearly at the end.

The first known Schueberfouer (Schuebi) took place in 1298 under Heinrich VII, father of Jean de Luxembourg (John the Blind). At this time it was a market where people from all over the country came to buy and sell cloth. This fair was however not very successful and stopped again a few years later.

The Schueberfouer as we know it today, eventually took place on 20 October 1340 under the famous John the Blind, count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia (Böhmen). The fair went on for 8 days and its main goal was for farmers to come into town and buy/sell cattle.

The Schueberfouer trough the ages

The origin of the name is from the place where the Fouer took place, which was the “Schuedbuerg” nowadays known as Plateau du Saint-Esprit. Over the years the fair become more and more successful so the Holy Ghost Square was soon too small. It therefore moved to Limpertsberg in 1610 where the forest had just been cut down. In the 18th century the market developed and live concerts became part of it only to be succeeded in 1844 with cabarets. Although it still remained a cattle-market, you could now also buy bone china, comestibles and stationary. When, in the 20th century, the big wheel and the roller coaster arrived, there was no more stopping its development into the fair that we know today.

The big fun fair this year is on from 23 August until 11 September. Are you excited to go?

We, at Prisma, love to share our traditions with you. Learn more about Brezelsonndeg here.

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The Prisma team collected their favourite idioms from Iceland, Northern Germany, Luxembourg, Scotland and Mauritius. These idioms are rarely used in financial translation. Anyway, we still like them a lot and would like to share our favourites with you.

Iceland

Áfram með smjörið.

On with the butter. Meaning – get back to work.

Rúsínan í pylsuendanum.

The raisin at the end of the hot dog. Meaning – the cherry on top.

Blindur er Bóklaus Maður.

Blind is a bookless man. Meaning suggests – those who don’t read are ignorant to the world around them.

Leggja Höfuðið Í Bleyti.

Lay Your Head in Water. Meaning – you need to think about something a bit longer.

Bonus fun fact: When you are lost in an Icelandic forest all you need to do is stand up. (Psssst it’s a joke: There are barely any trees in Iceland and the ones that grow in these so-called “forests” are so young that you can easily see over them).

Luxembourg

Wien Karotten esst, dee kritt schéin Aan.

Eating carrots will get you beautiful eyes.

Duerch d’Fale léieren d’Kanner goen.

Children learn to walk by falling. Meaning – you should not give up when you fail at something but rather stand up and try again.

Do fënnt keng Katz hir Jong méi erem.

No cat will find her kittens. Meaning – it is so messy, that nobody can find anything.

Wien op d’Kiermes geet, dee verléiert seng Plaz.

Whoever goes to the fair, loses his place. Meaning – if you leave your seat, you will lose it.

Deen huet d’Klibbersuen nach an der Täsch.

He still has the money earned from “Klibberen” (a Luxembourgish Easter tradition) in his pocket. Meaning – he does not like to spend his money.

Northern Germany

Besser ein Spatz in der Hand als eine Taube auf dem Dach

A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on your roof (A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush). Meaning – you should be content with what you have.

Nu ma Butter bei die Fische!

Now put the butter to the fish. Meaning – speak clearly!

Wat de Buur nich kennt, dat frett he nich.

What the farmer doesn’t know he will not eat. Meaning – that someone is not open for new ideas.

Schieß den Döspaddel in Wind!

Shoot the idiot into the wind. Meaning – it’s time for a new beginning.

Scotland

Yer aff yer heid

You’re off your head. Meaning – you’re crazy.

Haud yer wheesht

Hold your tongue. Meaning – to be quiet.

Dinnae teach yer Grunny tae suck eggs

Don’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs. Meaning – do not teach or tell someone how to do something they already know.

Bonus carrot fact: Britain has a similar saying to the one from Luxembourg above: ‘Eating carrots helps you see better at night’. The rumour started in WWII when the Royal Air Force had developed a new Radar technology. To hide their success, a big campaign claimed that they just ate a lot of carrots. Nowadays, the saying is used to get children to eat their vegetables.

Mauritius

Dife dans lanka.

Problems are cropping up.

Ti kouto koup gro ziromon.

A small knife cuts a big pumpkin. Meaning – a small action can have a big consequence.

Prisma translates

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Sweet, Sweeter, Brezelsonndeg!

This is your reminder to get a Brezel for that special someone. The Sunday 20 days before Easter is Brezelsonndeg (Pretzel Sunday) in Luxembourg! It is also called Halleffaaschtensonndeg (half lent Sunday) as it is halfway through lent. This year, the days falls on 19th of March.

Traditionally, a boy will buy a sweet pretzel for the girl of their affection. The girl, if she shares the feelings, will get him a chocolate egg on Easter.

Every leap year, the girls will get the pretzel instead.

Do you know any sweeter tradition?

How to say the winter goodbye? Luxembourg has its own answer and beloved custom: Buergbrennen. Each year on the Sunday after carnival people come together to watch a bonfire and enjoy “Mettwurscht”, “Ierzebulli” (sausage and pea soup) and mulled wine.

Despite the name, the Luxembourgers do not set fire to a castle. In the bonfire – made of old Christmas trees and wooden pallets – a cross plus an unfortunate straw man (possibly a symbol for the end of carnival) are lit.

What to prepare for Buergbrennen?

Usually, the local scouts or fire brigade organize the festival. They collect the old Christmas trees and wooden pallets for the construction. Traditionally, a cross is placed in the bonfire. Other villages build a construction that resembles an actual castle. The preparation does not end there. At the “Buergplatz” everyone will gather to watch the spectacle and enjoy hot food and drinks. A popular dish is of course Mettwurscht and Ierzebulli.

Some villages might also have a torchlight procession to the bonfire. In other places, a newly wed couple sets the “Buerg” on fire.

The end of winter is here

Buergbrennen or “Fête des Brandons” is observed in Luxembourg, as well as a few places in France and the German borderland (Eifel).

The festival at the beginning of lent represents the end of winter. Legend has it that the quality of the fire will determine the beginning of summer.

The word “Buerg”, according to some experts, has nothing to do with today’s meaning of the word (ie. castle). The latin “comburo” (=to burn) is a suspect for the origin. This would link Buergbrennen to the New-Year celebrations in the antique Rome.

Buergbrennen is next Sunday! So enjoy the fine tradition around the warming bonfire. Finally, the end of winter is here. On that note: Have a wonderful springtime!

We are finally going out more in the summertime which could lead to small talk. Here are your favourite fun facts about languages to help you impress people at parties:

• The world’s rarest languages have just a few speakers: among them are Hanti or Njerep.
• The constructed language Toki Pona has only around 120 words; and promotes positive thinking.
• There are many fictional languages – The one with the most speakers is probably Klingon.
• The Prisma team speaks on average 4.5 languages. (Unfortunately, no one speaks a fictional language yet)

• Language families Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan have the most speakers worldwide.
• Esperanto, the biggest constructed language, was created in the 1800s to foster harmony around the world.
• More than half the world’s population is bilingual.
• Start learning a new language by memorizing the 1000 most important words. It will lead a lot faster to fluency.

Do you learn languages easily? Would you learn a fictional language?

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Congratulations, you made it! In 80 questions around the world, you learnt a lot about our planet, as well as the people and animals on it.

Attention – Spoilers Ahead: Do not keep reading, if you have not yet completed part 4!

Here are the correct answers from Part FOUR

Nepal’s national flag is the only non-rectangular flag.

We were looking for Croatia.

The border between Lux and Germany is formed by 3 rivers, The Moselle, the Sauer and the Our.

Ninja is the Chihuahua.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to the world’s most unique creatures, where the smallest one is a 7 millimetres Fish while the biggest inhabitant is a 12 meters whale shark.

The Balalaika is a Russian stringed instrument with a triangular body.

Gjon’s Tears was third placed on this year’s Eurovision Song Contest?

Who am I?

I began life as a small village known as Edo, a small fishing village around 3,000 B.C. in 1890 is when I was given my current name.
The cherry blossom is my national symbol, the trees flower a beautiful pink for two weeks, this is known as Hanami.
I am considered the largest metropolitan in the world, hosting over 36 million people.
My subway is one of the busiest in the world, although only hosting 9 lines of subways, nearly 7 million people use them daily.
I am: Tokyo

Bucharest (capital of Romania) and Lima (capital of Peru) are both the capital city of their respective state.

Bob Marley is from Nine Mile, Jamaica.

Complete the saying “Once bitten, twice shy.

Different from its name, the colour of the Golden Gate Bridge is called “international orange” and is classified as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World:

In the famous Christmas film, the little Lord’s name is Fauntleroy.

Slovenia has the EU presidency from July – December 2021.

Rami Malek portraits the villain “Safin” in the latest Bond movie “No time to die”.

A flock of flamingos is called a flamboyance.

Sun, wind, water, and biomass are renewable energy sources.

Heart of Darkness is a novel by Joseph Conrad

Thank you for participating in our quiz!

The final part for our Worldwide Prisma Quiz is now available! We hope you’ve enjoyed taking part as much as we have enjoyed creating this for you. The winners will be announced next week.

Click here to start the quiz

Congratulations, you also mastered Part THREE of The Worldwide Prisma Quiz and travelled through different cultures, traditions and fun facts with us.

Attention – Spoilers Ahead: Do not keep reading, if you have not yet completed part 3!

Here are the correct answers from Part THREE

The film Casablanca, with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, was shot in Burbank, California.

Liechtenstein and Haiti developed identical national flags independently of each other without realising it until they competed against each other in the 1936 Summer Olympics under the same flag.

We were looking for Spain.

The 2014 winter olympics took place in Russia (Sochi).

We were looking for a Beagle.

The Great Wall of China has a total length of 21196.18 km and got built over hundreds of years. In 1987, this landmark was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

The local currency in Liechtenstein is Swiss Franks (CHF).

Beijing isconsidered one of the oldest cities in the world. Its history dates back around 3000 years, it is 6 times as old as New York and 10 times as old as Sydney. Beijing is famous for its Calligraphy, the literal meaning of calligraphy is beautiful writing. The city was visited in the early 13^th century by an Italian explorer of the name of Marco Polo, his notes are the earliest on record from western civilization. Beijing has changed name 15 times, some of its previous names have been Zhongdu meaning Central Capital, Dadu meaning Great Capital and Beiping meaning Central Peace.

Rome was founded in roughly 753 BC, although it only became the capital in 1871! It is home to more than 2 thousand fountains, most of which are quite small but provide free drinking water to all its residents. The first shopping mall in the world was built here in 110 AD. It was named Trajan’s Market and was built by a Greek engineer.

Do you know enough to become the Worldwide Quiz Champion?

Manufacturers use Barium salts to produce green sparks in fireworks.

There are only 2 countries in the world whose official flags contain (a small amount of) pink in them. One is Mexico, the other one is Spain.

The singer Elvis Presley is from Mississippi, United States.

A stunning natural phenomenon, also called “Cotton Castle” is used as a Spa and includes around 17 hot spring terraces (water temperature is around 36°C) in Pamukkale, Turkey.

Eric Carle wrote a children’s book about The very hungry caterpillar.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold” is a line from the movie “The Godfather“.

The first single released by Adele was “Chasing Pavements“.

A Luxembourgish “Kaweechelchen” is a squirrel.

There are 11 time zones in Russia.

The daffodil is the national flower of Wales.

The kangaroo is the national animal of Australia.

Congratulations, we are at our half-way point in 80 questions around the world. You completed The Worldwide Prisma Quiz Part TWO and discovered even more about cultures, traditions, and fun facts

Attention – Spoilers Ahead: Do not keep reading, if you have not yet completed part 2!

Here are the correct answers from Part TWO

Arnhem Land is the home of the Didgeridoo.

Sinhalese is spoken in Sri Lanka. Cinnamon is native to the country.

Vladivostok is Russia’s largest port city on the Pacific Ocean?

List, on the island Sylt is most northern point of Germany.

The river Potomac flows through Washington D.C.?

The sculpture of this gold-plated female figure on a stone pillar, is called Claus Cito. The nickname of this Golden Lady is Gëlle Fra.

The first Olympic flag went missing for 77 years after the 1920 games until a 1920 olympian found it back in his old suitcase.

We were looking for New Zealand.

Victor Hugo visited Luxembourg between 1862 and 1871. He did much to promote this place, with his poetry and sketches. He lived in Vianden.

SA played against Mexico in the opening game of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in Johannesburg.

We were looking for the Shiba Inu.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris took 2 years, 2 months and 5 days to build this construction, made of 7.500 tons of iron and was initially designed as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair.

Celine Dion represented Switzerland when she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988.

Who am I:

I have grown from a 10th-century fortress town founded by a descendant of Charlemagne into a metropolis of more than one million inhabitants.
Since the end of the Second World War, I have been a main centre for international politics.
I am hosting the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Although historically Dutch-speaking, I became increasingly French-speaking over the 19th and 20th centuries.
I am: Brussels

There was a great fire that devastated me in 1666 that left large parts of the city in ruins, although only 6 people were verified to have died in the fire.
I have been home to many famous faces, including but not limited to: Charles Darwin, Jimi Hendrix, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Florence Nightingale.
From my giant eye I can spy many monuments, such as an iconic bell tower with a familiar name.
You may know my notorious serial killer that dwelled the dark streets in the 19th Century, he was never caught. Jack the Ripper.
I am: London

Raven, a member of the DC superhero group ‘The Titans’ does not wear or is green. Her super-outfit is black and purple.

Gin is the main component for the classic 1930s-40s Pink Lady Cocktail.

Tom Jones is from Pontypridd, Wales.

Phileas Fogg and Passepartout set off east from London to travel ‘In 80 days around the world’.

Roger Federer won Wimbledon most often.

Congratulations, you managed the first 20 questions around the world of the The Worldwide Prisma Quiz Part ONE! You unpacked and discovered many new cultures, traditions, and fun facts.

Attention: Do not keep reading, if you have not yet completed part 1!

Here are the correct answers from Part One

Andorra is located in the Pyrenees

The Roman province Lusitania stretched mostly across the same surface as modern Portugal.

The construction of Leaning Tower of Pisa started in 1174 and was completed in 1340. The building was initially supposed to be 60 meters tall, however the highest side reaches 56,67 meters while the lowest side only reaches 55,86 meters

The capital of New Zealand, Wellington, is the world´s most southerly capital

The Ligurian Sea separates which Corsica from Italy.

The film trilogy “Lord of the Rings”, famously filmed in New Zealand, was nominated and won Academy Awards for a variety of categories. All 3 trilogy installments won in the Visual effects category.

The Danish flag is the oldest continuously used national flag.

Shakira is from Barranquilla, Colombia.

Border outlines: We were looking for Brazil.

A closely related variety of Luxembourgish is spoken in Transylvania, Romania (Siebenbürgen).

Did you know everything so far?

The home of the English Rugby Union is Twickenham, the French play in Stade de France, the Welsh in the Millenium Stadium, the Irish in Aviva Stadium and the Italians in their Stadio Flaminio. The Scottish one is Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.

Dog breeds: Charlie is the Australian Shepard

The Burj Khalifa is over 828 meters tall and took 6 years to build

Ukulele means Dancing flea in Hawaiian.

Who am I – World Capital
I was first inhabited by a Gaeilic tribe known as the Parisii around the 3^rd century BC.
I used to be known as Lutetia whilst under the control of the Romans and Julius Caesar.
In the year 987 AD, I earned the title of Capital of my country.
The man who created my largest monument and tourist attraction, also created the frame work for the Statue of Liberty.
I am: Paris

I have more bridges than Venice, around 1700. It’s said I have more waterways than Amsterdam, Stockholm and Venice combined.
Up until 1871 I was the capital of Prussia, then I was shared as a capital with my current country.
One of my most visited tourist attractions is the Victory Column.
I am Berlin

Albany (Capital of New York State) and Topeka (Capital of Kansas) are both US State capitals. The other cities are only well known cities in their respective states.

The Green & Pink category: Marilyn Monroe sang ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend in Gentlemen prefer blondes.

The Green & Pink category: Greenland, an island covered mostly by ice, was called Greenland because an exiled murderer (Erik the Red) from Iceland hoped to attract more settlers with the name.

The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.

Good Luck with round 2!