Halloween, (originally spelled Hallowe’en), is shortened term from All Hallows’ Even – e’en is a shortening of even, which is a shortening of evening. This is ultimately derived from the Old English Eallra Hālgena ǣfen. It is now known as “Eve of” All Saints’ Day, which is November 1st.

TRICK-OR-TREAT!
The American tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives. (via history.com)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

-From the Daily Contributor team.

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Happy Halloween!

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!

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Happy Father’s Day!

The Philippines observes its 111th Independence Anniversary today (June 12).

The Filipinos have, time and again, demonstrated their adherence to freedom and sanctified it with their blood and sacrifices.

Our annual celebration of this event should remind us all that liberty is a priceless gift handed down to us by our forefathers. Let us preserve it.

Happy Independence Day!

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To all things brown and beautiful

We’d like to say thanks to this month’s Daily Contributor sponsors:

• Sanofi Pasteur – Learn more about flu

• Hyundai – “Drive your way”

• Luxury Link – The World’s Leading Luxury travel Website

• inkableplanet – inkable planet Custom t-s

Want to be a sponsor? Click here

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Thanks to our sponsors

Happy Mother’s Day to Super Moms Everywhere!

[image: via metblogs]

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Happy Mother’s Day!

We at the Daily Contributor are wishing all our Christian readers a good Palm Sunday.

On this day, special services and processions are held to commemorate the victorious entry of Jesus Christ into the holy city two millennia ago.

In Vatican, Pope Benedict called on Catholics to consider a life of sacrifice and renunciation before a festive crowd waving palm fronds and olive branches.

“A successful life without sacrifice does not exist,” said Pope Benedict, seated on a dais in front of St. Peter’s basilica.

“If I throw retrospective look back on my personal life, I have to say that the moments when I said ‘yes’ to renunciation were the biggest and most important moments of my life.”

In Jerusalem, Catholic pilgrims, clergymen and local Christians attended mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally held to be the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

Here in the Philippines, there are some places where a re-enactment of Jesus’ triumphal entry occurs. Palm branches, called palaspas, are taken home after the Mass and are hung beside, on or above doorways and windows. According to tradition, this ritual will drive away evil spirits.

Orthodox Christians, who use a different calendar, will celebrate Palm Sunday on April 12.

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Christians mark Palm Sunday

Happy Heart’s Day Everyone!

From The Daily Contributor Team

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Happy Valentines!

The Daily Contributor wishes all of our readers a very Happy and Fruitful New Year!

(image: via crunchgear)

Let’s sing the Auld Lang Syne!

Auld Lang Syne Lyrics

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I’ll be mine,
And we’ll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine,
But we’ve wander’d monie a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie’s a hand o thine,
And we’ll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne

Meaning:
auld lang syne – times gone by
be – pay for
braes – hills
braid – broad
burn – stream
dine – dinner time
fiere – friend
fit – foot
gowans – daisies
guid-willie waught – goodwill drink
monie – many
morning sun – noon
paidl’t – paddled
pint-stowp – pint tankard
pou’d – pulled
twa – two

About Auld Lang Syne

“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song (Roud # 6294). It is well known in many English-speaking countries and is often sung to celebrate the start of the new year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day.

The song’s (Scots) title may be translated into English literally as “old long since”, or more idiomatically, “long long ago” or “days gone by”. The phrase “Auld Lang Syne” is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686-1757), and James Watson (1711) as well as older folk songs predating Burns. In his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language, Matthew Fitt uses the phrase “In the days of auld lang syne” as the equivalent of “Once upon a time.” In Scots syne is pronounced like the English word sign. [via wikipedia]

Happy New Year to All!

Post from: Daily Contributor

It’s time to sing the Auld Lang Syne! Happy New Year!

The Daily Contributor Team wants to greet all of Our Readers a Merry Christmas! A majority of our readers comes from the US and Canada but we don’t want to miss out someone here, so here’s a list on how to say Merry Christmas in different languages:

Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees
Afrikander: Een Plesierige Kerfees
African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats
Albanian:Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic: Milad Majid
Argentine: Feliz Navidad
Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal
Basque: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Bosnian: (BOSANSKI) Cestit Bozic i Sretna Nova godina
Brazilian: Feliz Natal
Breton: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
Chile: Feliz Navidad
Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun
Chinese: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan (Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun
Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Columbia: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Cornish: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Corsian: Pace e salute
Crazanian: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo
Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish: Glædelig Jul
Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast
English: Merry Christmas
Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian: Rõõmsaid Jõulupühi
Ethiopian: (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal
Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French: Joyeux Noel
Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Galician: Bo Nada
Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Haiti: (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri’cho o Rish D’Shato Brichto
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaian: Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Lao: souksan van Christmas
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian: Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu!
Lausitzian:Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un ‘n moi Nijaar
Macedonian: Sreken Bozhik
Maltese: IL-Milied It-tajjeb
Manx: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Navajo: Merry Keshmish
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado
Papiamento: Bon Pasco
Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Pennsylvania German: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philipines: Maligayang Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:Feliz Natal
Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Rhetian: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
Romanche: (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele or Craciun fericit
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Sardinian: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Serbian: Hristos se rodi
Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serbian: Hristos se rodi.
Singhalese: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene: Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto or Vesel Bozic in srecno Novo leto
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tamil: (Tamizh) Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym or Z RIZDVOM HRYSTOVYM
Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Yoruba: E ku odun, e ku iye’dun!

(source: santas.net, image credit: vettesinthemidwest)

Post from: Daily Contributor

Merry Christmas In Different Languages

Winners of The Open Web Awards – People’s Choice Winners

We are very pleased to be Mashable’s Blog partner this year. Congratulations to all the Winners!

And the winners are:

Mainstream & Large Scale Social Networks

Winner: Netlog
Runner-up: Platinum Lounge

Embeddable Widgets

Winner: Qoof
Runner-up: Sprout

Blog Plugins

Winner: ShareThis
Runner-up: AddThis

Social News

Winner: Help a Reporter Out
Runner-up: Hubdub

Social Networking Applications

Winner: Artition
Runner-up: Digsby

Social Bookmarking

Winner: Diigo
Runner-up: ShareThis

Search & Social Search

Winner: Scour
Runner-up: Artiklz

Sports & Fitness

Winner: Gyminee
Runner-up: FitFiend

Photo Sharing

Winner: ipernity
Runner-up: TinyPic

Video Sharing

Winner: ffwd
Runner-up: YouTube

Start Pages

Winner: Google
Runner-up: iGoogle

Places & Events

Winner: Doodle
Runner-up: Muchmor

Travel

Winner: SpottedByLocals
Runner-up: GeckoGo

Music

Winner: Noisetrade
Runner-up: Last.fm

Social Shopping

Winner: Pikaba
Runner-up: A Full Cup

Fashion

Winner: Coolspotters
Runner-up: Polyvore

Celebrity & Gossip

Winner: Oh No They Didn’t
Runner-up: BollyScoops

Mobile Applications

Winner: Evernote
Runner-up: MocoSpace

Dating & Romance

Winner: Zoosk
Runner-up: DateHookup

Wiki

Winner: Encyclopedia Dramatica
Runner-up: WikiHow

Politics

Winner: Politics4All
Runner-up: CreateDebate

How-to

Winner: A Full Cup
Runner-up: College Cram

Environmental

Winner: Ecomii
Runner-up: Gazelle

Non-Profit Causes

Winner: Stop Political Calls
Runner-up: SocialVibe

Online Games

Winner: Playfish
Runner-up: Power Pets

Niche Social Networks

Winner: The Star Tracker
Runner-up: Wadja

Blogger’s Choice Open Web Awards Winners

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Winners of The Open Web Awards – People’s Choice Winners

theChanner is a free application delivering the Internet TV on mobile devices. For the first time ever, theChanner opens its World TV finder in a private beta test.

theChanner is a free WorldTV search engine over Wi-fi or 3G phones. Its beta is ready for windows mobile phones (more versions are to come) and PC.

Here’s some of the screenshots: See theChanner on a Windows Mobile phone

theChanner is now free to download! They are inviting world beta testers to try the experience and help finding any bugs, and give feedback and suggestions.

Visit them at www.thechanner.com

Post from: Daily Contributor

Are you ready for a WorldTV experience on mobile phones?

While voting continues until midnight Sunday to decide who is crowned the Open Web Awards “People’s Choice”, today we announce the winners of the Blogger’s Choice voting, as selected by fellow Blog Partners.

Over 100 Blog Partners have helped make this the biggest Open Web Awards to date with over 100,000 confirmed nominations and votes so far, including The Daily Contributor.

This year’s winners will be receiving the Open Web Award, thanks to Zazzle, just in time to celebrate the holiday season.

Remember: voting for the People’s Choice Open Web Awards ends this Sunday night at 11:59 pm PST, with a winners announcement on Tuesday.

Blogger’s Choice Winners

Mainstream & Large Scale Social Networks

Winner: Twitter
Runner-up: Facebook

---

Embeddable Widgets

Winner:
Clearspring
Runner-up: Sprout

Blog Plugins

Winner: ShareThis
Runner-up: AddThis

Social News

Winner: Digg
Runner-up: Mixx

Social Networking Applications

Winner: Ping.fm
Runner-up: Twitterfeed

Social Bookmarking

Winner: Delicious
Runner-up: StumbleUpon

Search & Social Search

Winner: Google
Runner-up: Scour

Sports & Fitness

Winner: Gyminee
Runner-up: Oneseason

Photo Sharing

Winner: Flickr
Runner-up: Picasa

Video Sharing

Winner: YouTube
Runner-up: Vimeo

Start Pages

Winner: iGoogle
Runner-up: Netvibes

Places & Events

Winner: Doodle
Runner-up: Eventbrite

Travel

Winner: TripIt
Runner-up: GeckoGo

Music

Winner: Last.fm
Runner-up: Pandora

Social Shopping

Winner: Wishpot
Runner-up(s): Tigerbow/Pikaba (tie)

Fashion

Winner: Coolspotters
Runner-up: Gift Girl

Celebrity & Gossip

Winner: Perez Hilton
Runner-up: Popvine

Mobile Applications

Winner: Evernote
Runner-up: Qik

Dating & Romance

Winner: SpeedDate
Runner-up: OKCupid

Wiki

Winner: Wikipedia
Runner-up: PBWiki

Politics

Winner: Huffington Post
Runner-up: CreateDebate

How-to

Winner: eHow
Runner-up: Howcast

Environmental

Winner: ThinkGreen
Runner-up: SocialVibe

Non-Profit Causes

Winner: SocialVibe
Runner-up: Kiva

Online Games

Winner: Playfish
Runner-up: Kongregate

Niche Social Networks

Winner: Wadja
Runner-up: Lifeblob

Congratulations to all the winners from the Daily Contributor Team!

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Blogger’s Choice Open Web Awards Winners!

Final Voting Round – Top 3

You can view the finalists at The Open Web Awards Website to take a quick peek.

VOTE NOW!

Post from: Daily Contributor

The Last and Final Round of the Open Web Awards starts!

We wish you all the best this Thanksgiving. Remember, it’s America’s national chow-down feast! Have some stuffed turkey, grab that hot pilgrim chick and listen to some Plymouth Rock!

Happy Thanksgiving fom your Daily Contributor Team!

Post from: Daily Contributor

Happy Thanksgiving!

The voting has begun in the 2nd Annual Open Web Awards, a unique opportunity for the most accomplished websites and services to receive international recognition for their achievements.

During the nominations round, Mashable received over 43,000 verified nominations. They narrowed down this huge pool to the 10 most-nominated sites and services in each category (where 10th place was a draw, they allowed more than 10 nominees in that category).

VOTE NOW: One Vote Per Category Per Day

Now it’s time to vote for your favorites in the first of two voting rounds. You can vote for one company in each category per day until midnight on November 30th. There are 26 categories. Get voting!

Top Tip For Nominees
You got through? Congratulations! Did you know you can create a custom version of our voting widget above to post to your company blog or website? Just visit the Open Web Awards Widget Creator and check the box to preset a category or company. This means your fans only need to enter an email address to vote – simple!

Start Canvassing for YOUR Candidate!
Want others to vote for your favorite site? Of course you do! Why not leave a comment here and on any of the international partner blogs encouraging other readers to add their support? The more you promote your candidate across these blogs, the more likely it is for your site to proceed to the finals!

Vote NOW!

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The 2nd Annual Open Web Awards: Cast your votes NOW!