She would have responded "Deus te abençoe", i.e. God bless you! Interestingly this is a Muslim custom as well, including raising the palm of the hand to the mouth. One of the most common Portuguese expressions, Oxalá, comes from the Arab, May God will, God willing, etc. We have had many discussions about our Jewish roots. Is it time for a discussion of out Muslim roots? John Miranda Raposo
From: Linda Norton <patli...@verizon.net> To: azores@googlegroups.com Sent: Saturday, May 7, 2011 12:05 AM Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: Asking for a "blessing" I just remembered when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old, my father brought my brother and I to visit my grandmother and he made us rehearse before we go to her apartment to say vavo sabence, of course, I asked what it meant, but don't remember what he said. It's come back with this email though. He made us repeat it so we got it right before she answered the door. When she opened the door, we shouted vavo sabence and she was really excited, she responded in Portuguese, but I can't remember what it was. I think we would say it every time we saw her from then on. Linda Borges Furtado Norton -----Original Message----- From: azores@googlegroups.com [mailto:azores@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Terri Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 8:39 AM To: Azores Genealogy Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: Asking for a "blessing" I am still expected to ask for blessing EVERY single time i enter my parents house (or aunts, uncles, godparents, grandparents...) as a sign of respect. If i walk in my parents home and DON'T ask for the blessing...my dad will look at me crossly or say 'Well...finally! It's about time!!" when i do remember. I have although...turned it into half English/Portuguese . I will say "mom abenca' or dad abenca' On May 5, 10:26 am, "Jason Fraga" <jay_fr...@applimetrix.com> wrote: > Sorry, all- I sent this from a different email address a few minutes ago and I think it bounced due to lack of permission to post. This address should work. > > I know that in the old country, my Azorean relatives would honor the custom of asking for the blessing of their elders. My "Uncle" Tony (who is actually my Grandmother's brother) told me a funny story about attending family functions and funerals where my Great Grandfather upon entering a room would see all of the old and imposing "Aunts" lined up. My Vavoo would get serious and tell Uncle Tony (with emphasis), "Now, you go up right away to them and ask for their blessing; I don't want any trouble". I always laugh, because I can picture my Vavoo saying that. And from family stories that were passed down, you sure didn't want to mess with the old aunts in my family. > > So, on the subject of the blessing, do any of you know how it actually goes em Portugues, and a rough translation? I was thinking that it would be nice to teach to my kids for the next time that we see Uncle Tony. > > Thanks in advance, > > Jay -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
