Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

This forum is to learn about foreign cultures and habits, because language skills are not everything you need as a world citizen...

Moderator: Forum Administrators

User avatar
Forum Administrator
Posts: 3716
Joined: 2008-05-14, 21:18
Gender: female
Country: BE Belgium (België / Belgique)

Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Aurinĭa » 2014-11-10, 20:29

If you had to describe your country in 5 names (of people or places) and 5 dates, which would it be? And why those 5?
We got this as homework for the general knowledge part of a course, and I think it's actually an interesting question.

I'm especially interested in Sweden, Finland, and Norway, as these are the countries I'll have to present, but of course you're all welcome to describe your country. It could f.ex. be interesting to compare different people's lists about the same country.

Posts: 247
Joined: 2012-04-12, 19:41
Real Name: Alex
Gender: male

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Allekanger » 2014-11-10, 21:37

Cool! Do you mean names, as in names of people? Or can it be names of places too? Or of companies or bands? And dates as in year 11th of April 1789 or the last Saturday of every May?
Når trollmora lagt di elva små trolla å bunde fast dom i svansen
Då sjunger o sakta för elva små trolla di vackresta orl o känner
O aj aj aj aj buff...

- svenska, English, español, 日本語, eesti keel, saemien gïele, kalaallisut.

User avatar
Forum Administrator
Posts: 3716
Joined: 2008-05-14, 21:18
Gender: female
Country: BE Belgium (België / Belgique)

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Aurinĭa » 2014-11-10, 21:55

People. Thanks for pointing it out; I added it in the original post.

Either type of date would work, though with the latter an explanation as to why it's that particular date would be useful, and then I suppose it'd often refer back to the first type of date anyway. F.ex. for many countries the national day every year falls on the day that the country became independent, or the constitution was signed, or something like that, so that would then be both types anyway.

Posts: 247
Joined: 2012-04-12, 19:41
Real Name: Alex
Gender: male

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Allekanger » 2014-11-10, 22:46

Right. One more question arose as I was discussing this with a friend: should the names be those of actual people, like famous people, or just names that people could be called in the chosen country? See, he merely picked a random first name, while I assumed they should be names of actual people (since you wanted dates as well, which I associated with historical events) that somehow described chosen country.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
O aj aj aj aj buff...


User avatar
Forum Administrator
Posts: 3716
Joined: 2008-05-14, 21:18
Gender: female
Country: BE Belgium (België / Belgique)

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Aurinĭa » 2014-11-10, 23:27

Actual, historic people (doesn't mean they all have to be dead already, though ;) )

No inconvenience at all! Our teacher told us it'd be good if we could ask actual inhabitants of the countries we chose, so any input from you would be greatly appreciated. :) I have some ideas for Sweden already, but I would like to see an actual Swede's list first. Maybe the dates (could just be years, I guess, if a specific date isn't known) and people I'm thinking of aren't all that important and I'm missing some that are much more important...

Патрислав Андреевич

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Патрислав Андреевич » 2014-11-11, 2:53

That’s actually a great idea! Since descriptions of other countries are welcomed, I will give my 2 cents. :) And construct a list for [flag=]pl[/flag] Poland.

First, dates:

966Baptism of Poland. It was a personal baptism of Mieszko I, ruler of the Polans, which began the long process of christianisation. This date marks the beginnings of the Polish state.

1410Battle of Grunwald. Probably the most known Polish battle. Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania was victorious against the Teutonic Order. I put it here because it’s the most known one, mostly, and is thought to be one of the most important dates. However, the biggest Polish military successes (in both the Winged Hussars played the main role) were 1605 Battle of Kircholm, against Sweden, 1610 Battle of Kłuszyn, against Russia. Especially the latter one had very important consequences.

3 May 1791 — signing of the Constitution of May 3 (Konstytucja 3. maja), the second-oldest national constitution after the U.S. one of 1789.

Here I had a little problem, because there are two dates that cannot be separated:
11 November 1918 — regarded as the restoration of Poland’s independence after 123 years. In fact, the announcement of the independence was made by Polish Regency Council on 7 October 1918, that is, a month before. On 11th the Council merely gave the power to Piłsudski who returned to Poland a day before. Nonetheless, the National Independence Day is commemorated on the 11th, and is extremely significant. But announcing independence or taking power isn’t all, Poland had to fight for her borders and the most important battle during the Polish ‘war of independence’ was:
12-25 August 1920Battle of Warsaw against the Red Army. One of the most important victories in Poland’s history, and one of the most important in the European history, too. It was a decisive battle in the war, turning the tide, and pushing back the Soviet wave from the Vistula river, stopping communists from entering Central and Western Europe.

16 October 1978 — Karol Wojtyła is chosen the new pope in Vatican as John Paul II. One of the most important dates in not only Polish but European history. Why? See below, he’s there. ;)

And now to names:

Casimir III the Great (Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) — the only Polish king who gained title ‘the Great.’ And rightly so. He was a genius of diplomacy, trade, and internal affairs. There’s a saying about him in Polish: “When he ascended Poland was wooden, when he left us, it was from stone.” It’s because when he ascended the throne, the country’s economy was ruined and it was bleeding after many exhaustive wars. But he left it prosperous and wealthy, having also built the first Polish university, in Kraków. He wasn’t known for winning great battles, because his rule was time of peace and prosperity, creating a base for the future. He also managed to keep the three main classes (nobility, clergy, and bourgouise) in check and balance, and was known as the “king of the peasantry” for his actions towards helping them and limiting nobles’ powers. Truly great.

Adam Mickiewicz (24 December 1798 – 26 November 1855) — the greatest Polish poet, one of the three National Bards. Writing in the 19th century in the Russian partition, he became a symbol of Polish restoration and struggle for independence. Nowadays many of his works are compulsory to read in Poland, including the most important and famous Polish epic poem Pan Tadeusz, parts of which must be learnt by heart.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) — probably the greatest Polish scientist, born and raised in Poland, a great patriot. Female scientist in times when it wasn’t so easy for women. She greatly contributed to the research on radioactivity, and discovered polonium and radium. For that she was awarded two Nobel prizes: in physics and chemistry, the first woman to do so. She also died for science, having received too high doses of radioactivity.

Józef Piłsudski (5 December 1867 ‒ 12 May 1935) — Marshal of Poland during the interwar period, leader and the creator of the Second Polish Republic. The date of his return to Poland and receiving the power from Regency Council marks the traditional Polish Independence Day, and his military skills made it possible for Poles to win the Battle of Warsaw in 1920, as well as the entire Polish-Soviet war. He was a big proponent of a multi-cultural state and Intermarium, a plan to establish a federation of Central and Eastern European countries, spanning from the Baltic sea in the north, to the Black sea to the south. After the conflicts ended he withdrew from politics, because of the government dominated by his opponents. Seeing how politicians fight against eachother instead of working together helping in the restoration of the Polish state, he did a coup d’état, effectively becoming a dictator of Poland. He became known for “holding the politicians on their muzzles” for his hatred of politics and politicians’ quarrels, and also for ruling Poland by strong hand. He was respected by Hitler who attended Piłsudski’s funeral, and maybe if not his death in 1935 the history would be very different. Also, it’s not possible to talk about Piłsudski without mentioning his arch-rival, Roman Dmowski, a great right-wing ideologue, thinker, and politician. A prominent figure and father of Polish nationalism, he was the one who talked to the Western Allies during the WW1 and created foundations for the independent Polish state to exist, and favoured peaceful ways of regaining independence. It’s a shame these two didn’t work together.

Pope Saint John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyła (18 May 1920 ‒ 2 April 2005) — undoubtedly the greatest Pole in history, also called ‘the Great.’ He was the first Polish pope, and the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years. Elected in 1978, when Poland was still under communist regime, he contributed greatly to the fall of communism in Poland and subsequently in the rest of Europe. It was his first visit to Poland in 1979 that sparked the creation of the Solidarity movement. One of the greatest moral authorities of all times, not only for Christians, and a spiritual leader of millions of people. Most importantly, a good person, open to discussion, and opting for good relations with other religious. Open to people, hearing their problems.. during his priesthood, very close to his parishioners and students. Big opponent of the communist regime and meeting repressions from their side, but a also a proponent of solving problems with love and understanding instead of violence. He forgave a person who tried to assassinate him, and was the most travelled pope, attracting huge crowds of people. He was loved. And was a symbol.

That’s my list. It was extremely hard to choose just 5 dates, and just 5 people, there are so many of them. And in the case of dates I had to even break the rule... But :ohwell:

User avatar
Posts: 3231
Joined: 2006-10-29, 10:22
Gender: male
Location: Tallinn
Country: EE Estonia (Eesti)

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Levo » 2015-01-27, 10:22

I could easily post 5 films rather than dates or names.

User avatar
Posts: 11835
Joined: 2007-08-15, 21:12
Real Name: Daniel
Gender: male

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby loqu » 2015-02-05, 1:18

This is the place to get nationalistic, isn't it?

Well let's go.

5 people:
Hadrian (76-138) - although he wasn't Andalusian per se, he represents much to us. He was born in Italica, in the Roman province of Baetica, and went on to become Roman Emperor. It is also said that he had to change his Baetician accent because Senators laughed at it (just like Andalusians today usually do when they want to get a good job in Spanish media, for example).
Abd al-Rahman III (889-961) - the greatest head of state in the Andalusi period, and founder of the Caliphate of Córdoba. He turned Córdoba into one of the most important and prosperous cities of Europe, it was renowned for its culture at that time.
Averroes (1126-1198) - philosopher and scientist; he kept the teachings of Aristotle alive while the West had largely forgotten him. He also wrote important books on secularism.
Luis de Góngora (1561-1627) - poet born in Córdoba, the most important representative of the Spanish literature style called culteranismo, and one of the best baroque authors in Spanish.
Blas Infante (1885-1936) - Andalusian politician and lawyer, he was the head of the Andalusist movement, to whom we owe the recovery of our national identity in the 20th century.

5 dates:
1100 BC - Punic foundation of Cádiz, one of the oldest cities in Western Europe, and a very splendorous one throughout Antiquity.
16 July 1212 - Battle of Navas de Tolosa, marks the beginning of the Castilian conquest of Andalusia.
2 January 1492 - Conquest of the remnants of the Kingdom of Granada. That means the completion of the Castilian conquest of Andalusia, whose results last until today.
18 September 1868 - the Glorious Revolution, aiming for decentralization and modernization of Spain, begins in Cádiz and quickly expands through Andalusia and Spain.
4 December 1977 - two years after the end of Franco's totalitarian regime, huge demonstrations take place in the biggest Andalusian cities to call for autonomy and self-government.
Dir la veritat sempre és revolucionari.

User avatar
Posts: 6844
Joined: 2005-11-30, 10:21
Gender: female
Location: Utrecht
Country: NL The Netherlands (Nederland)

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Hoogstwaarschijnlijk » 2015-07-15, 13:39

I'd say:

- Erasmus
- Rembrandt
- Van Gogh
- Annie M.G. Schmidt
- Willem-Alexander

1588 - foundation of the republic
1874 - kinderwetje van Van Houten, end of child labour
1940 - start of the war
5 mei (1945) - end of the war, remembrance every year
30 april - King's Day

But of course there are thousends of other options :)
Native: Dutch
Learns: Indonesian and baby signs
Knows also (a bit): English, German, Turkish, French, Danish

Corrections appreciated.

User avatar
Posts: 6153
Joined: 2013-04-22, 19:26
Real Name: Levi
Gender: male
Location: Budapest
Country: HU Hungary (Magyarország)

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Levike » 2015-07-21, 18:56

For Hungary:

895 - Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin by Árpád.

1000 - Coronation of Saint Stephen I, thus officially establishing the Christian Kingdom of Hungary.

1241 - Mongol Attacks (If you ever played Age of Empires II you probably know :mrgreen: )

1526 - Battle of Mohács, where King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia lost the battle against the Ottomans, thus partitioning Hungary for a long time until its recreation as the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

1921 - Treaty of Trianon, where Austro-Hungary was broken into pieces.
Nem egy nap alatt épült Buda vára.

User avatar
Posts: 2309
Joined: 2004-04-24, 4:00
Gender: male
Location: Montréal
Country: CA Canada (Canada)

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Karavinka » 2018-05-08, 17:34

South Korea
I don't want to go too deep into the history, so it's going to be something to represent the current state of the country. Both positive and negative.

1945: Japanese surrender and the End of World War II
1953: End of Korean War
1960: Revolution of April 19
1980: Gwangju Uprising
1998: First democratic regime change with the presidency of Kim Dae-jung


Political -- Roh Moo-hyun: President from 2003-2008. Essentially the figure who stabilized democracy in South Korea, and he is still exerting his influences as Roh Moo-hyun is now an idea.

Music -- Seo Tai-ji: the first (and the most influential) musician who began adopting Western musical styles into the Korean music scene, the breakpoint between the traditional music and the current K-pop.

Entertainment -- Lim Yo-hwan a.k.a. BoxeR: the first major StarCraft player to reach national stardom, a major figure who shaped the eSports that it is now. You just know who he is even if you know nothing about StarCraft. Given how the Internet-based culture is predominant in the country, somebody should be listed there.

Sports -- Guus Hiddink. A Dutchman who brought South Korea's national team to the semifinals in 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup. Sports is a big part of the culture, and soccer is the most important one, and if I have to one person it's going to be this Dutchman not only because of the success in 2002, but the revolutionary changes he brought to the sports scene that led to it.

General -- Ma Kwang-soo. A literature professor of Yonsei University, his erotic novel Happy Sara (1992) was considered as a pornography, which was (and still technically is) illegal in the country, leading to his arrest and banning of the book. I have to include this man for having opened up the discussion and expression of sexuality in general.

Honorable mention goes to:
1. PSY, who nearly topped in both Music and Entertainment. I mean, at the peak he might have been the face of the country.
2. Harisu, a MTF transgender model/singer who debut'd mainstream in 2001, bringing another wave of public sexual discussion.
3. Lee Kun-hee, the owner of the Samsung conglomerate. The last boss. I might even cite him as the most powerful man, if there's a need for such a category.
↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A
Spoiler Alert: Turkish | -30 Thai | Sink or Zapotec

User avatar
Posts: 1931
Joined: 2013-07-19, 5:09
Gender: male
Country: PT Portugal (Portugal)

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby Prowler » 2018-05-11, 2:03

OK, I'll try.


October 5th of 1143 - Portugal was officially born this day.

June 7th of 1494 - Treaty of Tordesillas.

December 1st of 1640 - Restoration of Independence.

October 5th of 1910 - The country becomes a republic after centuries of being a monarchy.

July 10th of 2016 - Éder's goal. CAMPEÕES EUROPEUS~!

Honorable mentions to the Lisbon earthquake in November 1st of 1755


António Oliveira Salazar: I mean, he was a dictator and ruled the country for most of the 20th century. For better or for worse he is an important figure in our recent history, whether we like it or not. Can't overlook his existence.

D. Afonso Henriques: The very first king of Portugal.

Fernando Pessoa: Most well-known Portuguese author internationally. Hus works have been translated in several different languages.

Vasco da Gama: One of the most navigators of all time. First European to reach India by sea.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Like Salazar, doesn't matter if we like him or not. In this guy's case, he's arguably the most well-known football player in the world in the current decade alongside the argentinian Lionel Messi. Considering football is the most popular sport in the world, being one of the most recognised faces of the sport is gonna give you global fame and make your name go down in history.

Honorable mentions to Luís Camões, Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, Amália Rodrigues, José Saramago and Fernão de Magalhães(Ferdinand Magellean).

Language Forum Moderator
Posts: 23990
Joined: 2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name: Vijay John
Gender: male
Location: Austin
Country: US United States (United States)

Re: Your country in 5 names and 5 dates

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-05-11, 5:42

Prowler wrote:First European to reach India by sea.

Not by a long shot despite what the Wikipedia article on Vasco da Gama says (with no citation, of course). The ancient Romans traded with India by sea increasingly often. Da Gama wasn't the first European to reach India by sea, but he was apparently the first person to discover a way to reach India from Europe through the Atlantic Ocean without crossing the Mediterranean (and thereby avoiding the Ottomans who later controlled most of it).

Speaking of India...I think my lists for it would have to be really boring and unsatisfying to be even remotely accurate. But here they go!

Mohandas Karamchand "Mahatma" Gandhi - Father of the Nation, duh.

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha - Founder of Buddhism, which would go on to change many of the basics of South Asian culture. Perhaps the most notable aspect that changed as a result was the emphasis on vegetarianism in our cuisines and daily diets.

Chandragupta Maurya - Founder of the Mauryan Empire, the largest empire ever to exist in the Indian subcontinent

Qutb-ud-din Aibak - Founder of the Delhi Sultanate, which was responsible for integrating both Islam with India and India with the wider world, among other things

Shivaji Bhonsle - Founder of the Maratha Empire, which dominated much of the Indian subcontinent before the British took over it


circa 28000 BCE - Earliest authenticated human remains in South Asia :whistle:

321 BCE - Estimated beginning of Chandragupta Maurya's reign

June 25, 1206 - Beginning of the Delhi Sultanate

June 6, 1674 - (First) coronation of Shivaji

August 15, 1947 - Independence Day

Ugh, these lists are so lazy. Especially the second one, which is basically just the same as the first one.

I'm going to use my honorable mentions list to just not feel dirty, even though it's not that much better.

Bhimrao Ramji "Babasaheb" Ambedkar - Principal architect of the Constitution of India and India's first Dalit activist (at least in the modern sense). Achieved groundbreaking reform against deeply casteist policies both immediately before and immediately after independence. Also began the Dalit Buddhist movement.

Razia Sultan - Qutb-ud-din's granddaughter and the Delhi Sultanate's sole female ruler, but also the only skilled politician among her father's children and sole heir to his kingdom, known for challenging the gender norms of Muslim India (e.g. apparently, she insisted on being addressed as "Sultan" because "Sultana" would imply that she was a Sultan's wife, not the ruler herself). After her father's death, one of her brothers officially became sultan for just seven months, all of which he wasted on drinking, listening to music, etc. while their mother (and IIRC other women behind the scenes) did the actual administration of the Sultanate. Another dumb-ass brother of Razia's usurped the throne and executed her just four years into her reign only to be murdered by his own army in half the time. :roll: Order would not be restored in (the administration of) the Delhi Sultanate until Razia's nephew's advisor gained power six years after her death.

Siddis - Indians (and Pakistanis) of East African descent, some of which were slaves at some times, some of which were mercenaries, some of which were rulers or noblemen at some times, and some of which were slaves and later noblemen. Razia Sultan's close confidante and possible lover was a Siddi slave-turned-nobleman, apparently much to the outrage of the primarily Turkic (all male) aristocracy of the Sultanate. He was executed with Razia. There were also two or three Siddi Muslim states in modern-day Gujarat before 1948.

Mary Kom - (well, I had to get a Northeasterner in somehow!) Look her up. Please. I can't say any more about her than Wikipedia can.

Tipu Sultan - (honestly I'm just including him because he's South Indian and I'm a fan of Tipu's Tiger :whistle:)

Also, honorary mention to a date(!): February 3, 1509, the Battle of Diu. A naval battle with the Portuguese on one side and a Malayalee kingdom, Gujarat, Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire on the other (basically). The non-Portuguese side was led by a Malayalee, a Kurdish guy from Jiddah, and some Eastern European guy who was somehow kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, and enslaved by the Gujarat Sultanate. The Portuguese won.

Return to “Culture”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest