Egyptian customs and traditions in celebrating Sham El Nessim.

Egyptian customs and traditions in celebrating Sham El Nessim.

Sham El Nessim "Spring Festival:"

Sham El Nessim or the Spring Festival is one of the oldest holidays that was celebrated, before the advent of the Christian religion. The origins of the Spring Festival go back to ancient Egypt in the era of the ancient pharaohs. That is, the celebration of Sham El Nessim dates back to at least two thousand and seven hundred years ago. Birth, and this goes back to the era of the Third Dynasty in the era of the Pharaohs, and it has been passed down through the generations throughout the ages until our present time.

In this article, we will learn together about the history of the emergence of Sham El Nessim, the occasion of Sham El Nessim, the reason for its appearance, the meaning of the word Sham El Nessim, the manner in which it is celebrated, the reason for carrying out certain customs specific to Sham El Nessim, and the foods associated with this day.

.Via Culture Crazy Blogging website

 

The Sham El-Nessim holiday originated:

What is the meaning of the word Sham El-Nessim in the Arabic language?

Smell any scent, meaning he inhales it with his nose, meaning it is related to the sense of smell.

He smelled the breeze, meaning he inhaled the fresh air, meaning he took a walk.

The definition of the term Sham El-Nessim in the Arabic dictionary: It is the spring festival in Egypt, and it is one of the ancient Pharaonic holidays that still continues in our present era, and Egyptians celebrate it at the beginning of the spring season.

 

What is Sham El-Nessim?

There is a question that is always asked among people: Is Sham El Nessim a religious occasion?

Sham El Nessim is one of the holidays of ancient Egypt. It began to be celebrated about 5,000 years ago, or about 2700 BC. In the late Third Dynasty, the ancient Pharaohs called it the Festival of the Suns.

Knowing that this holiday is an Egyptian national holiday and not a religious holiday, it is a natural holiday, and it is the oldest continuous non-religious holiday throughout the ages in the world.

Sham El-Nessim is the celebration of the coming of the harvest season, or what is known as the “Spring Festival,” in which life is revived, creatures multiply, and nature flourishes. Therefore, the ancient Egyptian considered that day to be the beginning of the civil year, and as stated in the Bible, it is the beginning of time, or the beginning of time. The creation of the world, and Sham El-Nessim falls on the twenty-fifth of the Pharaonic month of Pharmanhat, Ramhat in the Coptic calendar.

They chose this day because their holidays are linked to astronomical phenomena, their relationship with nature, and aspects of life, and therefore they celebrated the Spring Festival, the date of which they determined by the spring solstice, which is the day on which night and day are equal at the time of the sun’s arrival in the sign of Aries.

It is shemo. Its name goes back to the Pharaonic word shmo, a name given to one of the seasons of the ancient Egyptian year, “the harvest season.” Over time, this name changed from shemo to shem, especially in the Coptic era. Then the word breeze was added to it because this season is linked to the moderate weather, the pleasant breeze, and what accompanies it. Celebrating this holiday by going out to gardens and parks and enjoying the beauty of nature became Sham El Nessim.

The ancient Egyptians determined that day and celebrated its announcement on the night of vision, or the moment of vision at the Great Pyramid, where people gathered in an official celebration in front of the northern facade of the pyramid, and the disk of the sun appeared before sunset and within a few minutes as if it was sitting on top of the pyramid, and the miracle of vision appeared when the sunlight was divided. And their shadow, the façade of the pyramid is divided into two parts.

Here it becomes clear how closely this holiday is connected to the meaning of the rising sun from that single point on the horizon, which is the equinox, and how closely it is connected to nature.

As for the recent celebration, it is by going out to gardens and parks, enjoying the beauty of nature, and eating a group of special traditional foods related to customs and traditions.

 

Foods associated with the Sham El Nessim celebration

The ancient Egyptians had, and still do, a special and distinct dining table on this day, and this table is considered a major part of the celebration. This table consists of five foods, which are eggs, salty fish (called fesikh in Egypt), green onions, lettuce, and chickpeas, and this table, some of which moved to... The peoples of the world considered it an integral part of the rituals of this holiday, and all these food customs were not a matter of entertainment, but rather had sacred roots linked to ancient Egyptian beliefs.

These five foods, which are linked to the pentagon of the palm and fingers of the hand, are called the sacred pentagon, because to the ancient Egyptians the palm symbolizes divine giving, and each of these foods has its own life philosophy linked to a specific meaning linked to the agricultural community.

 

Eggs:

In the Egyptian belief, eggs symbolize the creation of life from inanimate objects. Some of the Memphis papyrus depicted the god “Ptah,” the god of creation among the Pharaohs, sitting on the ground in the shape of an egg that he formed from inanimate objects. The world learned from ancient Egypt that eating eggs on the Sham El Nessim holiday became one of the Sacred rituals among the ancient Egyptians.

 

Salty fish or fesikh:

It is salted fish, and fesikh and salted fish appeared among Sham El-Nessim foods in the Fifth Dynasty, when interest began in sanctifying the Nile, the River of Life, where they would stop when fishing for three months, and therefore they would dry it and preserve it through the salting process.

The historian Herodotus mentions that they used to eat salted fish on their holidays and considered it beneficial at a certain time of the year.

They considered it a symbol of goodness and livelihood, and eating it on that occasion expresses the fertility and joy accompanying the harvest season.

It was also mentioned in the Ebers Medical Papyrus that salted fish was prescribed for the prevention and treatment of some types of spring snakes and to prevent sunstroke.

 

Green onion:

It appeared among the traditional Eid foods during the Sixth Dynasty, and it was associated with the will to live, conquering death, and overcoming disease. They used to hang onions in homes and on balconies, and they used to hang them around their necks and put them under pillows. This custom is still widespread among many Egyptians to this day.

 

Lettuce:

Lettuce was one of the favorite plants of that day. It had been known since the Fourth Dynasty, and was called by the hieroglyphs Heb, Heb, or Abbo.

It was considered a sacred plant, so they engraved its image under the feet of their god of reproduction, and mentioned its therapeutic benefits in their medical papyri.

 

Hummus:

This is known to the ancient Egyptians as “melanah,” and they made the ripeness and fullness of the chickpea fruit an indication of the arrival of spring.

It was mentioned in their medical papyri that the juice of its seeds was used to protect children from early spring diseases.

They used its fruits for adornment and adornment, and it was one of the manifestations of celebrating the holiday.

 

Egg coloring:

The idea of ​​engraving and decorating eggs has also been linked to an ancient belief, in which they consider the night of Eid to be the Night of Destiny.

They would engrave invitations and wishes on the eggs, and they would collect them in baskets of green palm fronds, and leave them on the balconies and windows of homes, or hang them in garden trees so that they would receive the blessings of God’s light when it rose and fulfill their prayers. At the beginning of the Eid, they would exchange greetings with the “peace of the egg” and the one whose egg was not broken would come true. His wishes. As for the custom of coloring eggs in bright colors, which is a tradition followed in most parts of the world, it began in Palestine.

It is one of the customs that continues to this day. These engravings later developed into a type of beautiful decoration and exquisite coloring of eggs.

 

Sham El Nessim or Spring Festival around the world

Let's get to know some pictures of the Sham El Nessim celebration in some countries around the world:

Azerbaijan:

The spring festival in Azerbaijan is called Nowruz, and it is linked to four elements of nature (water, soil, fire, wind). Therefore, Nowruz celebrations are held over four weeks before March 21st. This month is called in Azerbaijan the “gray month,” and every Wednesday is associated with... This month is associated with an element of nature, and thus the “Wednesday beliefs” have become entrenched in people’s beliefs. According to ancient beliefs, an element of the four mentioned elements of nature is revived every Wednesday. Therefore, the last four Wednesdays before Nowruz every year are believed to be sacred: “Water Wednesday.” "Fire Wednesday, Soil Wednesday, Wind Wednesday" They light fires, jump from them, create artistic paintings of blooming flowers in bright, cheerful colors in public parks, and eat special foods and fresh fruits to celebrate Nowruz.

 

United States of America:

In the United States of America, the largest festival is held in all parts of the United States. They exchange gifts and clothes, and they prefer to go to the beaches in order to enjoy the beauty of nature and the weather at this time of the year. On this day, they also go to churches to practice their religious rituals.

 

France:

In France, the church bells do not ring for three consecutive days, and then on the third day they go to the parks to celebrate this day with family and friends and eat food during the outing.

 

Germany:

Germany differs from other countries in terms of the duration of their celebration of Sham El Nessim, because they celebrate for three weeks. They go to churches, color eggs, and use rabbits as a symbol of the spring holidays.

 

China:

The Chinese prepare for the Spring Festival celebration about a month before it by harvesting the flowers and fruits that they use in the celebration and serving the best foods on the day of the celebration. It is their custom to distribute gifts, including expensive gifts such as new cars.

 

India:

As for India, girls wear bright yellow dresses, as yellow is considered to them the color of nature’s flowers and the beauty and vitality of life, and they go out to the streets singing, dancing, and celebrating their spring day with all joy and fun.

 

And other countries, as the Spring Festival are celebrated all over the world, and each country innovates in the manifestations of its celebration and reviews the customs and traditions associated with the occasion of Sham El Nessim or the Spring Festival.