Pharaohs and the Feast of Sacrifice

The Pharaohs were interested in celebrations and holidays. They were among the first to celebrate them around the world.

The Pharaohs took on a religious aspect for their celebration of the feast, which includes the idea of the sacrifice.

The reason for the idea is due to their fear of the wrath of nature and the lack of understanding of the nature and origin of existence as well as their belief in a supernatural power or an unknown great God.

The ancient Egyptians came up with a trick to get closer to the gods, which was through grants and gifts that varied between food, drinks, flowers, grains, wheat, and animals.

The sacrifices were practiced in special rituals and sacred sites, in confirmation of the power of the gods and to avoid their wrath, repel evil from nature and harmful entities as well as for their prayers to be granted, obtain knowledge, and prolong life.

The offerings were made under the supervision of the priests of the temples, and ranged between gifts of the finest meat and food, to please the gods.

Bread also had a great value. It was a part of the funeral offerings that are presented on tables in front of the tombs.

This setting appeared in many inscriptions and pictorial drawings in temples and tombs.

The offerings were made in two scenarios. The first was associated with the eye of Horus, which was linked with the return of life and its strength, and the second was associated with “Maat” as a means of adhering to order.

The king usually was the one who served the Sun God Ra and offered him the sacrifice in the temple with his hands on behalf of the people.

With the entry of Sharia (Islamic law) into Egypt, the Egyptians continued to offer sacrifices on Eid al-Adha by sacrificing to God.

Among the manifestations of the celebration of holidays for the Pharaohs was the palm fronds, which were among the distinctive plants for the holidays, especially the New Year, due to the green palm fronds symbolize the beginning of the year, expresses renewed life, and harvested from the inner core of the tree.

They created decorative braids from it and hang them on the front doors as well as distribute its dried fruits as alms for the dead.

The Pharaohs used to make different types of amulets and pendants from palm fronds that people wore during the feast on their chests and around their necks, as a symbol of the renewal of life and protection from the evil eye.

One of the oldest customs and traditions that emerged with the celebration of holidays is baking cake and pies, which in turn moved from New Year to be a feature of the holidays.

Women in ancient Egypt used to make cakes and present them to temples and priests.

It is believed that the word “Love” in hieroglyphs means “Happy Feast”.

Also among the old oldest customs and traditions are the sacrifices, which entail the slaughter of an offering to be presented to God and then distributed to the poor.

Contributed by Yara Sameh