Egyptians are celebrating spring season every year where they go out to parks and gardens to enjoy nature. But this celebration, which is widely known as Sham El-Naseem or (inhaling the breeze) is an ancient occasion that is associated with the renewal of life. Ancient Egyptians were keen to preserve their bodies so that life would continue after death.
The occasions is around 5,000 years old, dating back to the ancient state, and was known in the city of On (Helipopolis, the city of the sun), allegedly the first spot for life on earth and where a feast for the resurrection and creation of the universe and the first days of time are celebrated.
The name of Sham El-Naseem is derived from the pharaohs, where the ancient Egyptian pided the year into three parts; Okht (Flooding time), Burt (Planting time) and Shmo (Harvest time). From this last part, the name was derived; Shmo, which in Arabic means smiling. El-Naseem was later added to modern times.
The Jews, later, inherited this feast. It was the time of their departure from Egypt in the era of Moses, peace be upon him, when Egyptians were celebrating their day.
According to Jewish heritage, the Jews chose that very day to leave Egypt so that the Egyptians would not notice that they are fleeing with all what they took from their- Egyptians'- wealth.
The Jews made that day a feast day for them, and made it the head of the Hebrew year, which they name ‘Passover’, a Hebrew word meaning going out or crossing.
When Christianity entered Egypt, the Easter holiday came to coincide with the Egyptians’ celebration of their day. The festival of Easter was held on Sunday, followed by the feast of “Sham El-Naseem” on Monday, in the month of Baramouda every year.
As for the favorite food of the day, the ancient Egyptians were painting eggs and wrote their wishes and prayers on it, and then place it on trees. With the sunrise of the feast day, they break the eggs to achieve wishes as a kind of renewing life. Eggs symbolize the beginning of creation, and salted fish was a symbol of life, development and goodness, while onions were used as a symbol to drive out evil spirits.
(Contributed by: Yassmine ElSayed)
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