Thursday 27/March/2025 – 05:44 AM
Sham Al -Naseem is one of the oldest holidays that the Egyptians celebrated, as its history extends to about 2700 BC during the Pharaonic ages, it was then known as the name of Shamo, a festival that symbolizes the renewal of life and the beginning of spring.
Manifestations of celebration of Sham El -Naseem
According to the BBC, Sham El -Naseem’s celebration contained a group of foods with symbolic connotations:
- Colored eggs: symbolizing the creation of life and renewal. The ancient Egyptians were engraving their wishes on the eggs and put it in the baskets of palm fronds, believing that they are fulfilled at sunrise.
- Salted Fish (Fasikh): It is associated with the sanctification of the Nile as a source of life. The Egyptians excelled in salting and considered them an essential part of their celebrations.
- Onions: Use to expel evil spirits and diseases, especially after the story of the healing of one of the sons of the kings using it, which made it a symbol of health and protection.
- Lettuce: It was presented as an Etiser to the God of Maine, the God of fertility, and he was believed to give strength and fertility.
- Green chickpeas (mortgage): symbolizing fertility and renewed life, and was eaten to celebrate the coming of spring.
The development of celebration through the ages
With Christianity entering Egypt, Sham El -Naseem was linked to the Day of Resurrection, as it comes to celebrate the day following the Eastern Christian Day of Resurrection, and despite religious changes, the Eid kept its popular and national nature, celebrated by the Egyptians from various religions.
After the Islamic conquest of Egypt, the Egyptians continued to celebrate the sham of the breeze, which indicates its roots in Egyptian culture as a nationalist that goes beyond the religious borders.
In the modern era, the Egyptians in Sham El -Naseem go out to parks and gardens, with traditional foods with them, enjoying the open air and coloring eggs, in an appearance that reflects the continuation and inheritance of old traditions through generations.
Sham Al -Naseem remains a witness to the rich Egyptian cultural heritage, in which old customs converge with modern practices, celebrating and renewing life every year.
