Today marks اليوم يصادف the day of Sham En-niseem شم النسيم   which is an Egyptian national holiday عطلة وطنية مصرية  that is celebrated every year, on the Monday following Easter Sunday عيد القيامة  , which was yesterday 19^th April, according to the Eastern Orthodox church الكنيسة الأرثوذكسية الشرقية, that is based والتي يقع مقرّها  in Cairo, Egypt.

In this post, we’re going to learn about this holiday, the main food Egyptians eat on this day and the origins of this celebration, which goes back to days of Pharaohs أيام الفراعنة! In order to do so, I’ve included a very short clip (in Egyptian Arabic) that talks about this holiday in detail (see below).

How it started

The festival started by ancient Egyptians, thousands of years ago, to mark the beginning of spring and the harvest season موسم الحصاد . At sunrise مع شروق الشمس, people then used to walk by the Nile river and sit in parks الحدائق to enjoy the day, until the sunset غروب الشمس. Nowadays, Egyptians celebrate it in the open air by having a picnic in parks and open fields all over the country.

Unlike what’s usually believed, this festival isn’t a religious one; it just coincides with Easter holiday and springtime.

In addition to Egypt, the idea of this festival spread to انتقلت إلى other countries, such as Morocco المغرب , Tunisia تونس , Ukraine أكرانيا , Greece اليونان  and many others. Each country has its own way of celebrating it but the one tradition they all have in common التقليد المشترك بينهم is coloured eggs.

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Linguistic Term

The name Sham En-niseem came from the Hieroglyphic word “Shimmu” شِّمو , which means: harvest. Then, it was changed to “sham” شم  in Coptic language before it became Sham En-niseem شم النسيم in the modern time, which literary means: Smelling/sniffing breeze – in modern Arabic.

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Main food

Here is a list of the main four food items that Egyptians eat nowadays and the significance of each item in ancient Egypt.

 

Coloured eggs البيض الملوّن

Eggs were considered a symbol for resurrection بعث الحياة  so they used to engrave eggs ينقشون على البيض  and write their wishes أمنياتهم  and prayers دعواتهم  on them. Nowadays, Egyptians as well as many Christians in the Middle East colour يلونون  and dye يصبغون boiled eggs البيض المسلوق.

 

Al-Fesikh الفِسيخ

It is basically salted fish سمك مملّح. Many types of fish are used but the main one is mullet fish سمك البوري that gets dried يتم تجفيفه and salted about two weeks before serving it. It’s notorious for its strong smell (used as excuse by many who refrain from eating it).

 

Spring onions البصل الأخضر

Onions were considered a weapon against illnesses and magic. After it was used to cure في علاج  an ill pharaoh prince أمير فرعوني مريض, pharaohs then started adding it to their meals alongside with eggs and al-fesikh.

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Unlike the past years, and sue to the current Coronavirus pandemic, Egyptians won’t be able to go outside to celebrate as the Egyptian authorities السلطات المصرية  warned against حذّرت من celebrating الاحتفال بـ Sham En-niseem festival to prevent spreading the virus. However, Egyptians have decided to celebrate it anyways by buying fesikh and eating it at home  🙂

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More information about the festival:

كان المصريون القدماء يؤمنون بأن بداية الربيع هو بداية الحياة

Ancient Egyptians used to believe that the beginning of spring is the beginning of life.

كان المصريون القدماء يعلقون البيض الملوّن على الشجر أو على الشرفات/البلكونات

Ancient Egyptians used to hang the coloured eggs on trees or on balconies.

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Useful Vocabulary:

walk by يتمشّوا على

الجناين Parks

Flowers bloom تتفتح الزهور

Plants comes out of the ground يخرج الزرع من الأرض

رمز symbol

يطرد expels

الأرواح الشريرة Evil spirit

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