The wonderful Egyptian celebration of spring that goes way back to our ancient ancestors; the Ancient Egyptians. It can be traced back to 2,700 B.C.E. Sham El-Nessim celebrates renewal and creation.
In modern Egypt the date of Sham El-Nessim is determined by the date of Christian Easter, so that it falls on the Monday following Easter. In Ancient Egypt, however, the date was determined by looking at the direction of the sunlight at sunrise over the pyramids, and by this method they would know when the Spring Equinox was. It falls on the first day of the third and last season on the calendar used by Ancient Egyptians which was based on the 3 cycles of the Nile.
The name Sham El-Nessim or (inhaling the breeze) is derived from the Coptic language, which was derived from the ancient Egyptian language. The original pronunciation is Tshom Ni Tshom, which means garden meadows.
The British Orientalist Edward William Lane, wrote in 1834:
A custom termed ‘Shemm en-Nessem’ (or the Smelling of the Zephyr) is observed on the first day of the Khamaseen. Early in the morning of this day, many people, especially women, break an onion, and smell it; and in the course of the forenoon many of the citizens of Cairo ride or walk a little way into the country, or go in boats, generally northward, to take the air, or, as they term it, smell the air, which on that day they believe to have a wonderfully beneficial effect. Egyptians dine in the countryside or on the river during this festival, in order to go out to ‘smell’ the air.
Ancient traditions
Each year on the day where the length of the day equals the length of the night, and the sun is in the Aries zodiac, it was officially the beginning of spring. The Ancient Egyptians would head out of their homes at sunrise for a picnic with their families in meadows all over the Nile Valley. In the wonderful spring breeze and within sight of the blue waters of the Nile, they would enjoy a picnic of fish, onions and eggs.
“The earliest known celebration of Sham El-Nessim in ancient Egypt dates back to the third Dynasty (2650B.C.-2575B.C.)”. In ancient Egypt, the day marked the beginning of the season of She-mu, literally translating to “low-water,” the 4-month harvest season that falls roughly between mid-April and mid-August. During this season, the crops of the grain harvest including wheat and barley were collected. She-mu was preceded by Peret, the cultivation season and was followed by Akhet, the inundation season. Archeologist Sherif El Sabban to Cairo Times
Fish were viewed as symbolic of fertility by the ancient Egyptians. The most popular fish at the time was fesikh or salted muller fish: this was usually an offering to the gods in Esna in Upper Egypt, and interestingly the name of Esna was originally Lathpolis, which was derived from the name of the fish before it was salted. Fesikh is prepared in traditional processes handed down from one generation to another; the other types of fish eaten on the day include sardines, mullet, mackerel and anchovies.
In Ancient Egypt, eggs symbolized new life. This symbol of life comes up in ancient Egyptian literature, with scriptures like the infamous Book of the Dead and in Akhenaten’s chant, “God is one, he created life from the inanimate and he created chicks from eggs.” The tradition was to boil eggs overnight, and then wake up before dawn to decorate them in different patterns and write their wishes on them. These would then be put into baskets made from palm fronds and hung from trees or roofs, hoping the gods would grant their wishes and bless them.
The onion connection comes from a folk story of a pharaoh’s daughter who had an incurable disease. Until a high priest gave her onion juice, and her condition drastically improved, so he ordered that that day become a celebration in honor of onions. Subsequently, some Ancient Egyptians would hang onions in their doorways to ward off evil spirits or place them under their grandchildren’s pillows that night to summon the god Sukar. Also, people would roam the city of Menf each year, offering onions to their dead.
Other foods that were eaten on this day included lettuce and malana—green chickpea shoots, which symbolise the resurgence of life; as they became plentiful during the receeding of the yearly Nile flood.
Modern traditions
The tradition of painted and stained Easter eggs is still quite pertinent in Egypt with links to fertility and of course one of the creation myths whereby the Great Cackler (Goose) or the sacred ibis laid the Cosmic Egg from which all creation sprang. Philippa Faulks
Egyptians head out to parks during the day, with their picnics prepared. Families gather together to celebrate this important day in Egyptian culture and history. People of all faiths and social levels celebrate this day faithfully and with joy, as it represents their unity as Egyptians, as one nation from one common ancestor, that they all feel such pride in remembering.
The food eaten is quite faithful to the original food eaten in Ancient Egypt. The picnic consists of salted muller fish (known as Feseekh), onions, eggs (usually dyed the night before), lettuce, lupin beans (known as Termes, boiled and then seasoned with salt, cumin and lemon), lettuce, rocket and other greens. In some cases people eat other types of fish too such as sardines and herring (known as Renga).
Children and adults both enjoy painting and dying eggs during Sham El-Nessim. This practice dates back to their Ancient Egyptian ancestors.
Egyptians also celebrate by singing, dancing and attending the theatre. Many families now go to the beach resorts (Alexandria, North coast, Ain Sokhna, Elgouna) to enjoy the beautiful spring weather.
Watch this video about Sham El Nessim from the New York Times.
Religion connection
Sham El-Nessim remained mostly the same as different religions started spreading in Egypt and even had an effect on some religions. For example, the Jews took over this feast and called it “Easter” as they took advantage of the Egyptian’s engrossment in celebrating this feast to escape from them in the time of Moses. Later, it happened that the Egyptian Christian Easter was on the same day as Sham El-Nessim. Because on Easter, Christians celebrated the breaking of their fasting from fish, it was decided to move Sham El-Nessim, where fish is the main dish to the day after Easter. Finally, in Islamic Egypt, the celebration of this feast remained the same with its ancient traditions as a celebration for the coming of spring.
Recipes
- Renga (Herring)
Ingredients
- 2 lemons, coarsely chopped
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 3 herrings
- 6 garlic cloves, sliced
- 10 thyme stems (can substitute with any other herb)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
Method
- Sterilize jar (lid as well) in boiling water and dry, making sure there is no remaining moisture.
- Fillet herring, making sure all bones are removed.
- In the bottom of the jar spoon chopped lemons and spring onions. On top, alternate a layer of herring fillets and a layer of garlic and thyme. Pour lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil over the layers. Close the jar tight and shake to make sure liquid has reached the bottom. Refrigerate overnight to set before opening the jar. You can store renga in the fridge for up to a week.
- Termes
Ingredients
- Lupin beans
- Salt
- Cumin
- Lemon
Method
- Soak the beans for 1 day
- Change the water and boil the beans for 1 hour at least
- Rinse the cooked beans, put into a bowl and put salt, cumin and lemon to taste. Serve warm or cold as desired.
- To colour your eggs naturally, click here for colours and recipes.
- Armenian Choreg (brioche) found here
Ingredients
yeast mixture:
- 2 packages dry yeast (each package 8g/1/4 oz)
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons of flour
dough:
- 1 1/4 cups + 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons ground mahleb
- 7 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup warm milk
glaze:
- 2 egg yolks whisked
Directions
- Add the yeast mixture to a bowl and mix until all ingredients have dissolved.
- Allow it to stand for about 10 minutes until it has completely foamed.
- While the yeast mixture is foaming, in a separate bowl add all the ingredients except for the flour and warm milk.
- When the yeast mixture is foamy and airy looking, add it to the dough mix.
- Mix everything well.
- Begin adding a bit of milk, followed by about 2 cups of flour at a time.
- Continue this process until all the flour and milk has been used.
- Use your hands to mix the dough properly.
- On a floured surface, get the dough out of the bowl and begin kneading.
- You need to knead the dough until it feels a little springy; kneading it for about 10 minutes should do the trick.
- Grab a big bowl (try to find one that is non-metal) and grease it with vegetable or olive oil.
- Form the dough into a big ball and place it into the bowl.
- Make sure the dough rolls around in the bowl so it is greased all over.
- Place a kitchen cloth on the dough ball in the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Leave the bowl in the oven (oven is not on at this point).
- Allow it to rise for at least three hours. If you let it rise longer, it’s ok too.
- After three hours, check on the dough.
- If it has risen, punch it down and let it rise again for another 10 minutes.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and preheat the oven to 350F.
- For the traditional braid loaf, you need to section the dough into three equal parts, and roll out each part into long sticks.
- Line an oven tray with parchment paper or silicone sheet and place the bread on it.
- Glaze the bread with the egg yolks.
- Put in the oven (not the bottom rack) and leave it for about 15 – 20 minutes; but do keep an eye on it.
- The bread is done when it is golden in colour but still bouncy in touch.
- Take out and enjoy with a bit of butter and some jam.
How will you be celebrating the beginning of spring this year? Do you have any ancient traditions, or modern ones? Let me know!
Naseej Notting Hill 