Sham El - Nessim

 Information about it

- Sham El-Nessim or “ Spring Festival “ is the oldest folk celebration known in history , beginning with the ancient Egyptians nearly five thousand years ago , and the name “ Sham El-Nessim “ with this name is due to the Pharaonic word “ Shamoush “ , an ancient hieroglyphic word meaning the feast of creation or the resurrection of life , and it was misrepresented to “ sniff “ in the Coptic era , while the word “ breeze “ refers to the spring breeze , because this season is related to the mild weather and the pleasant breeze . 




- The ancient Egyptians determined this day with the beginning of the spring solstice , where the length of the day is equal with the night , and it is also linked to fertility and the opening of plants  , and the ancient Egyptians celebrated that day a large official celebration , so they gathered in front of the northern front of the pyramid before sunset to witness the sunset , and the sun disk appears as it . It tends toward sunset gradually approaching the top of the pyramid , until it appears to the viewers as if it sits above the top of the pyramid , and sunlight penetrates the top of the pyramid , so the front of the pyramid appears in front of the viewers eyes and has split into two parts . 




- The feast of Sham El-Nessim was associated with the ancient Egyptians with some foods that related to customs and traditions that have continued until now : eggs , fish , “ salted fish “ lettuce , onions, and melanas “ , green chickpeas . “ 




- And if we talked about “ eggs “ , it symbolizes for the ancient Egyptians the creation of life from inanimate objects , and the ancient Egyptians went out early on this day to receive the sunrise , and they inscribed on “ eggs “ invitations and wishes in colors extracted from nature  , and gathered them in baskets of green palm fin and leave it on the veranda of homes  , or hung on tree branches in gardens , to receive the blessings of the light of God at sunrise  , carrying their food , drink and new clothes , they are adorned with flower bouquets , and their children carry decorated and colored palm fronds . 




- Some papyri were depicted by the God “ Ptah “ , the God of creation at the Pharaohs sitting on the earth in the form of an egg that he made from inanimate objects . 




- As for the “ fsikh “ salted fish , it appeared with the beginning of interest in sanctifying the Nile  , and the ancient Egyptians showed great skill in preserving and drying fish and making the “ fsikh “ and considered it a symbol of goodness and livelihood , and eating it on that occasion expresses the fertility and joy associated with the harvest . 




- “ Onions “ was associated with the will to live  , to conquer death , and to overcome disease  , and its appearance was linked to a narration contained is one of the papyri myths of the ancient “ Memphis “ which recounts that one of the kings of the Pharaohs had a lonely child who had a mysterious disease that kept him out of motion for several years , and doctors and priests in Memphis Temple in his treatment took place  , and the pharaoh took refuge in the priest of the temple of “ On “ , the temple of the sun God  , who attributed the cause of the son’s illness to the control of evil spirits on him and ordered that a ripe fruit of onions be placed under the head of the prince after he read some spells on them , as he hung on the bed and the doors of the rooms in the palace the green onion sticks to flush out evil spirits and at sunrise he slashed one fruit onions and put their juice in the nose of the prince who gradually recovered from his illness and since that time the Pharaohs considered him a sacred plant . 




- The feast of “ Sham El-Nessim “ moved from the Pharaohs to the “ Children of Israel “ and the “ Jews “ of the Egyptians took their celebration of this feast , and made it the head of the Hebrew year , and they called it “ Easter “ which is The Hebrew word means  : going out or crossing over their survivors , and to celebrate the beginning of their new life . 




- when Christianity entered Egypt , the “ Resurrection Day “ came in line with the celebration of the Egyptians  ‘ Day , so the Christians ‘ celebration was on Sunday , followed immediately by the “ Eid Al-Naseem “ festival on Monday, in the month of “ Bermuda “ each year . 




- “ It is that the holiday of Sham El-Nessim was sometimes located during the period of great fasting and its duration of 55 days preceded the Feast of Resurrection , because eating fish is forbidden to Christians during the great fasting and eating fish was a manifestation of the celebration of smelling the breeze  . This tradition still goes on this day . 

Modern Cairo 

- It is said that Egypt is the gift of the Nile since the down of history.
- A Great civilisations developed a long its banks .
- The Nile flows through the heart of Cairo at one of its major stretches .
- Grand buildings and international hotels flank the 2 banks giving modern Cairo a new image .
- Among the important buildings and main overlooking the Nile are the Egyptian T.V and broadcasting organisation and that of the league of Arab Nations.
- Main bridges have been constructed to connect different parts of the capital and to overcome the problem of heavy Traffic which is a major concern in most capitals of the world , where it was packed .
- There are 5 universities in Cairo the oldest and most famous of the Islamic world is Al azhar , the other 4 were founded in the early 20th century , there is also an academy of Arts where cinema and theatrical arts , ballet and music are studied .
- Cairo has a number of famous , wonderful museums, the most important of which are the Egyptian Museum, The Coptic Museum , the Islamic Museum and the agricutura Museum .
- The Zoological garden of Cairo is one of the largest and oldest in the world, however there are also the Andalusia gardens , Orman garden the Azbakeya garden , gardens and the Japanese garden of Helwan .
- The cairo tower at Al Gazira is considered a true symbol of Modern Egyptians and major milestone , built in reinforced concrete in 1957 by the architect shebib , it is a 187 m high clinder and the upper part is the form of the lotus flower .
- On the 14th floor there is a revolving restaurant and from the Terrace on the 16th floor magnificent panorama can know over Cairo and its suburbs may be enjoyed .



Demography

At the end of 2020 , the total population of Egypt was 100 million of whom about 10 million were considered to be living abroad temporarily , presumably mostly in the oil countries of the Arab Gulf but also including some in the west .