Sham Ennessim

Sham Ennessim(Arabic:شم النسيم,Sham Al NassimorSham an-Nassim;Egyptian Arabic:Sham Ennesim,IPA:[ˈʃæmmennɪˈsiːm]) is anEgyptiannational festival marking the beginning of spring, as it originates from the ancient EgyptianShemufestival. It is celebrated by almost all Egyptians and is announced by the state as apublic holiday.Sham Ennessim always falls onEaster Monday, which is the day afterEaster, in accordance with theCoptic Orthodox Church.
The festival has been nationally celebrated by all the Egyptians since ancient times,as it is considered a national festival in Egypt. Its history goes back to ancient Egyptian times, as it was related to the agricultural background of the ancient Egyptians, originating fromShemu.Sham Ennessim is an official holiday in modern Egypt.
The main features of the festival are:
Sham Ennessim was believed by some to have first been celebrated by Egyptians during thePharaonicera (ca. 2700 BC) and they kept celebrating it during thePtolemaictimes, theRomantimes, medieval times, and up to the present day.
After theChristianization of Egypt, the festival became associated with the other Christian spring festival,Easter. Over time,Shemumorphed into its current form and its current date. Thedate of Easter, and therefore of Easter Monday, is determined according to theEastern Christianmanner of calculation as used by theCoptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian denomination in the country.
As Egypt becameIslamized, the termShemu/Shom Ennisimfound a roughphono-semantic matchinSham Ennesim, or "Smelling/Taking In theZephyrs,"which fairly accurately represents the way in which the festival is celebrated.
TheIslamic calendarbeinglunarand thus unfixed relative to the solar year, the date of Sham Ennessim remained on the Christian-linked date. However, the Muslim Egyptians, and probably the Egyptians in general, historically calculated its date independently from Easter, they calculated it to be on the first day of theKhamaseen, which at the time happened to coincide with the day immediately following Easter.
The Christian Egyptians have doubtless played a role in preserving the festival through their cultural agency,which was quite limited after the conversion to Islam in Egypt, but that cannot be taken to be the reason why the Muslim Egyptians collectively celebrate the festival with its exact same ancient Egyptian celebratory traditions.
For the festival to be collectively celebrated by the Muslim Egyptians it must have been retained by them amongst themselves after conversion, this is evident from the festival's documented history(see below), and from the fact that they perform the exact same ancient Egyptian celebratory traditions,as well as being evident from the fact that the festival is celebrated by Muslim Egyptians in rural areas as a tradition within families, without reference to a specific religion, and is evident from practices such as the traditionalfesikhdish whose preparation is passed down within Muslim families as an occupation.
The Egyptians evidently continued to celebrate this non-Abrahamic festival after the conversion to Islam just as they did after the conversion to Christianity. Its declaration by the Egyptian state as an official holiday was due precisely to the fact that it is a national festival celebrated by all Egyptians regardless of their religious beliefs. Besides, Sham Ennessim is not the only ancient Egyptian celebration that has survived among the Muslim Egyptians as well as among the Christian Egyptians.
In his book, published in 1834, E. W. Lane reports:
"A custom termed 'Shemm en-Neseem' [sic.] (or the Smelling of the Zephyr) is observed on the first day of the Khamaseen. Early in the morning of this day, many persons, 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 northwards, to take the air, or, as they term it, smell the air, which, on that day, they believe to have a wonderfully beneficial effect. The greater number dine in the country, or on the river. This year (1834), they were treated with a violent hot wind, accompanied by clouds of dust, instead of the neseem; but considerable numbers, notwithstanding, went out to 'smell' it."
E. W. Lane's report of the festival indicates that even in the early 1800s the festival was non-Abrahamic in nature, and in particular non-Christian in nature; as well as indicating that the celebration was not initiated in modernity at all, regardless of when it was declared by the Egyptian state as an official holiday; and, as mentioned above, it reports that historically the date of the festival was calculated by the Muslim Egyptians, and probably by the Egyptians in general, independently from Easter, they calculated it to be on the first day of theKhamaseen, which at the time happened to coincide with the day immediately following Easter. In his book, E. W. Lane also reports:
"they [the Muslims of Egypt] calculate the period of the 'Khamaseen,' when hot southerly winds are of frequent occurrence, to commence on the day immediately following the Coptic festival of Easter Sunday."
On the pages 540–541 of the same book, E. W. Lane also lists the Christian religious festivals that the Coptic Christian celebrated following each fast, and Sham Ennesim is not at all one of them, whereas Easter is;Sham Ennesim is only reported as a festival celebrated by the Egyptians with no reference to any religion, as illustrated above, and as being observed specifically on the first day of theKhamaseen; it is important to note that the first day of the Khamaseen is not always synchronized with the day immediately following Easter, which makes Lane's report of the festival as being observed specifically on the first day of the Khamaseen quite significant.
As of today, Egyptians still celebrate Sham Ennessim on Easter Monday. As illustrated above, even though the festival falls on Easter Monday, which is the case for historical reasons, the festival is not related toAbrahamic religions. It does not have additional significance for the Christian Egyptians than it does for the Muslim Egyptians, or for any other Egyptian outside those two faiths.
Sham Ennessim(Shemu) is an official holiday in modern Egypt celebrated by allEgyptiansregardless of their religion, background or social class.