The ancient holidays and traditions that modern Egyptians still celebrate and follow [Thread]

Shum Ansim: Egyptians celebrate Sham El-Nessim Day, which has roots that extend into the depths of history, as the ancient pharaohs used to celebrate it by going out to parks, fields, and other natural areas to breathe fresh air and enjoy the splendid springtime weather.

"Sham El-Nessim" is an ancient Egyptian Coptic word that used to pronounce "Shum Ansim," and it was one of the feasts of the ancient Egyptians during the reigns of the Pharaohs, and the beginning of its celebration dates back to nearly 5,000 years, or about the year 2700 BC. AD

The ancient Egyptians used to engrave on the eggs their prayers and wishes for the new year and put the eggs in baskets of palm fronds that they hung in the balconies of houses, where it developed with the passage of time and became engraved on the eggs beautiful decorations.

The loyalty of the Nile: Egyptians still celebrate the Nile Flood day, as they prepare boats designed in Pharaonic style, sailing on the river waters, with flowers, joyful chants, and dances, colorful costumes, thanking their great river for his loyalty.

An Egyptian movie called “Bride of the Nile” was made in 1963 about this holiday or celebration.

Coptic New Year (Nayrouz day): According to the Coptic tradition, Diocletian is narrated to have been infamous for torturing and executing thousands of Christians, unsuccessfully forcing them to deny their faith.

Despite the great suffering, the Era of Martyrs is remembered as the Church’s strongest period due to its ability to withstand and survive the challenges unchanged.

Tertullian, a second-century Western Church father states that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,” which is a saying and concept that has been adopted by churches since then and until our current day.

The word Nayrouz that we know today has undergone many modifications. Originally, the word comes from the Coptic word ni-yarouou (translates to rivers). According to Nabil Farouq’s book (The Nayrouz Feast: Oldest Feast for the Oldest Nation).

Coptic Christians, both in Egypt and abroad, culturally celebrate the New Year by eating red dates. The dates’ red exterior symbolizes the blood of the martyrs, the white insides represent the purity of their hearts and the seeds of the dates stand for the strength of their faith

The Coptic Christians relive the struggle of their ancestors through celebration and commemoration to remind themselves that these martyrs should not solely belong to the past, but ought to live on.

The 40 days ceremony is a small meeting after forty days when somebody died, the family visits the graveyard and gather together in the deceased house. It is not an Islamic or Christian rite but it is an ancient Egyptian one after the end of the mummification which took 40 days.

Customs: What is currently known as “Galabeya/Jalabeya” is an ancient Egyptian custom that is still worn by many Egyptians today in Lower and Upper Egypt.

The traditional female clothing

Pharaonic

Architecture style: Many modern buildings and structures in Egypt were built to resemble the ancient Egyptian style of architecture.

Folklore: What is currently known as “tahtib” is an ancient Egyptian dance still performed by upper Egyptians and considered a very important part of their folklore.

Language: The Coptic language is the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language. The majority of Coptic words are taken from the ancient Egyptian language with some Greek.

Like any other language, Coptic has its own literature, poetry, and culture.

Its main dialects are Sahidic, Bohairic, and Fayumic, which could be known through reading Coptic texts, as Coptic is the only form of the ancient Egyptian language that has vowels indicating the pronunciation of words.

Religion: Egyptians still believe that the gods controlled everything in their world. Temples in Egypt were a way to honor gods and worship. Today people still go to temples, most commonly known as mosques, churches, and synagogues, to worship their god/gods.

Having a worship time was very important to the Egyptians so that the gods would help the people in giving them rain, sun, and other natural supplies. Still today many people have a scheduled time set aside to praise and worship their god.

The Egyptians believed in a man's life carrying on in a new dimension and/or a new form. So, they took extra care in preserving the dead so they could have a safe journey into the afterlife. Today Muslims and Christians pray that the human will have safe travel to their new life.

Logos of Egyptian universities and colleges

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