Easter & Sham El Nessim

A few years back I was lucky to manage to get to Egypt for Easter. Not only is Spring such a beautiful time of year there as one can comfortably wander for miles without getting overheated, but, I had been wanting to attend a Coptic Christian service for some time. It's not that I'm overly religious, in fact those that know me would go as far as to say I'm a bit of an heretic, but, my motive was that I knew that certain Coptic rites were very close to the Ancient Egyptian religious rites and I wanted to experience one so Coptic Easter was perfect as there was a tradition at this time of year going back thousands of years.

In the West the origin of the name Easter almost definitely comes from the West Germanic Goddess Eostre, in High German Ostara (shades of Astara). She was the Goddess of fertility and the month of the Spring Equinox in Anglo Saxon was named after her - Eostur-monath. Her name is derived from the Proto Germanic root aew-s, "illuminate, especially of daybreak" and closely related to (a)wes-ter- "dawn servant", the dawn star Venus. Throughout the world though this time of the year, the spring equinox, is celebrated as a time of renewal, fertility and rebirth.

So on that particular Easter in Cairo a treat had been prepared for me. A dear friend in Cairo, Leila, had arranged for me to meet a Coptic gentleman who would escort me to St. Mary's Church known as The Hanging Church or al-Muallaqah in Arabic situated in the old part of Cairo known as Mari Girgis which in turn was once the ancient Roman citadel known as Babylon in Egypt. It is called the Hanging Church due to it being built upon old Roman pillars. Legend has it that originally the underground vault below the church was where the Holy Family of Jesus took refuge when fleeing the persecution of Herod. The rites in this church are reputed to be the oldest in the Coptic Church and from all accounts the closest to the Ancient Egyptian religious rites.

There are obvious differences between the rites in this church compared to Western Christian rites. The first major difference you are aware of is that there is no music. The priest chant, call out things and all to the clashing of cymbals. Then you notice that unlike in Western services they do not stand behind an altar and preach to you, they face away from you in the direction of the inner sanctuary or else you can just see them in the inner sanctuary. They perform the rites, you watch. At one time Western Christianity was like this, the priest was part of the congregation leading them in prayer facing the altar, then a change took place and the priest placed himself behind the altar, faced toward the congregation, raised himself up above than and took on the part of someone holy. The Coptic rite here though is very reminiscent of the Pharaohnic rites where the priest faces the holy of holies, the God performs the rites and the people are allowed to watch on special occasions.

After what seemed a lifetime the perambulation took place. This is where the icon of Christ is taken out of the inner sanctuary and paraded around the church so that blessing can be bestowed. In Ancient Egypt it was the God that was removed from the sanctuary inside a container. The container, the Barq of Ra was shaped something like a boat and carried suspended between two long poles attached to the Barq through metal rings and carried around the temple for all to see and be blessed by.

The next day was a holliday celebrated by Christians and Muslims alike, it was Sham El Nessim or the Sniffing (or tasting) of the Breeze or Zephir. The name of the holiday is actually derived from the ancient Egyptian harvest season that was called "Shamo", which means a day of creation. Plutarch's annals say, the ancient Egyptians used to offer salted fish, lettuce and onions to their deities on this day. The ancients imagined that that day represented the beginning of creation. The date of Sham El Nessim was not fixed. Rather, it was announced every year on the night before the feast at the foot of the Great Pyramid. The feast of 'Shamo,' means 'renewal of life' which was later corrupted during the Coptic age to 'shamm' (smelling or breathing) and the word 'nessim' (breeze) was added. The ancient Egyptians first celebrated the feast of Shamo in 2700 BC.

So, on what to us is Easter Monday we celebrated Sham El Nessim the traditional way that all Egyptians have done for thousands of years, we went on a picnic. Sitting in the quiet shade of a temple in the Giza Pyramid field (see picture above which is the precise spot) we tucked into out very salty dried fish, the most gigantic spring onions you've ever seen and of course...the painted boiled eggs. Yes, this is where the true origin of the Easter Egg comes from. It was tradition at Sham El Nessim to boil and paint eggs to take on the picnic. Not only was the egg a symbol of fertility and apt for this festival, but, the egg was also the hieroglyphic determinative for the Priestess of the Temple of Isis and this was the time of the Priestesses as they were central to the festivities.

So, a happy Easter to all and I hope you will join me in Sniffing the Breeze if not in person in spirit.