Hays Travelogue

Tomorrow, the Monday after Coptic Easter, is Shamm al-Nisim (Smelling the Breeze), an ancient spring festival that is still celebrated in Egypt. It’s a national holiday that everyone will spend picnicking in the parks and gardens. The traditional foods associated with Shamm al-Nisim are fisikh (salted raw fish), green onions, boiled eggs dyed with onion peel, lettuce, malana (baby chickpeas), and fuul hirati (green field beans). Lest you think that these foods are what drives everyone out of the house and that maybe you don’t want to smell that breeze, here is the symbolism associated with them.

Green onions ward off evil spirits and the evil eye and cure diseases. Fisikh symbolizes preservation from hunger. Eggs mean new life, and colored eggs mean that the life to come will be happy and cheerful. Lettuce, chickpeas, and beans represent fertility. The beans are also considered to be an aid to digestion.

Wherever you are tomorrow, enjoy the breeze.