My Teenage Life in Egypt

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one-third of the meat for themselves, give their relatives another third, and donate the remaining third to the poor. Sniff the Breeze! Muslims and non-Muslims alike celebrate Sham el-Nassim. It literally means “sniff the breeze” and celebrates the beginning of spring. It always falls on the day after the day that Coptic Orthodox Christians (see page 30 ) celebrate their feast of Easter, sometime in April or May. Sham el-Nassim

dates back at least 4,000 years; in those early days, ancient Egyptians offered salted fish, lettuce, andonions to the gods. Today, families usually spend the entire day enjoying a picnic that may include those three foods. They also like to color eggs in bright colors. Egyptian Copts celebrate Christmas on January 7. This date is based on the Coptic calendar,which in turn isbasedon theancient Egyptian calendar. Like nearly the rest of the world, Egyp- tians celebrate January 1 as New Year’s Day. However, most also observe the Islamic New Year on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. As with other such holidays, it falls on different calendar days based on themoon. In 2018, for example, it was September 10. In addition to these holidays and obser- vances,Muslimsusually takeFridayoff. They attend special services at their mosques.

The Hajj Some 100,000 Egyptians

join an estimated two million other Muslims in the annual pilgrimage to the city of Mec- ca, Saudi Arabia. Mecca is the holiest city for Muslims and this pilgrimage is called the Hajj. All Muslims who are physically and financially able are expected to undertake the Hajj at least once during their lives. It lasts for six days. During this time pilgrims wear white clothing and per- form a number of rituals. Some of these rituals are connected with Muhammad, while others are connected with the prophet Abraham. Muslims believe that Muhammad is a descendent of Abraham’s son Ishmael. It may be the world’s largest annual assembly of people.

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