Shamm El Neseem is the Egyptian version of Easter. In theory, we still color eggs, but eat lots of salty fish, head to the outdoors to enjoy the spring, without all the religious implications of an orthodox easter.
As a kid, my family had our own special shamm el neseem traditions. My brother and I colored the eggs a night before, sometimes my childhood best-friend and next door neighbor joined me. The way we saw it, they weren't just eggs, they were art! And since I lived in a family building, my cousins and the rest of the kids in our neighborhood would wake up the earliest we could and play games in the yard until we were called for brunch by our parents. I was never a salty fish person but ate eggs all the way, and that delicious Easter bread which my mum (till today) buys fresh from the baker. Then at night, we usually visited my grandparents and older aunts and uncles. The only problem was, the amount of eggs I had to eat during Shamm El Neseem and after. Karim (my bro) doesn't eat eggs sand when Yousra (my baby sis) was old enough to color eggs, she realized she's not into hard boiled eggs either, so it was between me and my mum to eat a whole family's worth of painted eggs before they went bad. (Mum had a strict no-throwing-away-food policy!)
I obviously loved Shamm El Neseem and I always found a way to celebrate it, one way or the other. As a teen, Yousra was just a kid (11 years age difference is sometimes a blessing), so I took her as an excuse to color more eggs. Then during the card making days, I made a few easter and spring cards, mostly not for sale but for the fun of it! With SuperMama however, we went all the way, literally between me and Zeinab, we brought all our childhood memories in articles about Shamm El Nesseem, the recipes, the food, egg decoration ideas, games to play with kids...etc. Thing is, and I never thought I'd be saying this, I miss having kids in the family to color eggs or run around in the garden with. And even though the incredible BooBoo (my nephew) is the love and joy of my life, his parents are quite strict religiously so for them Shamm El Neseem is a big no!
So where does that leave me? Wanting kids of my own! Ha ha.. you wish! Well to be honest, I'm starting to develop a soft spot but I'm not there yet. But anyway, I'm think bigger than just a kid or two. By next year isA, I'll work it out so that SuperMama (my real baby) can host a HUGE egg decoration and treasure hunt party and all of you are invited! (iza rabena edana el se77a w tolet el 3omr insh2allah)
But for now, Happy egg coloring, face painting, rose-smelling, energy-boosting Shamm El Neseem everyone!
As a kid, my family had our own special shamm el neseem traditions. My brother and I colored the eggs a night before, sometimes my childhood best-friend and next door neighbor joined me. The way we saw it, they weren't just eggs, they were art! And since I lived in a family building, my cousins and the rest of the kids in our neighborhood would wake up the earliest we could and play games in the yard until we were called for brunch by our parents. I was never a salty fish person but ate eggs all the way, and that delicious Easter bread which my mum (till today) buys fresh from the baker. Then at night, we usually visited my grandparents and older aunts and uncles. The only problem was, the amount of eggs I had to eat during Shamm El Neseem and after. Karim (my bro) doesn't eat eggs sand when Yousra (my baby sis) was old enough to color eggs, she realized she's not into hard boiled eggs either, so it was between me and my mum to eat a whole family's worth of painted eggs before they went bad. (Mum had a strict no-throwing-away-food policy!)
I obviously loved Shamm El Neseem and I always found a way to celebrate it, one way or the other. As a teen, Yousra was just a kid (11 years age difference is sometimes a blessing), so I took her as an excuse to color more eggs. Then during the card making days, I made a few easter and spring cards, mostly not for sale but for the fun of it! With SuperMama however, we went all the way, literally between me and Zeinab, we brought all our childhood memories in articles about Shamm El Nesseem, the recipes, the food, egg decoration ideas, games to play with kids...etc. Thing is, and I never thought I'd be saying this, I miss having kids in the family to color eggs or run around in the garden with. And even though the incredible BooBoo (my nephew) is the love and joy of my life, his parents are quite strict religiously so for them Shamm El Neseem is a big no!
So where does that leave me? Wanting kids of my own! Ha ha.. you wish! Well to be honest, I'm starting to develop a soft spot but I'm not there yet. But anyway, I'm think bigger than just a kid or two. By next year isA, I'll work it out so that SuperMama (my real baby) can host a HUGE egg decoration and treasure hunt party and all of you are invited! (iza rabena edana el se77a w tolet el 3omr insh2allah)
But for now, Happy egg coloring, face painting, rose-smelling, energy-boosting Shamm El Neseem everyone!
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