DAY 202 - TRADITIONS: FOR OR AGAINST?

Day 202

There was a time in my life (during my teenage years in particular) when I rejected traditions.  I was a rebel (at least, I thought I was).  To be a free thinker meant not adhering to anything that was set and structured by others.  Why did anyone have to decide anything in my life? I wanted to be free and traditions, as well as many other established principles, came in the way of my liberty!

That is, of course, until I had children!  That is, of course, until I realized that, no matter how much I tried to get away from them,  traditions were actually part of who I was...

The Egyptian Easter tradition is one my favourite ones.  Every year, we go to my parent's house for brunch.  We celebrate what we call in arabic "sham el-nessim", which means breathing in the air.   In Egypt, after the meal, people actually go out for walks to breath in the air, which on that day they believe to have a wonderfully beneficial effect.

This tradition dates back to the Ancient Egyptians, around 2700 BC.  It was actually meant to celebrate the arrival of  the vernal equinox which is associated with spring.

Today, although it is always celebrated on Easter Monday, all Egyptians, even muslims, celebrate it. Traditionally, the meal consists of beans, green onions, a salty fish called  Feseekh, and of course, coloured eggs.

There is a ritual associated with the eggs.  First, we boil them and colour them.  Then, each member of the family picks one or two eggs to battle with the others.  The objective is to try to break your opponent's egg by hitting it with your own egg on both extremities.  The winner is the one who is left with an unbroken egg.   Today, as we do every year, we went over to my parent's house in the morning for my kids to colour the eggs and we had the egg breaking contest.  I lost!

Traditions allow families to strengthen their ties,  create wonderful memories and spend pleasurable moments together.  Studies have shown that traditions have a positive impact on happiness, because they create a sense of belonging.  And the beauty with traditions is that, although some are set, you always have the freedom to create new ones or adapt the ones you already have to your own way of life!

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