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EveryParampara

Next: 3 May 2027

Sham el-Nessim

Egypt's ancient spring festival, kept on the Monday after Coptic Easter with picnics, salted fish and coloured eggs.

Sham Ennessim: Bulgarian orthodox Easter Eggs.
Photo: Ikonact, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When is Sham el-Nessim in 2027?

Sham el-Nessim 2027 is on Monday, 3 May 2027. Other years: 2026, Monday, 13 April 2026; 2028, Monday, 17 April 2028.

About Sham el-Nessim

Sham el-Nessim, "smelling the breeze", is an Egyptian spring holiday dating back to Pharaonic times, perhaps as far as 2700 BCE. It is celebrated by Egyptians of all religions on the Monday after Coptic Easter. Families go outdoors with picnics to parks, gardens, the Nile banks and zoos, to enjoy the first mild days of spring. The traditional foods have symbolic roots in ancient beliefs: feseekh, fermented and salted grey mullet, and ringa, smoked herring, lettuce, spring onions and boiled eggs, which are dyed and decorated, a sign of life and rebirth. The day is a public holiday. In the evening, many people take boat rides and eat sweets by the water. Some sprinkle onions around their houses and sleep with one on the pillow for good health.

Sham el-Nessim dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

YearSham el-Nessim date
2026Monday, 13 April 2026
2027Monday, 3 May 2027
2028Monday, 17 April 2028

What is eaten

  • feseekh
  • ringa
  • eggs
  • lettuce
  • green onions

Also part of it, and being written: Feseekh (The fermented fish of the day.), Easter egg (The painted egg.), Copts (The Christian community whose Easter it follows.).

More marked on Sham el-Nessim

🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreEgg decorating Decorating eggs with dye, wax and carving, kept at Easter, Nowruz and springCraft
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Sham El-Nessim" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.