Feasts of the ancient Egyptians
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The feasts of the ancient Egyptians were varied and numerous, to the extent that the Greek historians, led by Plutarch, mention that from a large number of Egyptian feasts, the difference between one feast and the other was only a few days, which takes place on certain religious occasions, such as the remembrance of Horus’ victory over his uncle Sit, and the feasts of the gods, which take place in the temple of each deity according to a specific event, whether it is the victory of this deity or the establishment of his temple or the remembrance of a miracle associated with him. These feasts are the annual feast in which the priests of the god Horus of Edfu, relative to the city of Edfu, came out carrying the sacred boat of the god with his cabin and his golden statue converging to ride the river and head north to Dendera.
Where the temple of the goddess Hathor, the wife of Horus, the Idfawi, to meet the couple, feasts and weddings take place, people rejoice, drink and feed, and everyone is in a state of ecstasy, which is increased by the rare fragrant incense that the Egyptians brought from the heart of Africa and the country of Punt.
Also, in the city of Thebes, the capital of the Egyptian Empire during the modern era, one of the most glorious religious holidays was the feast that is called the Valley Festival, in which Amun, the master of the gods of Egypt and the master of Karnak, went out in a solemn procession to go to visit the Western Valley, passing by the funerary temples and tombs of the nobles. It was an opportunity for all people to go out and visit their dead Burning incense for their souls, offering sacrifices, and feeding the poor as an approach to god, how close yesterday is to today, even if the beliefs differ.
In addition to religious holidays, the ancient Egyptians celebrated a large number of holidays that were associated with agriculture. For example, they celebrated the flood festival, which was associated with the day of the appearance of the Yemeni hair star in the sky and the redness of the colour of the signs of the Nile flood.
Many feasts were also associated with the harvest of some crops, on top of which is linen, from which the finest clothes and furnishings were made.
In addition to religious and agricultural feasts, the royal feasts or the feasts of kings were among the most important feasts in the life of the ancient Egyptian and were so numerous that they celebrated the king’s birthday, the day of his sitting, and the day the king completed his thirtieth year in rule, or what is called (the dam feast), which is one of the most important feasts in the life of the Egyptian. The ancient kings paid special attention to the arrangements of these feasts, which we know about since the beginnings of the ancient Egyptian civilization, since the first dynasty. With the extent of the vitality and activity of the king, who had to release a bull from his cage and tie a loop around his horns and run between the chapels of the gods, in advance of offerings and gifts to take the instrument of consent from these gods, and before the celebration of this holiday a day was buried a statue of the king bearing a symbolic sign of the death of the ancient king and the birth of a king new.
Because of the importance of this feast, we find many kings who celebrate it more than once in their lives, who are not committed to the thirty years, headed by King Amenhotep III and King Ramses II, who we know celebrated the dam more than seventeen times.
The ancient Egyptians had feasts linked to specific occasions, the most important of which was the completion of the construction of the royal cemetery. The texts and scenes of the ancient state depicted the feasts that the kings held on the occasion of their completion of building their pyramids, so we find people dancing, singing songs and setting tables, and everyone is happy with the end of this national project around which all Egyptians gathered. The Egyptians also celebrated the feasts of their victories over their enemies. The great leaders of the armies in the era of the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty left for our scenes and texts on the walls of their tombs depicting for us how they celebrated the anniversary of their decisive victory over the Hyksos and the distribution of gifts and medals to them by the king as well as the gifts that were granted on their feasts. They have either agricultural land or livestock and others.
How did the ancient Egyptians celebrate their holidays?
Surprisingly, the manifestations of their celebration of holidays did not differ much from what is happening today, as the food was the common denominator in all their feasts, from the priests.
The ancient Egyptians were adorned with the most beautiful, ornate, and beautiful clothes during the feasts. The nobles and senior officials sent lawsuits to their friends and acquaintances, inviting them to come to their palaces, where the tables were laid out. The musicians played the most beautiful melodies on the flute and the fugitive. The singers sang the most beautiful meanings of love and beauty, and the place was filled with joy and pleasure, especially after The beautiful dancers began their exquisite dances among the guests.
These celebrations were not limited to specific classes of the ancient Egyptian people but were celebrated by all of their different classes and were an occasion to give gifts and toys to the children to go out to play with their peers. They played, and it was not forbidden for them to attend adult gatherings to watch and enjoy playing, singing and dancing among their parents. This is what the scenes recorded on the walls of the ancient Egyptian tombs depicted to us, which confirm that they did not live only for work and production.
Rather, they enjoyed all that nature gave them of the various blessings that made the land of Egypt coveted for all ancient peoples, and it was upon the ancient Egyptians.