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However, is the Egyptian football worthy of all that fanaticism? Does it deserve people’s attention, time, and nerve breakdown because either Ahly or Zamalek has won or lost a math??? Are those fans really convinced of the importance of their support to their favourite team, or is it just a way of convincing themselves that there is an important thing in their lives that gets them out of thinking about work, money, and the problems of their everyday lives???

Ahly and Zamalek have been the most famous and prestigious soccer Egyptian teams for many years. The competition between them is vigorous and long too. The victory of Zamalek over Ahly on the 23rd was nothing but one fight in a sport war. This competition has made generations in Egypt engaged in it. They cheer for the teams that they support and are willing to be loyal to their teams through moments of victory and times of weaknesses. The Ahly and Zamalek are the two poles of the Egyptian soccer. They resemble the competitive and sportive spirits of many Egyptians. The battle between them will keep going on in an everlasting contest.

http://www.geocities.com/Thetropics/7210/ramadan.htm

http://www.egyptmonth.com/mag11012000/magf3.htm

http://www-rcf.usc.edu/elguindi/sebuLectureFilmSpecs.htm

http://www-rcf.usc.edu/elguindi/EISEBOU.html

http://www.therai.org.uk/film/catalogue_2/28_egyptian.html

http://www.arabfilm.com/item/60

http://www.hazememam.com/index.cfm

http://www.EgyptSport.com/al-Ahly/Ahly.shtml

http://www.uefa.com

http://www.fifa.com/index_E.html

The mother crosses over her baby seven times. The grand mother is sprinkling seven grains in different directions of the house. Children are holding candles and walking around the baby. What is happening here? It looks like some people are having a celebration. This article will present the nature of this celebration, the steps followed and the reason for each one.
This scene is from an Egyptian ritual called El Sebou’. El Sebou’ is a word that means “the seventh” the birth of the baby is followed by a seventh day celebration, in which the child is admitted to the community. If it was not made on the seventh day, it should be made on the 14th day or the 21st day after the physical birth. This depends on the mother’s health. The celebration doesn’t depend on the baby’s gender, religion, and status group and rural or urban. However, Muslims and Christians would have minor adjustments according to the religion. For example, Muslims will recite versus from Quraan, while Christians will recite from their Bible.
The women’s role in applying the rituals is much more obvious than men. The father’s role is mainly defined in paying the money needed for the material needs used in the celebration.

The celebration is divided into two main parts. The first part starts the day before El Sebou’. In this day all the preparations of the materials needed is set. The materials differ from a boy to a girl. If the baby is a boy, they buy for him an “Abreea’”, a container maid out of pottery and looks like a kettle. It is decorated with the father’s watch and ring as a sin of masculinity.
If the baby is a girl, they buy for her an “Olla”, a container maid of pottery that has an oval base with a long thin neck. It is decorated with the mother’s jewelry as a sign of femininity.
In either case, the containers are covered with flowers and decorative colored paper. They are put in a big plate that has water. Some people say that the water should be what the baby has taken its bath in. In the water there is beans and coins that each member of the family has thrown in the water. The beans are taken the next day and each seven deans are tied with a thread and given to the children who will attend El Sebou’. Moreover, a mixture of seven cereals is set. It is composed of beans, wheat, salt, lentils, corn, rice and helba. By having all this ready, the family is now ready for celebrating its new member.
The second part of the celebration, which is on the seventh day, is El Sebou’ itself. In the past people used to celebrate I in he morning. However, today the celebration is in the evening.

The mother, the grand mother and the mother in law usually cooperate together while implementing the rituals. They dress the baby with white clothes and then putting it in a “Ghorbal”, it like a screener that has a lot of decorations. Now they are declaring that the baby is ready for the celebration. The folkloric songs greatly shape the celebration and have a great influence.

The mother starts El Sebou’ by crossing over ignited florescence added to it salt seven times while she is holding the baby. Mrs. Souad Mohamed, a housewife says, “people believe this ritual expels the devil away from the mother and the baby.” There is a special lyric said in this ritual and there is a sentence for each step of the crossing.
Second, the grandmother starts throwing salt in the corners of the house. The salts effect is believed to put away the evil eye away from the baby.

Third, the baby is shaked in the “Ghorbal” with the cereals. Mrs. Souad adds that people do this, as they believe the child is a seed that has a lot to give. “ the mother feels that her baby is a seed that is going to water it with her love and care to grow to become a ripped fruit.” They shake the baby, as they believe they are screening it from any bad qualities that they don’t want it to develop in it. It is like clearing the harvest from residuals.

The fourth step is Knocking in the “Hon”. It is a metal container that is knocked from the inside with a meal hand. While the bay is still in the “Ghorbal”, the grandmother starts knocking the “Hon” producing a very loud sound. She starts asking God what is for the benefit of the new born. The people present start saying after her. This sound is made because of a belief that the loud sound kicks away devils especially if it comes out of a metal container. They also say some sentences like “listen to your mother only and don’t listen to your aunt,” and so on. They mention the close relatives to the baby. This is done as kidding with the family. It is believed that when producing such high sounds when the baby is so young, it will not get scared when it hears it later in its life. They want to let the baby get used to high sounds.

Then comes the fifth and last ritual. It is the baby’s procession. The mother carries her baby and starts going around in the house and sometimes goes up and down on the stairs of the building. In this procession all relatives participate and especially the children. They all hold candles and walk following the mother. They sing a song that carries their wishes for the baby by growing and live a wealthy, happy life. They wish him a long life that is full of prosperity.

Under supervision of Dr. Naila Hamdy

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Mai Shawky
Marwa Shalaby

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The traditional Fanous is a metal folding lantern that is made of wire rings and colored glass. It is lighted through a candle placed inside it. The traditional lantern could be made of cheap metals like tin or of expensive metals like copper, silver and sometimes gold. Although some people might consider it out of fashion, many people still buy it because it has the Ramadan soul.

The traditional Fanous has over 180 shapes ranging from cube, round to the hexagonal shape. Every shape has its own name and colors. These shapes appeared during distinct periods of time as a normal development for the Fanous. However, the developments were mainly due to economical reasons rather than creative ones, as the sellers’ aim was to gain more profits from the new designs.

The most prevalent of the traditional lanterns is Farouk, which was named after King Farouk, the last king of Egypt. Some sources state that it was called Farouk because it appeared during his reign. Farouk has four sides and one of them acts as a small door to open the Fanous and put the candle inside. It has a cube base that is pointed at the sides. Mostly every two opposite sides have the same color, but sometimes each side has a different one. “Farouk is the most demanded Fanous, since its shape reminds people of Ramadan’s soul. It is the Fanous that is drawn in children’s drawing books. It is very well known. Even on TV in Ramadan, the cartoons they have between programs are that of Farouk. It has become more popular than any other kinds of Fawanis,” Mahmoud Fadl, a Fawanis seller in That El-Rabe’ district said.

The development of Farouk is Sheweppes that is named after the famous soft drink Sheweppes. This Fanous is also four sided and has a door at one of its sides, but unlike Farouk, it is rounded in base. The second famous kind of Fanous is Shak El-Batikh or the Watermelon, which took its name from its round shape. It has six sides, and from each side a curve protrudes, giving it the round shape. Unlike Farouk, that is so plain, Shak El-Batikh has carvings and drawings on its sides. Most of its sizes tend to be large, since the carvings require a large space to work on.

Another kind of Fawanis is Abou El-Eial or the children’s father, which looks like a man holding the hands of children. The body of the Fanous, which is the man, is cube shaped and the other parts, the children, are four small cube-shaped glass boxes that hang from the body downwards. Most probably Abou El-Eial is made of one-color glass, yellow or brown.

Alongside Abou El-Eial another Fanous that people prefer to hang on their doors is Negma or Star, which is considered the most fancy-shaped Fanous. Children as well as adults prefer to hang it because it gives a good sense of taste and its shape is favorable.

However, the king of the Fawanis is nothing but El-Borg or the Tower, whose upper part is in the shape of a minaret. El-Borg comes in only one size, which is the super extra size.
Although the traditional Fanous has all these fancy shapes, it is not considered fashionable anymore. Rather, large hotels and coffee shops use them as mere decorations to give the essence of Ramadan. But this is not everywhere. Still in some places, especially the old districts like Sayeda Zeinab and Hussein, the traditional Fanous is not considered a fad, but is seen as a legacy that is passed from one generation to another.