Did you know that in Persian culture, the first day of spring marks their new year?
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Iranian Nowruz, the Persian new year, is the same day as the spring equinox, which is on or around March 21 every year. Persian people have a practice called “khaneh tekani” which translates to “shaking the house” that they do annually for the Persian new year. On this day they take the time to thoroughly clean their house in preparation for the spring and the new year ahead. People in Iran also buy new clothes to wear for the new year. Spring time is associated with the rebirth of nature as plants start to bloom again and it is like a fresh new start.
The practice of spring cleaning is also associated with the weather changes in different parts of the world, especially those places with a colder wet climate. In the 19th century, before the invention of vacuum cleaners, dusting was the best that people could do for cleaning the house. Springtime, or the month of March, is a good time because the weather warms up enough to be able to open the doors and windows. That temperature would not be ideal for insects to populate yet, so it’s good to clean at that time of the year. Besides cleaning, I think it also makes sense to put away all the winter stuff and take out the spring and summer gear for better accessibility.
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Another culture that conducts spring cleaning is from the Jewish culture. According to ancient Jewish practices, they cleaned their house in preparation for the week-long Passover holiday festival. The Passover was an event recorded in the Bible in the Book of Exodus. God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to use the blood of a lamb to paint their doors as a mark so that the Angel of Death would pass over their house and not kill their firstborn. This was the tenth plague that God sent upon Egypt. In the end, Pharaoh set the Israelites free from slavery and Moses led the Israel people out of Egypt.
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As a celebration and remembrance of this biblical event, Jewish people are not allowed to eat anything that is leavened or fermented during this week-long period. Leavened food, or anything that contains a raising agent to lighten or soften dough mixture is called “chametz”. They are commanded to clean their house thoroughly, which even includes small chametz crumbs.
Does your family do spring cleaning every year?