The History of Spring Cleaning
When I hear those words butterflies of excitement rise in my stomach. It time for “Spring Cleaning.” Spring cleaning has been a tradition in my house for as long as I can remember. Going through my desks and all the random boxes in my house feels as though I’m starting from scratch. It gives me the ability to reorganize my room and make space for brand new things. Spring cleaning is one of my favorite times of the year and going through it this year I started to wonder about the history of the tradition.
It all started as a Jewish tradition in which families would go through their home and perform a “deep cleaning” in preparation for Passover. Jewish families were supposed to rid their houses of any remnants of chametz for the duration of the holiday. This resulted in a complete cleaning of their homes. Since Passover is in spring the tradition of hunting for chametz took place the week before, hence the name “Spring Cleaning.” As time went on spring cleaning spread throughout different cultures. For example, traditionally, the Catholic church thoroughly cleans the church altar and everything associated with it on Maundy Thursday Catholic churches around the world clean the church altar and everything associated with in preparation for Good Friday and Easter. Also the Persian tradition of khooneh tekouni is much like the present day spring cleaning. Exactly translating to “shaking of the house” khooneh tekouni is a complete cleaning of the house and all objects in it. It is performed on the Persian new year which is the first day of spring.
Present day spring cleaning is a way to start with a clean slate and enjoy a clean house for at least a week. It gives us the ability to let go of what is no longer needed and gives us room to let new possessions into our lives. In all spring cleaning has come a long way since its start and is truly a wonderful and very useful tradition.
When I hear those words butterflies of excitement rise in my stomach. It time for “Spring Cleaning.” Spring cleaning has been a tradition in my house for as long as I can remember. Going through my desks and all the random boxes in my house feels as though I’m starting from scratch. It gives me the ability to reorganize my room and make space for brand new things. Spring cleaning is one of my favorite times of the year and going through it this year I started to wonder about the history of the tradition.
It all started as a Jewish tradition in which families would go through their home and perform a “deep cleaning” in preparation for Passover. Jewish families were supposed to rid their houses of any remnants of chametz for the duration of the holiday. This resulted in a complete cleaning of their homes. Since Passover is in spring the tradition of hunting for chametz took place the week before, hence the name “Spring Cleaning.” As time went on spring cleaning spread throughout different cultures. For example, traditionally, the Catholic church thoroughly cleans the church altar and everything associated with it on Maundy Thursday Catholic churches around the world clean the church altar and everything associated with in preparation for Good Friday and Easter. Also the Persian tradition of khooneh tekouni is much like the present day spring cleaning. Exactly translating to “shaking of the house” khooneh tekouni is a complete cleaning of the house and all objects in it. It is performed on the Persian new year which is the first day of spring.
Present day spring cleaning is a way to start with a clean slate and enjoy a clean house for at least a week. It gives us the ability to let go of what is no longer needed and gives us room to let new possessions into our lives. In all spring cleaning has come a long way since its start and is truly a wonderful and very useful tradition.