"How do Egyptian Muslims celebrate Ramadan? How do Copts - Egyptian Christians - celebrate Easter? What do you say when an Egyptian colleague sneezes? Exactly what do Egyptians do with a mortar and pestle, a sieve, and a bag of nuts seven days after the birth of a baby? Samia Abdennour, once an outsider from Palestine, now thoroughly at home in Egypt, is here to answer all of these questions and more, covering: marriage and divorce ; birth and naming ; death ; superstition ; social etiquette ; meals at home and on the street ; Mulids, the birthdays of the saints ; Ramadan and other Muslim festivities ; Christmas and other coptic festivities ; Shamm al-Nisim, the spring festival ; proverbs ; and special recipes."--BOOK JACKET.