Spring Cleaning

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Spring Cleaning

***** Location: USA, Europa
***** Season: Spring
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

The most common usage of spring cleaning refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom which would take place in the first warm days of the year typically in spring, hence the name. However it has also come to be synonymous with any kind of heavy duty cleaning or organizing enterprise. A person who gets their affairs in order before an audit or inspection could be said to be doing some spring cleaning.

The origins of spring cleaning probably dates back to the Iranian Norouz, the Persian new year, which falls on the first day of spring. Iranians continue the practice of "khooneh takouni" which literally means "shaking the house" just before the new year. Everything in the house is thoroughly cleaned, from the drapes to the furniture.

Another possible origin of spring cleaning can be traced to the ancient Jewish practice of thoroughly cleansing the home in anticipation of the spring-time holiday of Passover (Hebrew: פסח pesach). In remembrance of the Jews' hasty flight from Egypt following their captivity there, during the eight-day holiday there is a strict prohibition against eating anything which may have been leavened.

Jews not are not only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs (known in Hebrew as חמץ chametz), they are expressly commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday (Exodus 12:15). Therefore, observant Jews conduct a thorough cleaning of the house, followed by a traditional hunt for chametz crumbs by candlelight (called bedikat chametz [Hebrew: בדיקת חמץ]) on the evening before the holiday begins.
©　Wikipedia

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Worldwide use

Germany

Osterputz, cleaning the home before the Easter Holidays.


Osterputz ...
und im Kaukasus blüht
der Tee

　© Ramona Linke

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Japan


cleaning at the end of the year
kure no sooji, kure no oo sooji くれのそおじ


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kigo for the New Year

hakizome 掃初 (はきぞめ) first cleaning
... hatsubooki 初箒（はつぼうき）first (use of the) broom
... hatsusooji 初掃除（はつそうじ）
... fukihajime 拭始（ふきはじめ）beginning to clean
. Cleaning the home, broom and more 　　



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Things found on the way


. Jewish Holidays - Passover .


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HAIKU

after spring cleaning--
breathing space between
closet hangers

Carole Macrury, 2007

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spring cleaning -
dust swirls
in a sunbeam

Shanna Moore, Hawaii

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>spring cleaning --
>young woman laughs at her
>baby picture

>- Jim Mullins
More in the Shiki Archives

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spring cleaning-
the scent of lavender
on those letters

©　angelee / Ukku Spring Haiku 2006

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From WHCworkshop members 2007

spring cleaning
an old letter
makes her smile

Bill Kenney

... ... ...

spring cleaning ...
in the closet a large hole
where his clothes were

Ella Wagemakers

... ... ...

spring cleaning -
dog's fur
into dust bunnies

peter

... ... ...

our last spring cleaning -
so many boxes filled
for charity donations

Elizabeth Fanto

... ... ...

spring cleaning --
I throw away all tese books
I regret now

Tom Maretic

... ... ...

spring cleaning . . .
rearranging boxes of books
till next spring

Dina E. Cox

... ... ...

spring cleaning
making space
for his shoes

Paula Fisher

... ... ...

spring cleaning
over ~ i sing raag Bhairav
in twilight breeze

Narayanan Raghunathan, India

... ... ...

clearing the attic
do I know the people
in this faded photo . . .

Bill Kenney

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Related words

***** Spring (haru, Japan)

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