As I write this it is a cool, cloudy, foggy and rainy day in June.  However, we have finally seen some signs of Spring, the trees are in full bloom, flowers are rising up out of the earth, kids are outside playing, clocks have been turned ahead giving us that nice extra hour of daylight, the end of the (long) school year is upon us and the temperatures are finally getting up around normal for this time of the year and I’m back to playing a little bit of golf (just 4 or 5 times each week).

So when I began to think about and, yes, enjoy those early signs of Spring, I began to think about something else.  And that would be Spring Cleaning.  I really doubt if too many of us give any real thought to that event today because of the modern day conveniences of cleaning staff, keeping houses spotless year round, modern day heating and cleaner fuels (as opposed to the “ancient” heating fuels of coal, kerosene and wood) and tighter houses that don’t let in as much dust and grime, but when I was a lot younger Spring Cleaning did exist in our house.  I truly remember that on those first nice warm days we would take down those heavy wooden storm windows (to be carefully washed before storing them in the basement), open the windows, tear the interior of the house apart, move furniture, dust window sills and sashes, take down heavy “winter” drapes and move rugs and carpets outside for a general beating – yes, I have fond (or not so fond) memories of those rug beaters and knocking the accumulation of dust and dirt out of those winter floor coverings.

As I pondered this change from the “old” to the “new” methods of Spring Cleaning I thought it might be interesting to learn a bit more of the background and origins of the idea.  It seems that while no one really can pinpoint or identify some individual who “invented” Spring Cleaning, it is clear that looking back to the very early days of civilization, many ethnic groups and faith based traditions were the early adopters who began the processes that, over time, spread and evolved into what we now consider Spring Cleaning.  Some even subscribe to the thought that the tradition revolves back to the Persian New Year (which occurs shortly before the first day of spring).  And some societies equate Spring Cleaning to the passage from the old year to the new and begin the process as they celebrate the New Year.   And another suggestion is that the advent of Spring Cleaning dates back to the ancient Jewish practice of sprucing up before Passover to ensure that no signs of remains of leavened bread remain in the house at the time of Passover.  And in general it has been thought that the origins of Spring Cleaning included the fact that there is more light available for people to see the messy state of their dwellings and that warmer weather aided getting the cleaned things thoroughly dry.

But while the idea, history and various meanings of Spring Cleaning may produce many different thoughts and ideas, strictly from Pop’s Perspective the Spring Cleaning in our house today entails the excitement of that extra hour of daylight, enjoying the view of the flowers and trees blooming, breaking out the shorts and tee shirts, planning our beach vacation, watching the grandchildren run, play and burn off energy out in the yard and, last but not least, dusting off the golf clubs.

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Happy Spring to all.  Thanks for letting me share yet another of “Pops Perspective” and watch for more in the coming months.

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