Holidays in Turkey
The Turkish holidays ( Turkish : Türk Bayramları ) are days on which important events on a national level are remembered and which are celebrated socially and culturally.
National Holidays
| date | Turkish name | German name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1st | Yılbaşı | New Year | Celebration on the occasion of the first day of the year |
| April 23 | Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı | Holiday of National Sovereignty and the Child | Remembering the opening of the National Assembly, sovereignty of the foundations of the republic. |
| 1st of May | Emek ve Dayanışma Günü | Labor and Solidarity Day ( May 1st ) | |
| May 19th | Ataturk´ü Anma, Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı | Holiday of youth, sport and the memory of Ataturk | Remembering Ataturk's arrival in Samsun, the beginning of the war of liberation |
| August 30th | Zafer Bayramı | day of the victory | Remembering the decisive victory of "Başkomutanlık Meydan Savaşı" in the Turkish War of Liberation |
| 1st to 3rd Shawwal * | Ramazan Bayramı | Feast of Breaking the Fast | Completion of the fasting month of Ramadan |
| September 19th | Gaziler Günü | Veterans Holiday | National holiday of war veterans and war heroes (not a public holiday) |
| October 29th | Cumhuriyet Bayramı | Holiday of the Republic | National holiday, commemoration of the proclamation of the republic by Ataturk in 1923 |
|
10th to 13th Dhu l-hiddscha * |
Kurban Bayramı | Festival of Sacrifice | Highest Islamic holiday, commemoration of the Prophet Ibrahim , who was ready to sacrifice his son Ismail to Allah (see also Sacrifice of Isaac ). |
| 15th of July | Demokrasi ve Milli Birlik Günü | Day of Democracy and National Unity | Remembrance day for the victims of the coup attempt on July 15, 2016 |
* Date according to the Islamic calendar , the corresponding date of the Gregorian calendar is different every year.
However, in relation to the Islamic calendar, the holidays are not movable.
Holidays according to the Gregorian calendar
| year | Lent month of Ramadan |
Feast of the breaking of the fast 1st to 3rd Sevval |
Festival of Sacrifice 10th to 13th Dhu l-hiddscha |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 (1431) | August 11th - September 9th | September 10-12 | November 16-19 |
| 2011 (1432) | July 31st - August 29th | August 30th - September 1st | November 6-9 |
| 2012 (1433) | July 20th - August 18th | August 19-21 | October 25-28 |
| 2013 (1434) | July 9th - August 7th | August 8-10 | October 15-18 |
| 2014 (1435) | June 28th - July 27th | July 28-30 | October 4-7 |
| 2015 (1436) | June 17th - July 16th | July 17-19 | September 23-26 |
| 2016 (1437) | June 7th - July 4th | July 5th - July 7th | September 12-15 |
Special features of national holidays
The national holidays of Ulusal Bayramlar, such as the national holiday of Victory or Republic Day, are celebrated in the cities and smaller towns with military parades, torchlight procession and festivals. Part of the pageants are the men of the old Turkish tribe of Zeybek, an old Turkish tribe from the vicinity of İzmir, dressed in original costumes . These holidays are of particular importance for the workers and traders who, after the official part, celebrate their own events in the public squares of the city administration and enjoy themselves with the sounds of kettledrum and oboe until late at night. Every Turkish city has its own folk dances, which are sometimes replaced by dancers from the guest groups from big cities like Ankara or Istanbul. The folk dance festivals are an interesting form of entertainment during the national holidays and strengthen cultural cohesion. In some cities and towns it is also customary to hold wrestling matches or other sporting competitions on national holidays, which take place in the meadows of the area after the official part of the festivities.
Religious holidays
Religious holidays ( Turkish Dînî Bayramlar ) are calculated according to the Islamic lunar calendar . According to the official Gregorian calendar , these holidays do not always fall on the same days of the year. For example, every year the fasting month of Ramazan and “Kurban bayramı” ( Festival of Sacrifice ) are celebrated with a backward calculation of ten days, which means that these holidays occur over time at different times of the year. The "Ramazan bayramı" ( festival of breaking the fast ) is also called "Şeker bayramı" (sugar festival) and is celebrated according to the lunar calendar in the first three days of the 10th month of the lunar calendar (Şevval month), while the "Kurban bayramı" starts on the 10th Day of the 12th month (month of Zilhicce) and lasts for four days. These holidays are still kept alive in the folk tradition.
Friends, relatives and neighbors pay holiday visits to the Sugar and Sacrifice Festival. The young receive prayers of blessing from the elders by kissing the elders' hands. Another tradition is that the children are given small gifts and money. At the sugar festival, visitors are offered sweets and chocolate. On the other hand, at the Festival of Sacrifice, not only candy but also meat from the slaughtered sacrificial animal is offered. According to the scholar Al-Biruni from Khorasan , who lived in the 10th century, offering sweets on the holidays is related to the fact that a Persian king discovered the sweet juice of sugar cane on a Nouruz day. After that, candy production is said to have originated and spread.
The Festival of Sacrifice in Turkey goes by with less fun and pleasure than the Sugar Festival. It refers to the story of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham in the Old Testament), which is very important in the Islamic religion . At the moment when the prophet's son was about to be sacrificed, a ram descended from heaven with the command of God to sacrifice him in place of his son.
Between the months of Şevval and Zilhicce lies the month of Zilkade (11th month). It is believed that getting married this month will bring no luck. The first day of the festival of sacrifice is the day on which the sacrificial animals are slaughtered in Mina (the resting place for Mecca pilgrims) near Mecca. According to Islamic belief, every economically well-off servant of God is obliged to make a sacrifice. Sheep, cattle or camels are slaughtered as sacrificial animals. The animal to be sacrificed must be healthy and the female animal must not be pregnant.
There are some traditions that must be followed in delivery. Some of these can be traced back to Islam, some of which are country or region-specific traditions. For example, in some areas of Turkey it is customary for the rams to be sacrificed to be washed beforehand, coated with henna and decorated with angel hair and ribbons. Brushing with henna is a very old custom in Turkey, which can also be observed in Judaism. Decorating with angel hair and ribbons, on the other hand, is a custom that occurs in some regions of the Turkish tribes. A third of the sacrificial meat remains in the house, a further third is distributed to neighbors and the last to relatives in need and to the poor.
A common feature of the sugar and sacrifice festival is that social amusements are organized. In the cities and towns in particular, the children and young people meet at the places where the sacrificial animals are slaughtered. These places act as a kind of exhibition center at these times.
Those holidays that are held after the end of a one-month fasting period are called sugar festivals. In this month of Ramadan, some customs and traditions are important. In the past, people who were fasting waited for the morning hours, especially in summer, when the nights were short, without sleeping, to eat the sahur meal, the breakfast before dawn during Lent. Thus the time after the common nocturnal prayer until the breaking of the fast in the morning was spent with amusement. On the nights of Lent there were theater performances such as “ Karagöz ” and “Ortaoyun”. In the inland cities and towns, the gatherings at home and in the coffee houses where folk songwriters perform are different. In addition to folk songs, the folk song poets Aşık tell folk tales that often last several nights.
Holy days and nights
Holy days and nights, similar to Christmas Eve in Christianity , also exist in Islam. On these days the minarets of the mosques are illuminated; in the night there is prayer. Since "kandil" (oil lamps, from the Greek kandíli , καντήλι or κανδήλι, from the Latin candela ) were used for lighting , the holy celebrations are called Kandil. These are:
| Mevlid-i Serif | Birthday of the prophet | مولد النبي maulid an-nabiy |
| Regaip Kandili | Night of wishes, night of the prophet's conception | ليلة الرغائب laylat ar-raġāʾib |
| Miraç Kandili | Heavenly journey | ليلة المعراج laylat al-miʿrāǧ |
| Berat Kandili | Night of forgiveness | ليلة البراءة laylat al-barāʾa andليلة نصف شعبان layla niṣf šaʿbān |
Municipal and other holidays
In addition to the numerous national and religious holidays, there are many others in Turkey, which are sometimes limited to a certain municipality or professional group. Some of them are:
- Teachers Day
- İzmir Liberation Day
- Thanksgiving day
- Libraries Week
- Eskişehir Liberation Day
- Urfa Liberation Day
literature
- Temel Britannica . Volume 3. Bayramlar ve kutsal günler . ISBN 975-7760-51-X , p. 103.
Individual evidence
- ↑ ULUSAL BAYRAM VE GENEL TATİLLER HAKKINDA KANUNDA DEĞİŞİKLİK YAPILMASINA DAİR KANUN - Kanun No. 5892. In: http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/ . Grand National Assembly of Turkey , April 22, 2009, p. 1 , accessed April 25, 2009 (Turkish).