Public holidays in Turkey

The Turkish Holidays (Turkish: Türk Bayramları ) are days on which reminds you of important events on a national level and celebrated socially and culturally. Holidays in the Turks have a long tradition until today they maintain the Nowruz spring festival called their ancestors.

National holidays

* Date according to Islamic calendar, the corresponding date in the Gregorian calendar is another in each year.

Based on the Islamic calendar, however, the holidays are not movable.

Holidays according to the Gregorian calendar

Peculiarities of National Holidays

The national holidays ( Turkish Ulusal BAYRAMLAR ) as the national holiday of victory or the Republic Day are celebrated in the cities and small towns with military parades, torchlight parades and festivals. A part of the pageants are dressed in original costumes men of old Turkish tribe of the zeybek, an ancient Turkish tribe from around İzmir. Of particular importance are those holidays are for the workers and traders who in the public squares of the city council celebrate their own events after the official part and have fun until late into the night with timpani and Oboeklängen. Each city has its own Turkish folk dances, which are sometimes replaced by dancers of guest groups from the big cities like Ankara or Istanbul. The folk dance festivals are an interesting form of entertainment in the national holidays and strengthen the cultural cohesion. In some cities and towns, it is also common for national holidays to organize wrestling matches and other sporting events that take place in the meadows around after the official part of the celebrations.

Religious Holidays

Religious Holidays ( Turkish Dini BAYRAMLAR ) are based on the Islamic lunar calendar. After the official calendar gregrorianischen therefore these holidays do not always fall on the same days of the year. For example, the fasting month of Ramazan and " Kurban Bayramı " ( Festival of Sacrifice ) is celebrated with a recalculation of ten days each year, making these holidays occur over time to a wide variety of seasons. The " Ramazan Bayramı " or " Şeker Bayramı " (sugar festival) is celebrated according to the lunar calendar in the first three days of the 10th month of the lunar calendar (month Şevval ), the " Kurban Bayramı ", however, from the 10th day of the 12th month (month Zilhicce ) and lasts four days. These holidays are still maintained in the tradition of the people in a living way.

For sugar and festival of sacrifice holiday visits are paid from friends, relatives and neighbors. The boys receive blessing prayers of the elders by the boy kissing the hands of the elders. Another tradition is that the children small gifts and money will be awarded. The visitors are offered on hard candy sugar and chocolate. On the feast of sacrifice, however, not only sweets but also meat of the slaughtered animal sacrifices are offered. The scholar Al -Biruni made ​​according to Khorasan, who lived in the 10th century, the offering of sweets at the holidays is related to the fact that a Persian king, has discovered at a Nowruz Day the sweet juice of the sugar cane. After the candy production should be emerged and spread.

The Festival of Sacrifice flies in Turkey compared to the sugar feast with less fun and pleasure. It refers to the Islamic religion very important story of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham in the Old Testament). The moment when the son of the Prophet was to be sacrificed, a ram descended from heaven with the command of God to sacrifice him instead of his son.

Between the months Şevval and Zilhicce the month Zilkade is ( 11 months ). It believes that it brings no luck to get married this month. The first day of the sacrificial feast is the date the sacrificial animals are slaughtered at the Mina ( the resting place for pilgrims to Mecca ) in Mecca. According to Islamic belief, each economically well-to servant of God is obliged to make a sacrifice. As sacrificial animals sheep, cattle or camels are slaughtered. The sacrificial animal must be healthy and the female must not be pregnant.

There are some traditions that must be followed when Brin About narrowing. Some of these are due to Islam, which in turn are some country-or region-specific traditions. For example, it is in some areas of Turkey custom that the sacrificial rams previously washed with henna painted and decorated with streamers and ribbons. The painting with henna in Turkey is a very old custom, which is also observed in Judaism. Decorating with streamers and ribbons, however, is a custom that occurs in some regions of the Turkish tribes. A third of the victims flesh remains in the house, another third is distributed to neighbors and the last to the needy relatives and to the poor.

A common feature of the sugar and sacrifice feast is that social pleasures will be organized. Especially in the cities and villages, the children and young people meet at the places where the sacrificial animals are slaughtered. These places act at these times as a kind of fairground.

As Fitr holidays are those called to be held after the completion of a month-long fasting period. In this month of Ramadan are some customs and traditions of meaning. Previously waited the fasting person, especially in summer, when the nights were short, without sleeping on the morning hours to take the sahur meal, breakfast before dawn during Lent to itself. Thus, the time spent by the common nightly prayer to break the fast in the morning hours with pleasure. On the nights of Lent there were theater performances such as " Karagöz " and " Ortaoyun ". In the cities and towns in the interior, the meetings differ at home and in the coffee houses, where folk poets occur. In addition to folk songs tell the folk poets Aşık, often lasting several nights folk tales.

Holy Days and Nights

Holy days and nights, as in Christianity, Christmas Eve, also exist in Islam. On these days, the minarets of the mosques are illuminated; at night is prayed. Since you previously for lighting " kandil " (oil lights, from Greek Kandili, καντήλι or κανδήλι, from Latin candela ) used, refers to the holy occasion as Kandil. These are:

Municipal and other holidays

In Turkey still exist apart from the numerous national and religious holidays many others, which sometimes are limited to a particular community or professional group. Some of these are:

• Teacher's Day
• Liberation of İzmir
• Thanksgiving Day
• Library Week
• Liberation Eskisehir
• Liberation Urfa