April 23 National Sovereignty and Children’s Day: Atatürk made a present to all the world’s children!
Every year, April 23 is celebratin National Sovereignty and Children’s Day in Turkey, which Atatürk (the founder of the Turkish Republic) made a present to all the world’s children. In Turkey this day is also Known as "23 Nisan", the day commemorates the first opening of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at Ankara in 1920.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk proclaimed the parliament an important step toward building a new state after the Ottoman Empire was defeated during World War I. Turkey officially celebrated Grand National Assembly Day on April 23 and held a children’s week starting on that day, from 1923–1934. The Turkish government then combined the two events into National Sovereignty and Children’s Day in 1935. Turkish Radio and Television Corporation has been organizing international children’s festivals, held during the week of April 23, since 1979.
Many people in Turkey commemorate the first gathering of the Grand National Assembly (the Turkish Parliament), which took place on April 23, 1920, by attending local ceremonies or laying wreaths at monuments of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The biggest ceremony takes place at the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.
Because Ataturk dedicated the Turkish Republic to children, Turkish schoolchildren take seats in the Parliament for the day and symbolically govern the country. They elect a president who then addresses the country on national television. The state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) invites children, aged 8 to 14, from different countries around the world to Turkey. These children stay with Turkish families for a week and participate in children’s festivals, which culminate is a gala-performance on April 23. This day children also receive toys and sweets as gifts from their parents.
Symbols
The most common symbols of National Sovereignty and Children’s Day are:
Every year, April 23 is celebratin National Sovereignty and Children’s Day in Turkey, which Atatürk (the founder of the Turkish Republic) made a present to all the world’s children. In Turkey this day is also Known as "23 Nisan", the day commemorates the first opening of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at Ankara in 1920.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk proclaimed the parliament an important step toward building a new state after the Ottoman Empire was defeated during World War I. Turkey officially celebrated Grand National Assembly Day on April 23 and held a children’s week starting on that day, from 1923–1934. The Turkish government then combined the two events into National Sovereignty and Children’s Day in 1935. Turkish Radio and Television Corporation has been organizing international children’s festivals, held during the week of April 23, since 1979.
Many people in Turkey commemorate the first gathering of the Grand National Assembly (the Turkish Parliament), which took place on April 23, 1920, by attending local ceremonies or laying wreaths at monuments of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The biggest ceremony takes place at the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.
Because Ataturk dedicated the Turkish Republic to children, Turkish schoolchildren take seats in the Parliament for the day and symbolically govern the country. They elect a president who then addresses the country on national television. The state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) invites children, aged 8 to 14, from different countries around the world to Turkey. These children stay with Turkish families for a week and participate in children’s festivals, which culminate is a gala-performance on April 23. This day children also receive toys and sweets as gifts from their parents.
Symbols
The most common symbols of National Sovereignty and Children’s Day are:
- A globe or a circle, symbolizing the world.
- A group of children holding hands, symbolizing unity.
- The Turkish flag, symbolizing Turkish statehood.
Sugar Feast or Şeker Bayramı / Ramadan Feast or Ramazan Bayramı
The Sugar Feast (Şeker Bayramı or Eid ul-Fitr) is the three day festival following Ramadan. Eid ul-Fitr is the Arabic name of this religious holiday. Eid meaning “festivity” and Fitr meaning “original nature.” It refers to celebration of the end of the thirty days of fasting during Ramadan.
Bayram is the term used in Turkish for national holidays, both official and religious. There are two terms in Turkish for this holiday: Ramazan Bayramı (Ramadan Feast) takes its name from the Ramadan and Şeker Bayramı (Sugar Feast) comes by courtesy of the special and mostly sweet food served to visitors.
The Ramadan Feast is the first day of Shawwal, which is the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Each month in the Islamic calendar begins with the first sighting of the new moon. As a result, the exact dates of the Ramadan Feast change every year, according to the Gregorian calendar. This year celebration will be 24-26 of May. Celebrating the Ramadan Feast after a month of fasting is one of the earliest and most important traditions of Islam.
The symbols of the Ramadan Feast include:
a new moon, sweets or traditional desserts, a cup of Turkish tea or coffee.
These symbols can be seen in artwork related to the Ramadan Feast in Turkey.
During three day celebration of Sugar Feast the flow of life changes drastically. For locals it means holiday since schools, government offices, banks and even the private establishments are closed for three and a half days starting from noon before first day of the holiday (Arife) it is time to get ready for the holiday.
People clean their houses, go shopping for candies and chocolate, they prepare traditional pastries like baklava, get a haircut and perform similar personal maintenance. It is important to look dashing with recently, special for the occasion purchased clothes. This attire is called bayramlık.
Especially nice meals are made during the feast, for guest. Such as börek, içli köfte, baklava, kadayıf, sarma,dolma,sütlaç …
It is strictly forbidden to fast the first day of the holiday, so a light breakfast is strongly recommended. Then, as a prophetic tradition, the obligatory charity (Sadaqat-ul-fitr), is paid to the poor and needy people. Afterwards, the men perform the Bayram prayer (Eid) in their neighborhood mosques. The rest of the three days people visit relatives and friends, and may also go to the graveyards to pay their respect to the ancestors.
During the Sugar Feast it is important to honor the elderly; therefore mostly the younger generation visit the older ones. Kissing the right hand of the elderly and placing it on the forehead is a custom to show respect and greet them for the bayram. People greet each other by saying Bayramınız Kutlu/Mübarek Olsun, meaning “May Your Feast Be Blessed”. Visits to relatives are very important, on this way families strengthen the bond between each other.
One of my personal favorites of the Sugar Feast is the tradition of children going around in their neighborhood, from door to door and wishing people a happy bayram. As a reward, they receive candies, chocolates, or even a small amount of money. It makes the streets even busier with cheerful gangs of kids running around, counting their revenues.
Sources:
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/turkey/ramadan-feast
https://theistanbulinsider.com/sugar-feast-or-seker-bayrami-the-end-of-ramadan/
The Sugar Feast (Şeker Bayramı or Eid ul-Fitr) is the three day festival following Ramadan. Eid ul-Fitr is the Arabic name of this religious holiday. Eid meaning “festivity” and Fitr meaning “original nature.” It refers to celebration of the end of the thirty days of fasting during Ramadan.
Bayram is the term used in Turkish for national holidays, both official and religious. There are two terms in Turkish for this holiday: Ramazan Bayramı (Ramadan Feast) takes its name from the Ramadan and Şeker Bayramı (Sugar Feast) comes by courtesy of the special and mostly sweet food served to visitors.
The Ramadan Feast is the first day of Shawwal, which is the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Each month in the Islamic calendar begins with the first sighting of the new moon. As a result, the exact dates of the Ramadan Feast change every year, according to the Gregorian calendar. This year celebration will be 24-26 of May. Celebrating the Ramadan Feast after a month of fasting is one of the earliest and most important traditions of Islam.
The symbols of the Ramadan Feast include:
a new moon, sweets or traditional desserts, a cup of Turkish tea or coffee.
These symbols can be seen in artwork related to the Ramadan Feast in Turkey.
During three day celebration of Sugar Feast the flow of life changes drastically. For locals it means holiday since schools, government offices, banks and even the private establishments are closed for three and a half days starting from noon before first day of the holiday (Arife) it is time to get ready for the holiday.
People clean their houses, go shopping for candies and chocolate, they prepare traditional pastries like baklava, get a haircut and perform similar personal maintenance. It is important to look dashing with recently, special for the occasion purchased clothes. This attire is called bayramlık.
Especially nice meals are made during the feast, for guest. Such as börek, içli köfte, baklava, kadayıf, sarma,dolma,sütlaç …
It is strictly forbidden to fast the first day of the holiday, so a light breakfast is strongly recommended. Then, as a prophetic tradition, the obligatory charity (Sadaqat-ul-fitr), is paid to the poor and needy people. Afterwards, the men perform the Bayram prayer (Eid) in their neighborhood mosques. The rest of the three days people visit relatives and friends, and may also go to the graveyards to pay their respect to the ancestors.
During the Sugar Feast it is important to honor the elderly; therefore mostly the younger generation visit the older ones. Kissing the right hand of the elderly and placing it on the forehead is a custom to show respect and greet them for the bayram. People greet each other by saying Bayramınız Kutlu/Mübarek Olsun, meaning “May Your Feast Be Blessed”. Visits to relatives are very important, on this way families strengthen the bond between each other.
One of my personal favorites of the Sugar Feast is the tradition of children going around in their neighborhood, from door to door and wishing people a happy bayram. As a reward, they receive candies, chocolates, or even a small amount of money. It makes the streets even busier with cheerful gangs of kids running around, counting their revenues.
Sources:
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/turkey/ramadan-feast
https://theistanbulinsider.com/sugar-feast-or-seker-bayrami-the-end-of-ramadan/