Holidays

In Turkey there are around 10 important holidays or celebrations. These days are celebrated according to tradition and importance.
1 January: New Years Day and the day for the introduction of the Gregorian calender.
23 April: Children's day to celebrate the date of independence.
19 May: Day for Young People and at the same time a day in memory of Ataturk because this was the day when the rise against occupation began after the defeat of Turkey in World War I.
30 August: Constitution and victory day. The day when the liberating army drove the occupation troops out of the country.
29 October: Establishment of the Turkish Republic.
10 November: The day in 1938 when Ataturk died in the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. Every year, at the exact time of Ataturk's death, the whole country remembers their first president. Traffic, tv and radio broadcasts and everything else stop for one minute.
Ramadan: The month for fasting when one fasts from sunrise to sunset. It is the ninth month in the arabic calender which is 10-11 days shorter than the Gregorian.
Sugar Festival/Seker Bayram: Three days of celebration following Ramadan.
Celebration of sacrifice/Kurban Bayram: The holiday in memory of Abraham's obedience to God is celebrated around 60 days after Seker Bayram and also lasts for three days.

Weddings and Circumcisions are events that can bring people out onto the streets. For both events people drive around town in their cars tooting the horn. For weddings the bridal couple sit in a specially decorated car. To celebrate circumcisions, the little boy, dressed as a little prince, is usually seen on the back of a pick-up or jeep waving to the passers-by.

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