Children's Day in Turkey

National costume is one of the main attributes of the holiday“Children are the flowers of life!” – for the Turks, this expression has a special meaning. One of the national features of the people is a self-forgetting love for the younger generation. Turkish families, as a rule, have many children, the norm is the presence of three or more children. Interestingly, the state does not apply special incentives to increase the birth rate, but does not limit it.

In Turkey, there is a special holiday dedicated to children – Cocuk Bairami. The date of the national celebration is April 23. Children’s Day is celebrated in honor of the first convocation of the Grand National Assembly in 1920 in Ankara to prepare for the national liberation war, which was the first step of the republican regime. According to the will of the first President of the Republic of Turkey Kemal Ataturk, who believed that the future of the nation is laid in childhood, on this day adults had to temporarily sacrifice their authority.

Main streets and school grounds are decorated with flowers, balloons and traditional portraits of the Leader, as well as Turkish flags. This holiday is usually held in secondary schools. Students are elected by deputies, ministers and mayors. Some of them are allowed to work in the personnel department. On the streets of cities in slender columns pass students in school uniforms. As part of the holiday, concerts and competitions among schoolchildren are organized, as well as seminars, Olympiads and briefings, in which children from different countries take part. For them, the management of educational institutions organizes excursions, as well as accommodation in the homes of Turkish families. As a rule, these children attend Turkish schools in their homeland, where, in addition to basic subjects, they study the language and national traditions.

Parents also strive to congratulate their children and give sweets and toys. Many go after official events to cafes or entertainment centers, to the beach or to the mountains.