Bayram is the Turkic word for a nationally-celebrated festival or holiday, applicable to both national (i.e. secular) and religious celebrations. In accordance with this dual applicability, the method with which one determines the yearly timing of Bayrams is different for national and religious holidays. Likely owing to the enduring

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

influence in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and parts of

South-Eastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

, many non-Turkish peoples like

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...

Albanian Muslims Turco-Albanian ( el, Τουρκαλβανοί, ''Tourk-alvanoi'') is an ethnographic, religious, and derogatory term used by Greeks for Muslim Albanians from 1715 and thereafter.Millas, Iraklis (2006). "Tourkokratia: History and the image of Turks ...

Gorani people The Gorani (, ) or Goranci (, ), are a Slavic Muslim ethnic group inhabiting the Gora region—the triangle between Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia. They number an estimated 60,000 people, and speak a transitional South Slavic dialect, c ...

Pomaks Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...

as well as Muslims from the

Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

such as

Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Europ ...

, Avars, Ingush and Muslims from

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and other

Turkic peoples The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West, Central, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging t ...

, have similarly adopted the use of the word "Bayram", using the term "Lesser Bairam" to refer to their own

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

celebrations; "Greater Bairam" refers to

Eid al Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah' ...

. State holidays in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

have set dates under the nationally-used

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

, while the Islamic religious holidays are coordinated and publicly announced in advance by the Government's

Presidency of Religious Affairs The Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey ( tr, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, normally referred to simply as the Diyanet) is an official state institution established in 1924 by the orders of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk under article 136 of t ...

department according to the

Lunar Calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gre ...

, and are subsequently accommodated into the national Gregorian Calendar, which results in the dates for religious holidays changing every year with a shift margin of approximately 11 days. Large scale non-Turkish or non-Islamic traditions and celebrations may similarly be called Bayram, as illustrated by

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

being referred to as "Cadılar Bayramı" (i.e. "Bayram of Witches"),

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

as "Paskalya Bayramı" (i.e. "Easter Bayram"),

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

as "Noel Bayramı" (i.e. "Christmas Bayram"),

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

as "Hamursuz Bayramı" ("No-dough Bayram"), and

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

as "Yeniden Adanma Bayramı" (i.e. "Renewal/Rededication Bayram"). However, not every special occasion or holiday is referred to as a Bayram, as illustrated by the case of

World Health Day World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as other related organizations. In 1948, the WHO held the First World Health Assembly. Th ...

, or Liberation of Istanbul, among others.

National festivals of Turkey

New Years' Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Whi ...

("Yılbaşı" or "Yılbaşı Bayramı") *

National Sovereignty and Children's Day National Sovereignty and Children's Day ( tr, Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı) is a public holiday in Turkey commemorating the foundation of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, on 23 April 1920. It is also observed by Northern Cyprus. Bac ...

("Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı"), April 23 (1920) *

Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of Wage labour, labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every ye ...

("İşçi Bayramı"), May 1 *

Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day The Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day ( tr, Atatürk'ü Anma, Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı), is an annual Turkish national holiday celebrated on May 19 to commemorate Mustafa Kemal's landing at Samsun on May 19, 1919, which is regard ...

("Atatürk'ü Anma, Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı"), May 19 (1919) *

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

("Zafer Bayramı"), August 30 (1922) *

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

("Cumhuriyet Bayramı"), October 29 (1923) * Cabotage Day is coasting festival for the anniversary of Turkish coasting independence (cabotage rights). Every First July (1926) * Turkism Day, 3 May (1945) * Democracy and National Unity Day, 15 July (2016) Former national festival *

Freedom and Constitution Day The Freedom and Constitution Day ( tr, 27 Mayıs Hürriyet ve Anayasa Bayramı) was a former public holiday in Turkey celebrated on 27 May between 1963 and 1981 in commemoration of the 27 May 1960 military coup and the new constitution. By the 1 ...

("Hürriyet ve Anayasa Bayramı"), May 27 (1960) * İyd-i Millî, 23 July (1909)

Religious festivals of Turkey

("Şeker Bayramı", i.e. "Bayram of Sweets", or, "Ramazan Bayramı", i.e. "Ramadan Bayram"), 1st of

Shawwal Shawwal ( ar, شَوَّال, ') is the tenth month of the lunar based Islamic calendar. ''Shawwāl'' stems from the verb ''shāla'' () which means to 'lift or carry', generally to take or move things from one place to another, Fasting during S ...

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's co ...

("Kurban Bayramı", i.e. "Sacrifice Bayram"),

Dhu al-Hijjah Dhu al-Hijja ( ar, ذُو ٱلْحِجَّة, translit=Ḏū al-Ḥijja, ), also spelled Zu al-Hijja, is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. It is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, one in which the ''Hajj, Ḥajj'' (P ...

10-13 *

("Hamursuz" (mean matzah) bayramı, mostly celebrated by Turkish Jews or Jewish minorities and also locally celebrated by some unreligious groups as folk festival) *

(It's normally called as "paskalya yortusu“ at Turkey's west but some groups in the east call it "Paskalya Bayramı)

Folk festivals

Newroz Newroz or Nawroz ( ku, نەورۆز, Newroz) is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture. The lighting of the fires at the beginning of the evening of March 21 is the main symbol of Newroz among t ...

(“Nevruz Bayramı" or "Ergenekon Bayramı" is celebrate spring equinox mostly count as real new year and justice of the God.) * Hidirellez bayramı is representing the starting of spring and summer days. *

Kosaqan Kosa ( Turkish: ''Kosa'' or "Koça", Azerbaijani Turkish: ''Qoça'') or Qochaqan (Turkish: ''Koçagan'') is a spring feast and festival Turkic and Altai folklore. Arranged for the god that called Kocha Khan (Turkish: ''Koça Han''). So this is a b ...

or Yılgayakh - A spring feast and festival Turkic and Altai folklore. * Sayaqan or

Yhyakh Yhyаkh ( Yakut: ''Ыһыах'') is the New Year holiday in the Sakha Republic. Celebration Sakha people celebrate the New Year twice a year – in winter with the rest of citizens of Russia, and in summer – according to the ancient traditi ...

- A summer feast and festival Turkish folklore. So this is a blessing, fertility and abundance ceremony. *

Paktaqan Pakta or Paqtaqan is an autumn feast and festival Turkic Tengrism and Altai folklore.Türk Mitolojisi Ansiklopedik Sözlük, Celal Beydili, Yurt Yayınevi Arranged for the god that called Pakta. So this is a blessing, fertility and abundance cerem ...

- An autumn feast and festival Turkic and Altai folklore. *

Paynaqan Payna or Paynaqan is a winter feast and festival Turkic Tengrism and Altai folklore. Arranged for the goddess that called Payna. So this is a blessing, fertility and abundance ceremony. Description Payna was a mythological female character associ ...

- A winter and pine tree feast and festival like Christmas in Turkic and Altai folklore. *

Nardoqan Pomegranate (in Turkish: Nar) thematic table in Nardugan Nardoqan or Nardugan ( Kazakh: ''нардуган'', Turkish: ''Nardoğan'' or ''Nardugan'', Azerbaijani: ''Narduqan'') was a Turkic holiday concept. Nowadays, it is most commonly used to ...

- Nardoqan or Narduğan was a Sumerian and Turkic-Mongolian holiday, referred to the winter solstice.

References

External links

* Türk Dil Kurumu (TDK,

Turkish Language Association The Turkish Language Association ( tr, Türk Dil Kurumu, TDK) is the regulatory body for the Turkish language, founded on 12 July 1932 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. The Institution acts as the off ...

): Definition of the wor
Bayram
(The dictionary data base on the TDK site based on: Divanü Lugati't-Türk ("Compendium of the languages of the Turks") of

Mahmud al-Kashgari Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammed al-Kashgari, ''Maḥmūd ibnu 'l-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Kāšġarī'', , tr, Kaşgarlı Mahmûd, ug, مەھمۇد قەشقىرى, ''Mehmud Qeshqiri'' / Мәһмуд Қәшқири uz, Mahmud Qashg'ariy / М ...

, 1072–1074)
List of Religious Days and Holidays, Presidency of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey

{{Turkey topics Festivals in Turkey Turkish words and phrases Turkic mythology

National festivals of Turkey

Religious festivals of Turkey

Folk festivals

See also

References

External links