National Sovereignty and Children's Day () is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

commemorating the foundation of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

, on 23 April 1920. It is also observed by

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

Background

23 April is the day that the

was founded in 1920. The national council denounced the government of the Ottoman Sultan

Mehmed VI Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as ''Şahbaba'' () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the penultimate Ottoman Cal ...

and announced a temporary constitution. During the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, the Grand National Assembly met in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and laid down the foundations of a new, independent, secular and modern republic from the ashes of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Following the defeat of the Allied invasion forces on September 9, 1922 and the signing of the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...

on July 24, 1923, the Turkish Government started the task of establishing the institutions of a state. 23 April was declared "National Sovereignty Day" on May 2, 1921. Since 1927, the holiday has also been celebrated as

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honour of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

. Thus, Turkey became the first country to officially declare Children's Day a national holiday. In 1981, the holiday was officially named "National Sovereignty and Children's Day".

Countries where it is celebrated

23 April is celebrated as ''National Sovereignty and Children's Day'' in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. The Kosovar Turks in The Republic of Kosovo use the day as "Kosovar Turk Day". After Kosovo declared independence in 2008, the government let all ethnicities in the nation pick a day and celebrate it for their ethnic groups and 23 April got picked for the Kosovar Turks. Since 23 April 2009, it is a national holiday.

Customs

Every year, children in Turkey celebrate National Sovereignty and Children's Day as a national holiday. Similar to other April events, Children's Day celebrations are often held outdoors. Schools participate in week-long ceremonies marked by performances in all fields in large stadiums watched by the entire nation. Students decorate their classrooms with flags, balloons and handmade ornaments.

Anıtkabir Anıtkabir (; ) is a mausoleum complex located in the Çankaya district of Ankara, Turkey. It serves as the resting place of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first President of the Turkish Republic. Designed by architects Emin Onat and ...

is visited by children and politicians every year. Among the activities on this day, the children send their representatives to replace state officials and high ranking civil servants in their offices. The

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, the cabinet ministers, provincial governors, and mayors all turn over their positions to children's representatives in a purely

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

exercise. On this day, children also replace the parliamentarians in the Grand National Assembly and hold a ceremonial special session to discuss matters concerning children's issues. After

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

proclaimed 1979 as the

International Year of the Child UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child. The proclamation was signed on January 1, 1979, by United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. A follow-up to the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the proclamation ...

, the

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish: ) is the national public broadcasting, public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio broadcaster in Turkey. Before the introductio ...

(TRT) organized the first TRT International April 23 Children's Festival. Five countries participated in this first holiday. Over the years, this number grew steadily, resulting in children from about 50 countries coming to Turkey in an official ceremony every year to participate in the festival. During the time, children stay with Turkish families and interact with the Turkish children and learn about each other's countries and cultures. The foreign children groups also participate in the ceremonial session of the Grand National Assembly.

Celebration gallery

File:Ataturk-23-4-1929-celebrations.jpg,

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

(mid) in

on the "Day of National Sovereignty", present-day the "National Sovereignty and Children's Day" (1929) File:Murat Boz Antalya2008.jpg,

Murat Boz Murat Boz (born 7 March 1980) is a Turkish people, Turkish singer, songwriter and actor. Boz began his solo career by releasing his first single, "Aşkı Bulamam Ben", in 2006. In the following year his first studio album titled ''Maximum (Mura ...

performing on stage as part of the TRT International April 23 Children's Festival (2008) File:Children'sDay07.JPG, Children from

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

performing folk dance on the street in Istanbul (2014)

References

External links

* * https://www.matekostum.com.tr/yoresel-kiyafetler/ (Traditional clothing examples that are used in 23'rd April ceremonies in Turkey.) {{Public holidays in Turkey Public holidays in Turkey April observances Children's Day Spring (season) in Turkey