Spring festival of Hidrellez celebrated in Turkey

By Mustafa Ciftci and Salih Baran

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey marked the arrival of spring with a traditional festival called Hidrellez on Monday.

As part of celebrations of the seasonal festival, people threw their wish papers, pebble stones and olive branches to the sea in the Mediterranean province of Antalya and wished health, job, money, and love.

Coinciding with the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, people threw papers with wishes written on them to Tunca River after getting pre-dawn meal of sahur before starting fasting in the northwestern province of Edirne.

Provincial governor Ekrem Canalp told reporters that it is more special to celebrate the Turkic cultural heritage of Hidrellez on the first day of Ramadan.

Turkish communities around the world celebrate Hidrellez on May 6 while Christians in the Balkans mark it as St. George’s Day on April 23.

There are various theories on the origin of the Hidrellez, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry website.

While some asserting it originated in the Mesopotamian and Anatolian cultures, others claim that the seasonal festival has its roots in the pre-Islamic Central Asian Turkic culture and belief.

It is believed that Hidrellez is the day when prophet Ilyas (Elijah) and Hizir (al-Khidr), a major spiritual figure, who are affiliated with the elements of land, water, fire and earth -- meet on earth.

It is also believed that Hizir and Ilyas are able to meet all the demands of the people, so they write their wishes on a paper and throw them to a sea or river.

Hidrellez has been added to the UNESCO list of “intangible cultural heritage” in 2017.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar