public holidays in Turkey are concerning both Turkish citizens and foreign residents alike because the importance of this issue is relating to work, study, personal, and family plans that are often made based on the date of the official holidays. and learning about the important events in Turkey is an essential step to integrate with the society and know the culture of the country.
In this article, we will accompany you while talking in detail to learn about the most important public holidays in Turkey, and all information and details related to, in addition to talking about the importance of learning about holidays, official and unofficial occasions in Turkey.
This is an important article. and it will spare you reading dozens of articles that talk on this topic with broad titles only
we wish you an enjoyable reading.
List of public holidays in Turkey
there are several public holidays during the year in Turkey, including religious, national, or societal occasions, which are official holidays and have been clearly defined by the Turkish constitution.
The following is a list of Turkish public holidays:
-New Year
It is on 01/01 which is the first day of January of every year
It is the first day of every new year
It is called (Yılbaşı) in Turkish
The Turks start their celebration of this day at 12.00 midnight according to the local time in Turkey, and the daylight hours are an official holiday.
-National Sovereignty Day / Children's Day
It takes place on 04/23, the twenty-third day of April of each year.
the name in Turkish is Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı
there are two important occasions for Turkish citizens at This day: the National Sovereignty Day, which is the anniversary of the first opening of the National Assembly at the capital, Ankara, in 1920, and the second occasion is the “Children’s Day” which is a social event, also attract great interest in Turkish society.
One of the traditions followed in Turkey on this day is that the Turkish president honors one of the children and makes him sit on the presidential chair during the feast.
and all states will Celebrate, and parties are organized for children, where they will wear fancy dress or special customs.
- Labor Day:
It is on 01/05, the first day of May of each year
It is called in Turkish: Emek Günü
It is an international day to celebrate and honor workers and explain the importance of their role in society, usually, this day attracts great media attention.
In 2021, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated Labor Day by organizing a luncheon attended by a group of workers, several Turkish officials, and the President himself.
Also, on this day every year, there is a celebration of the Turkish national occasion, "Solidarity Day".
-Youth and Sports Day
It occurs on 05/19 today, the nineteenth of May of each year
It is called in Turkish: Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı
also, this day is the anniversary of the beginning of the war of independence in Turkey, where Turkish forces landed in Samsun province led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1919, so this day is also called “Ataturk Day".
-Democracy and National Unity Day
It takes place on 07/15, the fifteenth day of July of each year
It is called in Turkish: Demokrasi ve Millî Birlik Günü
Turkish citizens celebrate on this day the anniversary of the failure of the July coup in 2016, and since that year this day has been recognized as a national day and an official holiday in Turkey.
Victory day-
It is on 08/30, the thirtieth day of August of each year
It is called in Turkish: Zafer Bayramı
On this day, the citizens remember the last battles of the War of Independence in 1922 and the victory of the Turkish Army Forces over the Allies.
This day is considered a very special day in Turkish history and every year a great celebration is held by the Turkish Ministry of Defense.
-Republic Day
It is on 10/29, the twenty-ninth day of October of each year
it is called in Turkish: Cumhuriyet Bayramı
The citizens celebrate every year the anniversary of declarations of the Turkish Republic, which was in 1923, and this occasion usually extends for 35 hours, starting from 01.00 pm on the day before Republic Day.
-Eid al-Fitr in Turkey
Turkey, like other Muslim countries, celebrates Eid al-Fitr annually on the first of the month of Shawwal, according to the Hijri calendar, and the feast lasts for 3 days.
It is called in Turkish: Ramazan Bayramı or Şeker Bayramı
-Eid al-Adha in Turkey
Like any other Muslim country, Turkey celebrates Eid al-Adha annually on the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth days of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, according to the Hijri calendar, in addition to the half-day before in the afternoon which is the day of standing on Arafat
It is called in Turkish Kurban Bayramı.
Weekend:-
It is Saturday and Sunday of every week
Some entities work Saturday half-time until one o'clock in the afternoon.
Government entities that are closed on public holidays
All of the following are completely suspended on official holidays:
-Governmental institutions, departments, and services, such as electricity, water, gas, population, Notre, the court, etc..
-Universities, institutes, schools, and kindergartens
-Factories and workshops
Public and private companies-
Bank branches-
-Branches of telecommunications companies
-Cafés, restaurants, and malls, for sure they do not break during the weekend, also on the Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha holidays, but they only take the first day off
-stores / except the basic ones such as supermarkets, they operate during holidays, but some of them may close on the first day of each of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and others close halfway before noon only
It also works normally on the weekend
-For pharmacies, the shift system is applied on holidays
-public and private hospitals do not close
-Police stations, emergency police, and emergency services also do not close.
Important Turkish occasions without an official holiday
There are multiple social or religious occasions generally been celebrated, although they are not considered official holidays, the Turkish people celebrate them in different ways, such as distributing sweets, making family visits, or giving gifts.
Hijri date occasions:
Occasions that are celebrated in the Hijri calendar that they are religion-related events:
-The Night of Raghahib / the first night of the month of Rajab
-The Night of Al-Isra and Al-Miraj / the 27 th night of Rajab
-The night of the middle of Sha’ban / the night of the 15th of Sha’ban
- Laylat al-Qadr ( Al-Qadr night ) / the 27th night of Ramadan
-Islamic New Year / the first day of the month of Muharram, the beginning of each Hijri year
Ashura / the tenth day of the month of Muharram-
-The Prophet’s Birthday / the 12th Day of Rabi’ Al-Awwal.
Social events
social events in Turkey:
Mother's Day / Second Sunday in May-
-Father's Day / June 20th
-Teacher's Day / November 24th
-Christmas / December 25th
Women's Day / March 8th
-The importance of learning about public holidays in Turkey
learning about the official holidays in Turkey, the occasions and events celebrated, is very important for those who visit the country to learn about its culture and its important occasions.
The following are the most important points to learn about the official holidays:
-Knowing the closing dates of official and government institutions
Participation in religious and social events-
-Getting to know the official holidays helps in easy integration with Turkish society and getting to know its nature and way of living.
-plan for vacations and trips on holidays.
In this article, we made sure that you will learn about one of the topics that interest residents in Turkey and they are constantly searching for.
as you know; we at Al-Fanar for Insurance and residency services always working to provide you an ideal opportunity to reside in Turkey and integrate with Turkish society and settle.
