Do you think Christmas and New Year's are the same?

                     "Happy New Year, Everyone Be Healthy and Happy"

The New Year, which means a new beginning in every field, is celebrated with different traditions and events in many countries around the world. The common purpose of all celebrations is to wish that the next year will bring beauty. New Year's Day, which connects 31 December to 1 January and is the beginning of the Gregorian calendar, and Christmas are fundamentally different from each other, but due to their close dates, they are considered the same by some in our country. Christmas is when the entire Christian world goes to churches on December 25 and January 6 to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and in this sense, Christmas is known as a religious celebration. New Year's Eve, on the other hand, is a celebration that all people of the world come together to welcome the new year, without any religious significance. Christians celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus and combine New Year's celebrations with the celebration of Christmas as a holiday. Most Muslims celebrate New Year's Eve as the arrival of a new year. While some Christian denominations oppose the secularization and commercialization of Christmas and Christmas on the grounds that it is not of Christian origin but of pagan (pagan) origin, Muslim groups believe that New Year's Eve and Christmas are not related to Islam and that Santa Claus, pine tree, turkey in New Year's celebrations. opposes on the grounds of customs such as drinking, giving and receiving gifts. Why are Christmas and New Year's Eve being discussed, what is the origin of Christmas, why are New Year's celebrations and New Year's celebrations being opposed?

Christmas and New Year's Celebrations

As the word Christmas, in English it means "the rite of Christ-Hz. It is explained with "Christmas", which means "the celebration of the birth of Jesus". The word "Christmas" as "Cristes maesse" in Old English appeared in 1123 and started to be used as of 1568. According to religious and historical sources, the concept of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in the first three centuries in Christianity did not occur and there was no celebration called Christmas or Christmas. During this period, the only celebration to be associated with the birth of Jesus is the Epiphany celebration on January 6, when some Eastern Churches celebrate Jesus' baptism by the prophet John as a sign of his coming as a savior. At the time when the Epiphany celebrations began to emerge and become widespread, the tradition of celebrating the birth of Jesus in the Christian world has not yet emerged. According to experts in religion and history, the year and day of Jesus' birth are not known because religious sources do not give much information about the birth of Jesus. In addition, there is no information in the Bible about the celebration of Christmas or not.

While Catholics and Protestants celebrate Christmas on December 25, countries such as Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Egypt, Serbia, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan consider the night that connects January 6 to January 7 as Christmas. The difference in the date of Christmas between Catholics and Orthodox is due to the fact that the two sides adopt different calendars. The Gregorian Calendar (Gregorian Calendar), which is the most widely used in the world today, is the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope XIII. It was started to be implemented by Gregorius in 1582. According to the calendar adopted for Easter to coincide with the spring equinox, Christmas also falls on December 25. It is believed that the church chose this date to adopt and assimilate the traditions of the pagan festival of Saturnalia. pagan Roman people who adopted Christianity; they could not abandon their old Paganist habits of celebrating the birth of the sun and integrated this tradition with the Christian faith. Hz. Christians, who believe that Jesus is the savior god, celebrate the 25th of December, which is considered the birthday of the sun god, to Hz. Considering the day Jesus was born, they started to celebrate this night as the Gregorian New Year and Christmas every year. No matter what date the birth of Jesus is celebrated in the historical process, Christmas has become a sacred time for Christians.

However, nowadays, the importance given to the celebration of Christmas has changed. It has now been observed that many Christians do not fast before the birth of Jesus Christ and do not attend the night service to wait for his birth. Today, there are Christians who celebrate Christmas religiously or secularly, and there are Christians who do not. We can list the reasons put forward by those who do not celebrate Christmas in the researches as follows:

• The exact date of Jesus' birth is not known,
• There is no clear information about whether it will be celebrated in the Bible,
• Including the belief that Christmas traditions come from Paganism and the influence of other cults,
• Including legendary figures such as Santa Claus today,
• Increasing commercialization of Christmas today

Christmas and New Year's Symbols

Christmas/Christmas Tree:

The origin of the Christmas Tree on Christmas Day comes from the "winter solstice" celebrated by pagans. Pagans decorate their homes with pine tree branches or bring small pine trees to their homes on these dates. they would bring. The only purpose of this is to remind the "spring" of the pine trees, which can stay alive during the harsh winter. According to historical sources, the Christmas tree used on Christmas Eve first appeared in Germany in 1521 or 1605. The Germans first decorated the fir tree, which represents the “Tree of Paradise” on the banks of the Rhine, with lights, fruits and bright ornaments. It was believed that these illuminations on the tree were caused by the Yule Festival, that those candles represented immortality, and expelled evil spirits and monsters.

Electric Christmas lights are also a modern alternative to the old and traditional candles that the Germans placed on their trees, an example of the commercialization of Christmas in the global economy. In 1882, Thomas Edison's business partner, Edward H. Johnson, created the first Christmas tree illuminated with colored electric lights. This application spread all over the world in a short time. The pine tree, created from books, has taken its place among the choices most frequently applied by secular families.

Santa Claus (Santa Claus):

One of the main elements of the Christmas holiday is Santa Claus. He is a legendary person who is believed to distribute gifts to children on Christmas night. Young children believe that Santa brings their Christmas presents, and of course they love Santa very much. The legend of Santa Claus is associated with St. Nicolas, who lived in Anatolia. Saint Nicholas MS. He was born in Demre (Antalya-Kaş), known as Patara (an ancient city near Fethiye) around 300 BC and served as an Archbishop there. Since Santa Claus was associated with St. Nicolas and was the Archbishop of Antalya, Santa Claus festivities began to be held in Antalya Demre every year since 1981. The church was restored and a statue of Santa Claus was erected in its garden. While some segments interpret this situation with cultural interaction, some segments interpret it as an extension of missionary activities. The consensus is that Santa Claus had nothing to do with St. Nicolas as the legendary person who handed out gifts to children on his birthday.

The conversion of St. Nicholas into Santa Claus first took place in Germany, and this tradition later spread to countries with a majority of reform churches. Santa Claus has gained a reputation among the people as one of the most important cultural elements of Christianity. However, the idea that the figure of Santa Claus is directly related to Christianity is wrong because the figure of Santa Claus came to the USA with German and Dutch immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. Santa Claus has become an indispensable element of New Year's celebrations over time. In 1890, merchant James Edgar started an unforgettable tradition of dressing up as Santa Claus and welcoming children in the aisles of his Brockton, Massachusetts store. "Representative Santas" have since become one of the indispensable Christmas and New Year symbols of stores and in recent years shopping malls.

Christmas/Christmas Gifts and Cards:

1. Since the beginning of the 19th century, Christmas has started to be celebrated as a holiday free of religious motifs and concentrated around the exchange of gifts. Christmas celebrations have also been affected by the socio-economic changes in the world. The Christmas season has started to be a period of revival in the economy in many countries. The "Christmas shopping festival" begins on the Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year in many countries, and sales are increased.

From the earliest days of Christmas celebrations, heretic Christians such as Puritans have opposed the idea that Christmas is a remnant of barbarian and pagan customs. In addition, the other issue they objected to today's Christmas celebrations; The loss of the religious meaning of Christmas is because gifts and food are becoming more and more important as efforts to make it more mundane and commercial. The fact that Christmas has become an increasingly commercialized holiday is met with concern by the religious community, who emphasize that this holiday comes from religious roots. Their concerns are not unjustified, as 9 out of 10 Americans surveyed in a 2019 Gallup poll said they celebrate Christmas, but only 35% of respondents said they viewed the holiday as "highly religious."

As a result, Christmas is characterized by religious and historical authorities as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, with religious origins but based on pagan customs and celebrations. The mythological figure Santa Claus and the pine tree and gift giving are essential elements of secular Christmas celebrations today. These celebrations were combined as the Christmas celebrations coincided with the New Year's. Since they are celebrated in the same time period, perceived as one.

New Year's Celebrations in Turkey

In our country, with the calendar change made in 1935, the night connecting 31 December to 01 January is celebrated as the beginning of the new year (Christmas calendar New Year). While Christians celebrate Christmas and New Year's Day as the birthday of Jesus, most Muslims celebrate it as a new year's night as a social custom to share a common culture with the modern world. However, as a result of the cultural interaction that emerged with the effect of globalization, in our New Year's celebrations in recent years, we see the mythological figures of Christmas, such as Santa Claus, the Christmas tree and the gift of Christmas in our country.

In the past, New Year's Eve in Turkey was celebrated by families coming together, chatting with carefully prepared meals, eagerly waiting for the results of the lottery draw, playing bingo, and watching entertaining television programs, especially the belly dancers that came out towards 00:00. However, in recent years, special New Year's programs are organized in entertainment venues outside, and New Year's Eve is celebrated in hotels or restaurants in line with financial means. If the New Year celebration will be at home, preparations are made at home; For example, at the request of the children, plastic pine trees are bought and decorated with lighting, special meals are prepared, and families come together to welcome the New Year together. Special illuminations are made on the streets and avenues with various Christmas decorations, fireworks displays and open-air concerts are held. Just ten seconds before 00.00, we start counting down from 10 in our country, as is the case all over the world, and we welcome the new year with enthusiasm, new hopes and beauties. In other words, people in Turkey celebrate New Year's Eve as the first night of a new year to have fun and share a common culture with a modern world.

Muslims in Turkey celebrate New Year's Day, not Christmas. Since it has been accepted as a part of Western culture in recent years, it has been claimed that the New Year's celebrations and buying and decorating pine trees at the New Year's Eve negatively affect our culture in our country. It has been thought that such a celebration is not in our culture. However, according to Sumerologist Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, New Year's celebrations are an old Turkish tradition as the "Rebirth-Pine Festival" and the past name of Christmas was Nargudan. According to the beliefs of the Turks before the period of monotheistic religions, there was a Maple Tree in the middle of the earth, which is considered the heart of the earth. The top of this tree extends to the palace of the god Ülgen sitting in the sky, and it was called the 'tree of life'. God Ulgen, as the protector of people, used to sit in his palace with a beard and robes and rule the night, day and sun. According to İlmiye Çığ, who stated that the Sun is very important for Turks, and according to the beliefs of the Turks at that time, on December 22, when the nights began to get shorter and the days to get longer, the night would fight the day, and after a long war, the day would win by defeating the night. This meant the rebirth of the sun, the new birth, and the Turks called this holiday 'Nardugan'. Pomegranate; sun, tugan means 'born'. The Turks used to celebrate the victory and rebirth of the sun with great festivities under the Maple Tree. In addition, Avalanche states that the holiday, which is celebrated as Christmas in the west and as the New Year in our country and known as Nargudan in the old Turks, was carried and spread to Europe with the Hun invasion. According to him, the western world, along with Christianity, started to celebrate the Nargudan ceremony with the birth of Jesus and celebrate it with the name of Christmas.

Although it is known that New Year's Eve celebrations in our country do not have a religious content and are celebrated only for fun, street interviews are generally held every year asking questions such as "Is celebrating New Year's Eve a haram, a sin, or is it suitable for our culture?" I would also like to point out that the interviews were mostly conducted by the conservative segment. What I'm wondering is, when New Year's Eve was celebrated with belly dancers, was the New Year's day questioned as much as it is today, whether it is haram or not, is it permissible, or is it not suitable for our culture?

Christmas Interviews

2018-2019-2021 Street Interviews

In a Kayseri street interview on December 26, 2018, 43 people were asked "Is it a sin to celebrate New Year's Eve?"

• 19 people are sinful because: “It is not suitable for our culture”, “It is forbidden by our religion”, “There is no such thing in Islam, it is a Christian thing”, “Christmas tree is a sin”.
• 17 people are not a sin because: “There are those who think that it is celebrated as a Christmas holiday, but it has nothing to do with religion”, it is a sin to celebrate Christmas, not New Year's”, “the excitement, joy and fun of entering the new year”, “We do everything that Europeans do, is it a sin, not a sin? expressed as ”.
• 7 people defined whether or not the New Year's celebration is a sin or not depends on how it is celebrated, and if it is celebrated by drinking alcohol, it is a sin.

In an interview with Istanbul Bakırköy Sokak on December 24, 2019, 24 people are asked "Do Muslims celebrate New Year's Eve?"

• 9 people said congratulations and the reasons were expressed as "Christmas is different, New Year's is different, let people have fun", "There is no objection to religion, if he drinks alcohol, it is his business, "It is not objectionable in our religion, but religious works are not appropriate".
• 11 people replied that they did not celebrate, and just like in previous years, reasons were stated that "There is no such thing in the religion of Islam or in our culture", that it has no place in our religion and that it is not permissible.
• 4 people answered the question as "Who wants to celebrate, who doesn't want to celebrate", "New Year's has nothing to do with everyone's religion and Islam".
• In a street interview held in Istanbul on 19 December 2021, 9 people asked "Do you have any preparations for New Year's Eve?" Answers given:
• “We cannot prepare, bread is now 3,5 TL, there is no old taste of salt left”,
• “There is no preparation, we are in austerity mode, we cannot keep up with the bills”,
• “We would do it if we had money”,
• “There is no preparation because New Year's Eve has nothing to do with us”,
• "We can't make a living anyway, and we're going to deal with New Year's Eve",
• “Muslims do not celebrate New Year”,
• “We do not celebrate because it is not suitable for our culture”,
• “We would have prepared if there was no money”,
• “There is no preparation because every day is the same as every other day”

What do you think about the "New Year's Eve" held in Adana on 26 Dec 2021? What are you planning to do on New Year's Eve? The answers given in the street interview where 21 people were asked are as follows in 3 groups.

• Sin: 5 people said that it is a sin and they did not celebrate because it is against Islam.
• I don't celebrate: 6 people say "they won't celebrate because they think it's just any ordinary day", "only new year, nothing special", "a normal day", "It was the same last year, it's the same this year. I have no expectations.” expressed in their words.
• No money: 9 people stated that they could not celebrate because there was no money: “No money, no bread to take home”, no money, we cannot leave the house”, the economic situation is bad, we cannot do anything”, “from work to home from work to work, no money”, “ there is no economic situation, I can only earn enough money to live”, “I do not plan to do anything because I do not exist”.

In 2020, a 4-day curfew was imposed due to the Covid-19 epidemic at the beginning of the year. All over the world, people were locked in their homes, and because of the epidemic, families could not get together even on holidays, including New Year's Eve. The 2020-2021 global covid-19 outbreak also caused an economic crisis all over the world. While the whole world is still struggling with variants of the Covid-19 virus, our country is trying to fight both the virus and the economic crisis and financial difficulties. So much so that the size and effects of the economic crisis in our country have made people unable to prepare for New Year's Eve even at home. As it can be understood from the interviews above, while the answers given in the interviews in 2018 and 2019 were discussed about the compatibility of New Year's celebrations with our religion and culture, the answer given by people this year was "no, no money". In other words, this year's economic crisis has relieved the discomfort of the conservative section, who sees Christmas celebrations and New Year's celebrations as the same, about New Year's celebrations. Our people are not in a position to think about whether the New Year's celebrations are in our culture, whether they are suitable for our culture or not, whether they are a sin according to Islam.