How and in what way are New Year and Rebirth (Nardugan) Celebrations Done in Turkish Culture?

Some in Turkish society; Since the New Year celebration is seen as a Christian celebration, they do not approve of this celebration, which is not among our religious motifs. Since the 24-25 December 'Christmas' period and the New Year's welcome celebration held on the evening of 31 December are very close to each other, I think that making such comments should be considered normal in a way. However, I do not find the discussions on New Year celebrations very meaningful because some celebrate and some do not. Such discussions divide and tire our society.

Undoubtedly, we all know that what you want to see where you look is as important a factor as the angle from which you look at any event! What you see where you look is actually what you internally expect to see. There is as much difference between a fundamentally positive view of a phenomenon and a negative-based neutral view as there is between the illuminating ability of a firefly and the illuminating ability of the sun. So, if you choose to think that a celebration is causeless and unnecessary, there will be nothing left for you to celebrate in this world.

Let me express this with an example. Let's say I am a person who has a negative view of birthday celebrations and is a bit grumpy. I don't defend this myself; It is the logic and ritual of 'birthday celebrations' that I do not approve of: The main factor is your separation from the womb. The day when this situation occurred is celebrated by your loved ones to be repeated on the same day every year. Celebrations are usually short-lived. Your loved ones buy you surprise gifts. In other words, the gifts that are supposed to satisfy you are chosen randomly, without your consent or desire, as a result of guesswork and instinct. In return, you are obliged to look happy, smile and offer cake to your friends throughout the ceremony. Even if you don't like many of the gifts, you act hypocritically as if you liked them very much with exaggerated sentences. This is a traditional ritual. Theoretically, it is a sign that a person is getting older by another year, which is actually a sign that he is one step closer to natural death. This is why coming of age is not something to celebrate. Moreover, in order for a community to celebrate, an important development must occur that is known to the society. Yes, birth is important for you, but it is not groundbreaking for society. You may not have noticed, but all the people around you were born and joined this society. Birthdays are a very boring and worrying event to celebrate, let alone celebrate.

As you can see, if you don't want to celebrate something, you can find hundreds of reasonable excuses! Of course, the opposite is also possible. A group of people who want to celebrate can celebrate for dozens of logical reasons without thinking too much. The important thing here is what the celebration adds to you or what it takes away from you. A significant portion of our society may find New Year's celebrations negative and harmful for religious reasons. According to them, such celebrations disrupt society and cause our society to become Christian in the future. They make you be the way you live.

Another group may think that these celebrations harm our customs and traditions and that in this way we will adopt the culture of European peoples and gradually break away from our roots. Again, a considerable number of people can say that they see such celebrations as a trap of wild capitalism just to sell things or fill entertainment venues. That's why they want to attract attention by either advocating not celebrating it at all or advocating celebrating it without spending as much money as possible rather than a special celebration.

Here, I have listed for you the basic views of three completely different sociological and political groups that are against the celebration, based on an example. Now we come to the most fun part. I refute all allegations.

First of all, what I do not agree with is the view that New Year's celebrations are a Christian belief. This view is no longer a widely defended view around the world. But it is still accepted this way in our country. Contrary to popular belief, New Year celebrations and Christmas Day belief do not originate from Christianity, but are an extension of Pagan belief supported by Shamanism. In other words, contrary to what we think, it is an event that does not essentially contain Christian propaganda.

Another popular view is that the character called Santa Claus is a figure copied exactly from Scandinavian Mythology. In the meantime, I would like to share with you the opinion of a famous scientist who is accepted by everyone, with whom I agree. Sümerologist Mr. Prof., who was the guest of Fatih Altaylı and Murat Bardakçı, whom I watched on Habertürk channel in previous years, and Teke Tek Özel. Dr. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ made important observations. I would like to convey his thoughts:

“Decorating a pine tree is a completely Turkish tradition. Our relations with the new Turkish states teach us brand new things. Ancient Turks A tree is imagined from the heart of the earth to the sky. This Tree of Life also exists in the Sumerians. At one end stands the Sky God. The sun is sacred in Turks, but it is not accepted as God. On December 22, the sun begins to increasingly illuminate the world again. In other words, the Turks' Sky God regulates the day and night in the sky. Supposedly day and night are in constant conflict. On December 22, day beats night. Turks celebrate this as the 'Festival of Rebirth'...

Nardugan consists of the words Nar (Sun) in the Mongolian language and Tuqan (Doğan) in the Turkish language. Tatars call this holiday Koyaş Tuğa, meaning Sunrise Day. Since the concept of the sky and some trees are ancient beliefs that are considered sacred for the Turks, Nardugan celebrations have always had a special place in Turkish culture and tradition.

There was a tree in Turkestan, its name was white pine. This white pine does not grow anywhere else. They bring a white pine and put it in the house, and they put gifts under the white pine in the name of God, saying that he gave them good things and a good life that year. They put rags or ribbons on their branches for the things they pray to God for the next year or the things they want as offerings. In those days, they were celebrating big holidays and festivals. Families gather, elders are visited if there are any, special meals are eaten, beautiful dresses are worn. “This custom passed to Europe through the Turks.”

As Ms. Ilmiye very eloquently stated, celebrating the New Year has nothing to do with Christmas. In a multicultural and ancient society like the Turkish society, the fact that the interest in external celebration days is increasing day by day is a separate issue. As I mentioned above, New Year celebrations are not far from our culture. The point I criticize is not the organization of the New Year's Eve celebration or the time period in which it is held. The point I criticize is that the way of celebration is taken verbatim from external sources and they are persistently trying to impose it, even though it contains elements that are contrary to our culture and religious values. We should celebrate a New Year's Eve based on the calendar we use as a Turkish society. No one should see any harm in this. New year means new hopes. The way you respond to something will now be guided by your subconscious in that way. Entering the new year with a full brain and a stressful life, on top of discussing whether to celebrate or not, does not seem like a reasonable approach or understanding to me. But the way of celebration can somehow be customized to our taste.

Saying that people in this part of the world celebrate like this and imitating these forms of entertainment will both lower our self-esteem and will not activate our real sense of fun and happiness. We may just look like we're having fun. Essentially, you will have a night of just shopping and spending money out. I think, considering the limitedness of human life, humans deserve much greater happiness.

By the way, we once had a very meaningful and unique celebration: Domestic Products Week. Has anyone prepared or heard that we came together with the locals, gathered in one place and celebrated Local Produce Week wildly one night? But can't such a celebration be held? We would both have the opportunity for social solidarity and know the value of the things we produce. Imagine, it is a charity event but the cameras are not there. You put on your beautiful dresses and take to the streets as a family. There are food items and various gifts produced in Turkey, neatly packaged and in a size you can carry in your hand.

Sometimes I see people bragging about putting unused items into a dirty sack and sending them to those in need. However, wouldn't it be much more humane if we cleaned them, packaged them nicely, put them in gift boxes that we carefully prepared, and gave them to those in need with all our heart? You go street by street and leave them in areas designated by the Municipalities. Then, these people proceed through the streets of the city, meet in the city square, eat the cookies prepared for them and dance to beautiful music. People have fun and help each other with food. Don't you think it would be a great environment?

Or, instead of passing religious days with just a few prayers, a few activities specific to this day can be organized. If these arrangements can be made with the help of sociologists, without harming the values of the people, but in a way that will attract young people and the society in general, then we can understand the value of our own special days and create our own celebration traditions. This situation may even turn into a big carnival that will affect the whole world, let alone the interest of people in our country.

May your new year, or whatever you call it, bring you happiness and peace.

with respect and love