Abstract
“GREENING”, “FORTUNE CLOSURE” AND “MARTUFAL” TRADITIONS OF HIDRELLEZ IN VALONDOVA REGION, MACEDONIA
Hıdrellez tradition is one of the seasonal festivals, which is continually celebrated in nearly whole Turkish world. It is accepted by people that Hıdrellez is a holy day, when Hızır and Elijah met under a rosebush on earth. In fact, according to a point of view, alteration of Nawruz festival initiated celebration of Hıdrellez festival among Turks As it is understood, Turks have maintained Nawruz traditions under the name of Hıdrellez, after they accepted Islam religion. In fact, celebration of Nawruz is nearly forgotten among Anatolian and Balkan Turks and Hıdrellez took its place. This Hıdrellez tradition is celebrated on May 6th according to the gregorian calendar. It corresponds with April 23rd according to julian calendar, which was According to julian calendar, a year consists of two periods. The first period is between May 6th and November 8th and this period is known as Hızır days. Also, this period forms summer. The second period is between November 8th and May 6th and known as November days. This period forms winter. In this context, according to julian calendar, the day, when the cold winter days finish and hot summer days start corresponds to May 6th. And this is the reason why this day is celebrated by Turkish people and became a festival. Today, there are different celebrations in Anatolia for May 6th, which is the start of summer. Different celebration among Balkan Turks also draw attention. In Macedonia, being a Balkan country, some Turkish regions were found, where these traditions stil continue. This study as a fieldwork, mostly handles Hıdrellez customs, existing in East Macedonia-Valandova, Konche and Bitola regions. This study involves Turkish poems in oral tradition, foods and celebration types regarding Hıdrellez traditions of Turks in these areas.
Keywords
Hıdrellez, greening, martufal tradition, Valandova, Çalıklı.
