Children's Day in Turkey

Happy  23rd April National Sovereignty And Childrens Day

April 23 National Sovereignty and Childrens Day which is the day of openning of Grand National Assembly of Turkey is a gift to all the world’s children by Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.                

Today is the 95th Anniversary of the openning of Grand National Assembly of Turkey and we celebrate proudly April 23 National Sovereignty and Childrens Day.

Many people in Turkey commemorate the first gathering of the Grand National Assembly (the Turkish Parliament), which took place on April 23, 1920, by attending local ceremonies or laying wreaths at monuments of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. The biggest ceremony takes place at the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.

Because Ataturk reportedly dedicated the Turkish Republic to children, Turkish schoolchildren take seats in the Parliament for the day and symbolically govern the country. They elect a president who then addresses the country on national television. Children’s festivals take place throughout the country. The state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) brings children, aged eight to 14, from different countries around the world to Turkey. These children stay with Turkish families for a week and participate in children’s festivals, which culminate is a gala-performance on April 23.

National Sovereignty and Children’s Day is an official holiday in Turkey. Government offices, some schools and most businesses are closed on this day. Public transport routes may vary in the event of street performances. The importance of April 23 as a special day of children has been recognized by the international community.UNICEF decided to recognize this important day as the International Children's Day.

Easter in Greece

Greece: The custom of cracking red eggs at Easter

According to age-old Greek tradition, Easter eggs are dyed red. The red color represents the blood of Jesus Christ. The egg itself represents the sealed tomb of Jesus from which he emerged following his crucifixion.

According to tradition, Holy Thursday is the day that Greeks dye their eggs and red has been the traditional color. In the Western world, and even in Greece, the tradition has started to fade and bright colors, patterns, stickers are used to decorate Easter eggs.

 

The game of cracking— or “tsougrisma” as the Greeks call it- symbolizes the breaking open of the tomb and Jesus Christ’s Resurrection from the dead. The custom takes place after the Resurrection (on Easter Saturday at midnight or the following day during the Easter feasts). Two people compete by holding their respective egg in their hand and tapping at each other’s egg. The goal is to crack the other player’s egg. The winner, then, uses the same end of the egg to tap the other, non cracked end of the opponent’s egg. The “winner” is the one, whose egg will crack the eggs of all the other players. It is believed that the winner will have good luck during the year.

  Kalo Pascha!

 Popi Chantzi, Greece