Are you planning to visit or move to Turkey soon? Then knowing the Turkish calendar, memorable days, and public holidays in the country may come in handy. Throughout the year, many special events take place in Turkey, be those celebrations or commemorations.
If you happen to be in Turkey at one of those times, I won’t let you stare around meaninglessly. Instead, I want you to understand the reason that day is special and get the feeling as locals do.
In this blog post, you’ll learn the Turkish calendar, nine public holidays in Turkey, and the months in the Turkish language. If you’re ready, let’s start by answering a common question: “what calendar does Turkey use?” Keep reading to find out!
Page Contents
- What Calendar Does Turkey Use?
- Months And Days In The Turkish Calendar
- National Holidays In Turkey
- Religious Holidays In Turkey
- Start Learning Turkish With Ling!
What Calendar Does Turkey Use?
If you’re a westerner, you’re in luck because Turkey doesn’t use a different calendar than the West. Yep, you guessed it right! Turkey uses the Gregorian calendar (also known as Miladi takvim in Turkish).
The Ottoman Empire used the Islamic calendars, Hijri and Rumi calendars, in the past. However, they are no longer used in Turkey, as the Gregorian calendar has been in use since the year 1926.
Months And Days In The Turkish Calendar
If you want to be able to read calendars in Turkey, you first need to learn the months and days in the Turkish language; let’s start with the months:
Months In Turkish
| English | Turkish | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| January | Ocak | |
| February | Şubat | |
| March | Mart | |
| April | Nisan | |
| May | Mayıs | |
| June | Haziran | |
| July | Temmuz | |
| August | Ağustos | |
| September | Eylül | |
| October | Ekim | |
| November | Kasım | |
| December | Aralık |
Then, you want to know the names of the days in Turkish. And remember: the week starts on Monday in Turkey, unlike the United States, where the week starts on Sunday.
Days In Turkish
| English | Turkish | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Pazartesi | |
| Tuesday | Salı | |
| Wednesday | Çarşamba | |
| Thursday | Perşembe | |
| Friday | Cuma | |
| Saturday | Cumartesi | |
| Sunday | Pazar |
National Holidays In Turkey
Every country has its own special events and celebrations. In Turkey, most of them are national holidays, and the rest are Islamic religious holidays, since the majority of the population is Muslim.
Let’s learn about the national holidays in Turkey!
New Year’s Day (January 1st)
All countries around the world celebrate New Year’s Day, and Turkey is no exception. People can’t wait for the clock to hit midnight, and they spend time having fun with their family and friends until that happens.
National Sovereignty And Children’s Day (April 23rd)
23rd of April 1920 is the date when the Turkish National Assembly was founded by Atatürk, who is known as the father of Turks. He dedicated this important day to kids, not only in Turkey, but all over the world.
Usually, students prepare a show and display it to their parents at school to show their love and respect for Atatürk.
Labour And Solidarity Day (May 1st)
Workers’ and Laborers’ Day is considered a day of unity, solidarity, and struggle against injustice in the workplace. It’s celebrated by workers all over the world, including Turkey.
May 1 is also an official public holiday in Turkey, so employees take a day off and spend it with their families.
Commemoration Of Atatürk, Youth And Sports Day (May 19th)
On this day, Atatürk landed in Samsun on the Bandırma Ferry, and this day is considered the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence against the occupation. Atatürk dedicated this holiday especially to Turkish youth.
Every year on this day, the marching bands from various schools parade on the streets, and the people around join the parade to celebrate this day together.
Victory Day (August 30th)
Victory Day is a national holiday celebrated on August 30 each year in Turkey to commemorate the Battle of Dumlupınar, which ended in victory under Atatürk’s command on August 30, 1922. Every year on this day, the national anthem is played all over the country.
Republic Day (October 29th)
Republic Day is a national holiday celebrated in Turkey each year on 29 October, in memory of the Turkish Grand National Assembly’s declaration of the Republic Administration on 29 October 1923.
Commemoration Day For Atatürk (November 10th)
November 10 is the national mourning day held annually in memory of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first President of Turkey, who passed away on November 10, 1938.
Every year, the siren starts ringing at 09:05 AM on November 10. It’s a call for two minutes of silence in memory of Atatürk across the country. On this day, the flags at all official buildings in the country, and at the foreign representative offices of Turkey in other countries, are lowered to half-mast as a sign of mourning.
Religious Holidays In Turkey
As you may know, there is a large number of Muslims living in Turkey. These people also use the Islamic calendar to follow important religious days, and there are two religious holidays implemented in Turkey.
Ramadan Feast
Ramadan is the name of the Islamic month in which Muslims fast for 30 days and the Ramadan Feast, also known as the Candy Feast by kids, is celebrated at the end of this month. The feast lasts three days, and these days are considered holidays in almost all working industries.
Sacrifice Feast
Sacrifice Feast, also known as Eid al Adha, takes place on the 10th day of the Islamic month, Dhu’l-Hijjah. Muslims sacrifice cattle and distribute its meat to the poor and people who need food. They also donate money to people in need.
During both the Ramadan and Sacrifice Feasts, people visit their relatives. They see these times as an opportunity to strengthen their family bonds. Children are especially looking forward to the feasts because they get pocket money and candies from the elders.
Start Learning Turkish With Ling!
If you would like to spend those memorable days with Turks, you better start learning some Turkish! And I know the best language-learning app for you: Ling!
If you’re thinking about learning Turkish, waste no more time and download it to get started right now.
Ling is a practical language-learning app that offers more than 60 language courses for language learners. You can do various engaging activities, like forming sentences and listening to audios recorded by native speakers, mini-quizzes, reviews, and AI chatbots to enhance your speaking skills. These features give Ling everything you want in a language-learning app.
Also, don’t forget to check out our Turkish blog for weekly articles related to the Turkish language and culture!
Trust me; you won’t regret it if you give Ling a try for FREE by simply downloading it from the App Store or Play Store.
Until next time! Görüşürüz!
