What Is Hıdırellez? Why Is It Celebrated?
We've gathered everything you might want to know about Hıdırellez, which this year begins on the evening of Sunday, May 5th and ends with the afternoon call to prayer on Monday, May 6th. Read on…
Hıdırellez, a harbinger of summer and warm weather, is considered one of the seasonal festivals of the Turkish people. Recognized as Hızır Day (Ruz-ı Hızır), Hıdırellez is celebrated because it marks the day when the prophets Hızır and İlyas are believed to meet on earth. The words Hızır and İlyas merged together in the vernacular to become Hıdırellez.
People of ancient times divided the calendar into two. The period from May 6th to November 8th was accepted as the summer season, known as "Hızır Days," while the period from November 8th to May 6th was accepted as the winter season, known as "Kasım Days." There are two accounts regarding Hıdırellez. One holds that it belongs to the cultures of Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and the other that it belongs to the pre-Islamic Central Asian Turkish culture and beliefs. However, it is impossible to associate Hıdırellez and the belief in Hızır with a single culture alone. This is because it is known that various ceremonies and rituals related to the arrival of spring or summer have been organized since ancient times in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran, Greece, and even throughout the entire Eastern Mediterranean. As a result, the Hıdırellez Festival has been celebrated since very ancient times in human history. Although they appear under different names and at different times, Hıdırellez motifs can be found in many places.
Hıdırellez is a seasonal festival that is still celebrated in advance — particularly in towns and villages across our country. People begin cleaning their homes ahead of time and prepare their clothes and food and drink. This is because, according to belief, Hızır will not visit people or homes that are not clean. In some parts of Anatolia, there is a custom of giving alms, fasting, and making sacrifices on Hıdırellez Day so that prayers and wishes will be accepted. Sacrifices and offerings are made "for the sake of Hızır." All of these preparations are made with the aim of encountering Hızır.
Hıdırellez Festival celebrations are always held in green, wooded areas, by the waterside, or near a shrine or sacred tomb. On that day, it is customary to eat fresh spring plants and fresh lamb meat or lamb liver. It is believed that eating the first lamb of spring will bring health and healing. It is also believed that boiling the flowers and herbs gathered from the fields with the arrival of spring and drinking the water will cure all illnesses, and that washing with this water for forty days will bring youth and beauty. On the evening of Sunday, May 5th, the lids of food containers, granaries, and money pouches are left open. Some people light a fire and make a wish, then jump over the fire they have lit.
People believe that as nature awakens and comes to life, their own fortunes will open up as well. On the night before Hıdırellez, young women who wish for their luck and fortune to open gather in green areas or by the water. They place their personal jewelry — such as rings, earrings, and bracelets — into a pot filled with water, wrap it with a cloth, and leave it at the base of a rose bush. Early the next morning, they go to the rose bush, drink their milky coffee, and pray that their mood will not be spoiled. The pots are then opened, and the items inside are taken out to be interpreted while folk verses (maniler) are recited.
The Hıdırellez Prayer
While tying Hıdırellez wishes to the branch of a rose bush, the following prayer is recited:
"Allahümme Rabbühü Ya Halkalhalas Muhammedin Resulullah Yetiş imdadıma Ya HIZIR YA İLYAS." This prayer is recited 40 times in total — 39 times on May 5th, and the remaining once on May 6th to complete the full forty.
The Hıdırellez Prayer Service
On Hıdırellez Day, from the afternoon prayer (İkindi) through to the morning prayer (sabah), you may perform 2 rakats of prayer for the sake of God and offer prayers for your wishes. The prayer to be recited after the Hıdırellez prayer service is:
"O Lord, You are the owner of the world and the universe. You are the Creator of every living being. You are the Lord of both me and every living being. Make both my worldly life and my afterlife beautiful. Treat me and all Your servants not as we deserve, but with Your grace and mercy. Make Hızır (peace be upon him) and Hıdır (peace be upon him) my companions. May they turn us away from our mistakes and errors. May they always be by our side in our material and spiritual hardships. Accept our prayers out of reverence for Your beautiful names and out of reverence for Your beloved. Amen."
Happy Hıdırellez Festival to you all — may your wishes be granted…
