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Day of Hıdırellez

Hidrellez

May 6

Hidrellez

The Day of Hıdırellez (Ruz-ı Hızır) tip-toes across national borders, stretches its limbs across feuding religions, and dances from one culture to another borrowing steps from each it passes.

The ancient spring festival is celebrated from Turkey to the Balkans. The word Hıdırellez itself is a mixed-up amalgamation of the names of the two well-traveled yet elusive prophets it recalls: Hızır and Ilyas (Elijah).

Hızır (Al-Khidr) means, literally, “the green one.” No, he’s not …Read more

May 6th, 2011 | Tags: | Category: May holidays, Romani, Spring Festivals, Turkey | One comment

Romani Holiday

roma_flagsvg

April 8

Today is International Roma Day. Nope, it’s not an ancient Gypsy tradition or anything, but a date chosen in 1990 to mark the anniversary of the first World Romani Congress in London on April 8, 1971.

Millions of Romanies are spread throughout the globe, with high concentrations in Southern Europe and Asia Minor.

In Europe, the origin of the enigmatic Romani people remained a mystery for centuries. The commonly used word “Gypsy” comes from the …Read more

April 8th, 2011 | Category: April holidays, International, Romani | Leave a comment