Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day
Encyclopedia
19 May the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day or simply Youth Day (Gençlik Bayramı), is an annual Turkish national holiday celebrated on May 19 to commemorate Mustafa Kemal
's landing at Samsun on May 19, 1919, which is regarded as the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence
in the official historiography
.
titled Tre trallande jäntor ("Three carolling girls") and collected by Felix Körling. This folk music became "Dağ Başını Duman Almış" marşı with Turkish lyrics written by Ali Ulvi Bey (Elöve) in 1917 and sung in this festival for the first time.
to His Majesty Sultan
" Mirliva
Mustafa Kemal Pasha was assigned as the inspector of the Ninth Army Troops Inspectorate on April 30, 1919 and left Constantinople (Istanbul
) with his staffs aboard steamer SS Bandırma
for Samsun
. After landing at Samsun on May 19, Mustafa Kemal and his staffs left there on May 24 for transferring their headquarters to the village of Karageçmiş in Havza district
. According to Hamza Eroğlu, they sang "Dağ Başını Duman Almış" marşı when they were marching from Samsun
to Havza, according to Şevket Süreyya Aydemir
, they sang this marching song also after leaving Havza to go to Amasya
.
, who was the Minister of the Interior at the time, told him that:
On May 19, 1936, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
made conversation with his close friends; Şükrü Kaya, Ruşen Eşref Ünaydın, Kılıç Ali
, Salih Bozok
, Mehmet Seydan, Nuri Conker
in the Dolmabahçe Palace
. Atatürk asked them "Do you know what today is?" They replied, "the third day of the occupation of Izmir", "Ankara meeting", "Ismet Pasha telegraphed from Lausanne
", "Golden Horn Conference", "Turco-British negotiations over Iraq", "Progressive Republican Party was banned" ... even Atatürk's close friends couldn't remember Mustafa Kemal's landing at Samsun.
Atatürk said "Let them in hell. So...this is something that, this is the liberation of country. Still they cannot find. Since after all Şükrü Kaya said "Is this day when you left Istanbul?", Atatürk said "You came closer...the day we landed at Samsun." And then Atatürk said "Actually this is the festival that you'll celebrate." Next year, "May 19" was celebrated with Şükrü Kaya's arrangement.
Until then, "May 19" wasn't given any special meaning, besides his expression "Gentlemen, I landed at Samsun on the nineteenth day of May of year 1919. This was the general state of affairs:"Turkish: "Efendiler, 1335 senesi Mayısının 19. günü Samsun'a çıktım. Vaziyet ve Manzara-i Umumiye" in Nutuk
.
With the Law No. 3466 dated June 20, 1938, "May 19" was officialized as the Festival of Youth and Sports. "Dağ Başını Duman Almış" marşı was announced as Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı Marşı (March of the Festival of Youth and Sports, Gençlik Marşı).
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
also commemorates this day as it shares its culture and many of its holidays with Turkey.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
's landing at Samsun on May 19, 1919, which is regarded as the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
in the official historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
.
Gymnastics Festival
The first "Gymnastics Festival" (İdman Bayramı) was held at the sport meadow of Kadıköy İttihad Sports (Union Club until 1915) by Erkek Muallim Mektebi (Teachers' College for Boys) with personal enterprise of Selim Sirri Bey (Tarcan), who was the Inspector of the Ministry of Education of the Ottoman Empire at the time. According to some sources, it was held on May 12, 1916, as to Faik Reşit Unat, in May 1916, as to Selim Sırrı Tarcan himself, in April 29, 1916. Selim Sirri Bey had brought a score of the Swedish folk musicSwedish folk music
Swedish folk music is a genre of music based largely on folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another common instrument, unique to Swedish traditions, is the nyckelharpa...
titled Tre trallande jäntor ("Three carolling girls") and collected by Felix Körling. This folk music became "Dağ Başını Duman Almış" marşı with Turkish lyrics written by Ali Ulvi Bey (Elöve) in 1917 and sung in this festival for the first time.
Mustafa Kemal's landing at Samsun
Fahrî Yâver-i Hazret-i Şehriyâri"Honorary Aide-de-campAide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to His Majesty Sultan
Mehmed VI
Mehmet VI was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918 to 1922...
" Mirliva
Mirliva
Mirliva or Mîr-i livâ was a military rank of the Ottoman Army. It corresponds to a Brigadier General or Major General . Mirliva is a compound word composed of Mir and Liva...
Mustafa Kemal Pasha was assigned as the inspector of the Ninth Army Troops Inspectorate on April 30, 1919 and left Constantinople (Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
) with his staffs aboard steamer SS Bandırma
SS Bandirma
SS Bandırma was an Ottoman mixed-freight ship, which became famous for her historical role in taking Mustafa Kemal Pasha from Constantinople to Samsun in May 1919 that marked the establishment of the Turkish national movement.-The ship:The steamer Bandırma, built 1878 in Paisley, Scotland, was a...
for Samsun
Samsun
Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...
. After landing at Samsun on May 19, Mustafa Kemal and his staffs left there on May 24 for transferring their headquarters to the village of Karageçmiş in Havza district
Havza
Havza is a district of Samsun Province of Turkey. The mayor is Murat İkiz ....
. According to Hamza Eroğlu, they sang "Dağ Başını Duman Almış" marşı when they were marching from Samsun
Samsun
Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...
to Havza, according to Şevket Süreyya Aydemir
Sevket Süreyya Aydemir
Sevket Surreya Aydemir was a Turkish intellectual, and was one of the founders and a key theorist of Kadro, an influential policy journal published in Turkey from 1932-1934. He was educated and became familiar with Marxism at Moscow University where he studied economics, and worked as a teacher...
, they sang this marching song also after leaving Havza to go to Amasya
Amasya
- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...
.
Atatürk's later years
According to İsmet Bozdağ, his best friend Şükrü KayaSükrü Kaya
Şükrü Kaya was an Ottoman civil servant and Turkish politician, who served as government minister, Minister of Interior and Minister of Foreign affairs in several governments....
, who was the Minister of the Interior at the time, told him that:
On May 19, 1936, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
made conversation with his close friends; Şükrü Kaya, Ruşen Eşref Ünaydın, Kılıç Ali
Ali Kılıç
Ali Kılıç also known as "Kılıç" Ali Bey was an officer of the Ottoman Army...
, Salih Bozok
Salih Bozok
Salih Bozok was an officer of the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army, a politician of the Republic of Turkey. He was the chief aide-de-camp of the chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Kemal .-External links:...
, Mehmet Seydan, Nuri Conker
Nuri Conker
Nuri Conker was an officer of the Ottoman Army and Turkish Army, then became a Turkish politician....
in the Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coastline of the Bosphorus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922, apart from a 22-year interval in which Yıldız Palace was used.- History :Dolmabahçe Palace...
. Atatürk asked them "Do you know what today is?" They replied, "the third day of the occupation of Izmir", "Ankara meeting", "Ismet Pasha telegraphed from Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
", "Golden Horn Conference", "Turco-British negotiations over Iraq", "Progressive Republican Party was banned" ... even Atatürk's close friends couldn't remember Mustafa Kemal's landing at Samsun.
Atatürk said "Let them in hell. So...this is something that, this is the liberation of country. Still they cannot find. Since after all Şükrü Kaya said "Is this day when you left Istanbul?", Atatürk said "You came closer...the day we landed at Samsun." And then Atatürk said "Actually this is the festival that you'll celebrate." Next year, "May 19" was celebrated with Şükrü Kaya's arrangement.
Until then, "May 19" wasn't given any special meaning, besides his expression "Gentlemen, I landed at Samsun on the nineteenth day of May of year 1919. This was the general state of affairs:"Turkish: "Efendiler, 1335 senesi Mayısının 19. günü Samsun'a çıktım. Vaziyet ve Manzara-i Umumiye" in Nutuk
Nutuk
Nutuk was a speech delivered by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from 15 to 20 October 1927, addressed to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The speech covered the events between the start of the Turkish War of Independence on May 19, 1919 and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, in 1923. It is an...
.
With the Law No. 3466 dated June 20, 1938, "May 19" was officialized as the Festival of Youth and Sports. "Dağ Başını Duman Almış" marşı was announced as Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı Marşı (March of the Festival of Youth and Sports, Gençlik Marşı).
Practice
Children sing the national anthem, play sports, parade, commemorate Atatürk, and are reminded of the values of democracy and Turkey.The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
also commemorates this day as it shares its culture and many of its holidays with Turkey.
Atatürk's birthday
Atatürk was born in 1881. But his birth date is not known. In one of his speeches, he declared that he feels his birthday is May 19.See also
- Youth DayYouth DayYouth Day is a holiday dedicated to the youths of a country.-International Youth Day:International Youth Day is an international observance on August 12 officially recognized by the United Nations.-Angola:On 14 April Angola celebrates Youth Day...
in other countries - Public holidays in TurkeyPublic holidays in TurkeyThe official holidays in Turkey are established by the Act 2429 of March 19, 1981 that replaced the Act 2739 of May 27, 1935. These holidays can be grouped in national religious holidays.Public HolidaysDateEnglish NameLocal NameRemarksJanuary 1...
- Public holidays in Republic of Northern Cyprus
External links
- "Turkey celebrates May 19th Youth & Sports Day", World Bulletin Tuesday, 19 May 2009 10:16
- Turgay Tuna, “Dağ Başını Duman Almış”lı Günlerden Cumhuriyetimizin 81. Yıldönümündeki Genç Kızlarımıza..., Kimlik, Sayı: 8, October 2004.
- 19 mayıs: Ata'nın 'Doğum günüm' dediği tarih..., Ortadoğu, May 19, 2010.
- Gençlik Marşı in Google Videos.