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| Hello, and welcome to the Culture Class- Holidays in Turkey Series at TurkishClass101.com. In this series, we’re exploring the traditions behind Turkish holidays and observances. I’m Michael, and you're listening to Season 1, Lesson 6 - Sacrifice Feast. In Turkish, it’s called Kurban Bayramı. |
| Sacrifice Feast is a religious holiday that lasts four days and takes place about seventy days after the end of Ramadan. During these festivities, animals are sacrificed, food and money are donated to the poor and people take time out to visit relatives. |
| In this lesson, we are going to take a look at how the Turkish celebrate the Sacrifice Feast and the importance of these activities within social life. |
| Now, before we go into more detail, we’ve got a question for you- |
| In Turkey, who performs the sacrifice and where does it take place? |
| If you don't already know, you’ll find out a bit later. Keep listening. |
| The Sacrifice Feast is one of the oldest Islamic holidays celebrated in Turkey. As in other monotheistic religions, it commemorates the story of the Prophet Abraham agreeing to sacrifice his son, to prove his loyalty to God. Seeing his devotion, God sent him a ram to sacrifice instead. The festival’s eve is called Arife, for which places of work close for the half day. All government offices, private companies and schools are closed for four days. |
| Traditionally, on the first day of the Sacrifice Feast in Turkey, men go to a mosque for a special morning prayer, which is followed by the ritual sacrifice, or kurban ritüeli. In some regions of Turkey, people paint the sacrificial animal’s forehead with henna and adorn it with ribbons. Families share about one third of the animal’s meat with relatives and neighbors and traditionally give about one third to the poor, while the rest is cooked and served to guests during the holidays. |
| During the Feast of Sacrifice, just like during Ramadan, people visit their older relatives and greet them by kissing their hands, after which the older relatives will typically give the visiting children some money. However, unlike during Ramadan, people serve meat-based dishes instead of desserts. Fried meat, stews, vine leaves stuffed with minced meat, minced meat pastries – which are called kıymalı börek in Turkish – and the like are cooked and served to guests. The skins of the sacrificial animals are donated to charitable organizations, or sosyal yardımlaşma kurumu such as the Turkish Aeronautical Association, and the Turkish Red Crescent. |
| Apart from this festivity, people who have experienced success, or recovered from an accident or illness will also sacrifice an animal to show their gratitude to Allah. This is called an offering, or kurban. |
| Now it's time to answer our quiz question- |
| In Turkey, who performs the sacrifice and where does this take place? |
| In Turkey, the sacrifices are carried out by professionals, or uzman personel, assigned by municipalities in designated areas where the process can be monitored and controlled. |
| So listeners, how was this lesson? Did you learn anything interesting? |
| Is there any particular dish that is made during religious holidays in your country? |
| Leave us a comment letting us know at TurkishClass101.com. And we'll see you in the next lesson! |
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