Hıdrellez

The awakening of nature

Hıdrellez is a spring celebration held on 6 May, the day recognised as the awakening of nature. Its name joins Hıdır (Hızır) and İlyas, who are believed to protect the earth and the water and to help people in need — and, according to the tradition, to meet once a year, on 6 May. In the living rites described by the TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, the practices belong mainly to Hızır.

An old folk division of the year is tied to the date: the 186 days from 6 May to 8 November were counted as Hızır days, and the rest of the year as Kasım days. Hıdrellez marks the turn from one to the other.

In different parts of Türkiye the celebration is also known as Ederlezi, Kakava, Haftamal or Eğrilce.

Wishes, water and wild flowers

Customs vary from place to place. People write their wishes on paper and place them at the foot of rose trees. Some boil wild flowers and drink the water or go into water on Hıdrellez night, and some leave food and drink vessels uncovered. In many towns people gather at a green outing place called a hıdırlık.

All of these rituals rest on wishes for the year to come: for plenty, fertility, health, peace and happiness, and for the protection of livestock and crops. UNESCO describes the celebration as belonging to everyone taking part — families, children, young people, adults, dancers and singers.

Shared across borders

In 2017 Spring celebration, Hıdrellez was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List as a joint file of Türkiye and North Macedonia, where it is known as Hiderlez or Erdelezi. It should not be confused with the mid-February Hızır feast kept by Alevi communities, which is a different observance.