Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan issued a congratulatory message on the Hidrellez festival.
"May spring, which brings fertility to the soil and abundance to the seeds, fill households with peace and hearts with healing. Happy Hidrellez!," she said on X.
People in Türkiye are welcoming the arrival of summer with a traditional festival known as Hidrellez.
Hidrellez, one of the seasonal festivals of the Turkic world, was added to the UNESCO list of "intangible cultural heritage" in 2017 through a joint effort of Türkiye and North Macedonia.
The celebrations start on the night of May 5 and continue the following day. The festival is celebrated in several Turkish provinces, including Isparta, Edirne, Konya, Niğde, Çorum, Çanakkale, Balikesir and Bilecik.
"People prepare beforehand for Hidrellez celebrations in villages and small towns, although rather less now in the big cities. These preparations concern house-cleaning, clean clothing, and food and drink. Before Hidrellez Day, houses were cleaned from top to bottom since people thought that Hizir would not visit houses that were not clean. New clothes and shoes are purchased on Hidrellez Day," according to the Culture Ministry.
Rituals that have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries include jumping over a fire, making wishes and attaching a rag to a tree, drawing wishes under a rose tree, boiling various flowers and drinking them, as well as young girls keeping their belongings-such as earrings and rings-locked in a pot during the day for fortune.
Hizir and Ilyas are believed to meet every year from May 5 to May 6 under a rose tree at night.
According to the belief, they meet only once a year. They also symbolize abundance, so everywhere they step, their feet turn green, and everything they touch becomes fruitful and healed.
