Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Milli Folklor, cilt.12, sa.95, ss.147-160, 2012 (Scopus)
In this article, cultural and historical analysis of New Year celebration will be made with a special focus on old New Year festivity traditions in Turkey. New Year celebrations in Turkey which are becoming in an increasing way to be look like to the Christian Noel celebrations although the country almost complete Muslim population. Christmas trees with full of lightings and noel sleighs are not causing discomfort to Turkish People anymore. Turkish Nation was left as defenceless cultural propaganda of globalization process whereas the substance of our national and two main religious festivities are being drained and made shallow holidays. The most popular daily newspaper of our country have been publishing articles make claims that the Christmas pine decorations are originally a Turkish tradition and later it was adopted by Christmas. With the creating the perception that these writers are serious, trusted, and scientific ones drastically confuses the consciousness of Turkish people and toxicating their mind. In order to have an hegemony over the nations that were incepted with epics, history and traditions as was also mentioned by Fox, industrialised societies are using culture as a socio-politic instrument to suppress the past and to destroy the history. In this sense; Noel celebration has been one of the most powerful and concrete evidence of this aim and dominating the global agenda. The myths such as Santa Claus, Christmas tree, noel sleigh, Christmas turkey, cloths, beverage and others were presented as the inventions of global actors of our age. The religious beliefs and rituals which are being celebrated according to the old Turkish calendar that starts in 21th of March was transformed into another one which is being celebrated during 31 December to January first. This constitutes an invented tradition and is not fully internalized by Turkish society. Under these unresistable flows of global cultural influence there is a strong need for national heroes and figures.