“Hıdrellez”, is one of the seasonal festivals of all Turkish world which is celebrated as the first day of the “early summer”. It is also “day of Hızır”, the day on which prophets Hızır and Ilyas met with each other on earth. The words Hızır and İlyas have since fused together pronounced as Hıdrellez. Hıdrellez Day falls on May 5-6. There are various theories about the origin of Hızır and Hıdrellez. Various ceremonies and rituals have been performed for various gods with the arrival of spring or summer in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran, Greece and in fact all eastern Mediterranean countries since ancient times. One widespread belief suggests that Hızır is a prophet who has attained immortality by drinking the water of life (ab-ı hayat), and who has reached God, and wanders around among people from time to time, especially in the spring, and helps people in difficulty and distributes plenty and health. The identity of Hızır, the place and the time he lived in are not certain. Hızır is the symbol of spring, and the new life which emerges with it. In Turkey, where belief in Hızır is widespread, the characteristics attributed to him are as follows:

Read the rest of this entry »