Monday, May 25, 2009
1 of the many reasons I love Turkey!
One of the many reasons I love Turkey is its culture of celebration. I make jokes about it to Umut…anything is a reason to party. “Umut, it’s Tuesday. Let’s have a party.” “Umut, I just washed the dishes, let’s celebrate.” “Umut, our friend bought a new pair of shoes. Can we have a festival?”
Yet in all my sarcasm, I actually appreciate this culture of celebration. This month we celebrate Memorial Day in America. My parents recently asked if Turkey recognizes Memorial Day. The answer is “no”. Turkey doesn’t recognize her national heros just on 1 day. Turkey honors military heros in each particular war. And Turkey doesn’t just honor her history in terms of war, Turkey honors her history in terms of celebrations and festivals.
On Friday night, Umut and I headed down to the coast to watch the sunset before grabbing dinner. We arrived just in time to see the glowing orange sun hovering above the Ege Deniz (Aegean Sea). The evening was perfect…a gentle breeze, warm weather, and a gorgeous sunset. From the coast, we heard Turkish folk music and the sound of hundreds of children laughing.
What we discovered was an annual school festival. I am SO GLAD I had my camera because I can share with you videos of 2 different dances. The 1st dance is a traditional folk dance, one that Umut performed when he was in elementary school. The 2nd dance is a modern spin-off of old tradition. Honestly, I felt a little compassion for the boys dancing around with purple pom-poms. This is definitely not America. :) Regardless, I hope you enjoy this little taste of Turkish celebration!
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That's it. We're having a party tonight to celebrate! Love that! I AM finding each day as I wake more and more reason to celebrate life in Jesus. We need more of that! The dancing is great, but that is far from the Turkish dancing I experienced at our end-of-the-year celebration! Did Anna tell you? Better yet, did she show you? hee!hee! :-)
ReplyDeletei don't know what dancing you are talking about...but i have a hunch it might entail belly-dancing, which is very popular here!
ReplyDeletelove it! it is fun to get to experience a little of what you are learning about your new home!
ReplyDeletelove you, my friend.
i love the purple poms!
ReplyDeleteEveryday should be such a celebration for Jesus! :)
ReplyDeleteWe miss you friend and we are praying for you.