God forbid, but if you woke up one morning remembering only your childhood, what would be the most memorable thing among those memories?
If I were asked this question, I would answer, “Eids, of course.”
Every Eid has its own distinctive features (especially for children).
I don’t know what you remember, but I’m sure that as I describe my memories in the lines below, yours will come back to you too! (At least those who were children in the early 1980s will remember.)
For some reason, the radio would always be turned on every Eid morning, and Barış Manço’s song “Bugün Bayram” (“Today Is Eid”) would always be playing; I don’t know whether it just happened to come on that way or whether I’m exaggerating…
Eids had their own fashion. When new clothes were bought, people followed that fashion. Take a look: the clothes children generally wear for Eid are very similar to one another. Of course, there are exceptions. (I was one of those exceptions, even though I didn’t want to be! My childhood coincided with my older sister’s sewing-learning phase; I would wear the clothes she made while she was enthusiastic about sewing. The clothes my sister made were very beautiful, but she rejected a “standard philosophy of life” and didn’t really follow Eid fashion. Because of this, I was always the one who stood out among the other children. Naturally, I was the one left to answer for the mischief we got up to as a group!)
Inflationary Eid allowances had to be spent right away! That’s why, during Eid, there were “very thoughtful!” businesses and establishments set up specially for the holiday, thinking, “Let’s make sure the children spend this money right away.” For example, the amusement parks we always went to in summer would be open even during the Eids in the middle of winter. And, of course, there were all sorts of unnecessary, violence-filled “toys” in grocery stores that you could never find outside Eid, such as “girl-chaser” fireworks, cork guns, firecrackers, and pop-pop guns. Many children were injured because of these toys that weren’t really toys. In fact, there may be people among those reading these lines right now who were injured too.
During Eid, cheekiness would get out of hand; this was encouraged by the family. Many things that were never allowed at other times were things you were supposed to do during Eid! Money that you would never be allowed to take from someone at any other time could be accepted from everyone as “Eid money.” In the first few minutes of Eid visits, children would initially refuse the Eid money, saying they didn’t want it, then, after their mothers or fathers said, “Take it, son/daughter,” slip it into their pockets or bags with a slight blush. Of course, the sense of embarrassment shown by that blush would, as the hours passed, turn into the cheekiness of thinking the allowance they’d been given was too little.
When I began writing, I was worried the piece would turn into one of those “Where are the Eids of the past?” articles. But somehow the conversation inevitably gets there; I suppose we all have memories to share under the heading “Eids of the past.” It seems I do too. Every year, I tell stories about Eid in my columns, and almost the same phrases come together to produce a piece on the theme of “ahhh, the Eids of our childhood…” As we grow up, I guess the idea takes hold that “the Eids we experienced in our childhood were wonderful.”
I don’t know whether today’s children will one day say, “Where are the Eids of the past?” Our elders told us many stories along those lines. And today, we’re telling them too… I suppose when today’s children grow up, they’ll be telling the children of their time about the Eids of their own childhood, just as we do!
So it seems this process has to do with being a child…
In other words, Eids belong to children…
Make them happy… Be happy!
Happy Eid…
Hoping to see you on Thursday…
Be mindful of your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be respectful in traffic!