Secular Holidays

Secular holidays in Turkey are calculated according to the Western calendar. Other official holidays include National Sovereignty Day coinciding with Children's Day (23 April), Ataturk's Memorial Day and Youth Day (19 May), Victory Day (30 Aug), and Republic Day (29 Oct).

National Sovereignty Day commemorates the Grand National Assembly's inauguration on 23 April 1923. Since it coincides with Children's Day, 400 students are given the chance to take seats in the national government in the nation's capital for the day. Ataturk's Memorial Day and Youth Day commemorates the beginning of the national movement for independence in 1919, led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. On Victory Day, military parades are held, the world's oldest military band the Mehtar band plays, and fireworks are set off. Republic Day celebrates the anniversary of the founding of the republic in 1923.