On May 19 each year, Turkey celebrates the day it considers the true beginning of its modern history. Youth and Sports Day, known officially as the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day, marks the day in 1919 when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk landed at the Black Sea port of Samsun to begin the national struggle for independence. The holiday honors the young people of Turkey and the ideal of sport, and it is celebrated with ceremonies, athletic displays, and school celebrations across the country. This guide explains the history and the traditions of this lively spring holiday.
The Landing at Samsun
The date May 19, 1919, has a special place in Turkish history. Ataturk, then a general in the defeated Ottoman army, sailed from Istanbul to Samsun on the Black Sea coast, sent officially to supervise the security of the region.
In fact, the journey was the beginning of the national resistance. From Samsun, Ataturk traveled into the interior of Anatolia, gathering the officers and the local leaders who would organize the War of Independence.
The landing is considered the first step of the national movement. When Ataturk wrote his memoirs, he gave the date a still deeper meaning: he wrote that he was born on May 19, 1919, the day his struggle for the nation began.
A Holiday for the Young
The dedication of the day to the youth came with the republic. Ataturk saw the young people as the bearers of the national future, and he chose May 19 as the day to honor them.
In 1938, the year of his death, the day was officially named the Youth and Sports Day. The pairing of youth and sport reflected the belief of the republic that a strong nation needed healthy and active citizens.
The holiday has kept this character ever since. It is a day of the young: the schoolchildren and the students march, the athletes perform, and the speeches of the day are addressed to the youth of Turkey.
The Celebrations in Samsun
The center of the celebrations is Samsun, the city where Ataturk landed. Every May 19, the city holds the grandest ceremonies of the day, and the visitors come from across the country.
The ceremonies begin at the statue of Ataturk on the waterfront, where the wreaths are laid and the speeches are made. The day continues with parades, concerts, and the celebrations on the coast.
The city’s museums, including the house where Ataturk stayed on his arrival, draw the crowds. For the people of Samsun, May 19 is their day of pride, and the city celebrates with an enthusiasm that matches the national importance of the date.
The Torch Relay
A modern tradition of the day is the torch relay. Every year, a torch is carried from Samsun to the capital, Ankara, in the days before May 19, passing through the towns and the cities of northern Anatolia.
The young runners carry the torch along the route, and the towns along the way hold small ceremonies as the flame passes. The relay recreates, in symbol, the journey of Ataturk from Samsun into the heart of the country.
The final stage of the relay takes place on May 19 itself, when the torch arrives at the great stadium in Ankara for the main ceremony of the day, where it lights the flame of the celebrations before the assembled youth of the country.
The Stadium Ceremonies
The main ceremonies of May 19 take place in the stadiums. In Ankara, the national stadium hosts the grand event of the day, with tens of thousands of young people taking part.
The program of the stadium ceremony is a display of youth and sport. The gymnastics displays, the folk dances, the mass exercises, and the athletic events follow one another, and the whole performance is choreographed on a national scale.
The ceremony ends with the singing of the national anthem and the speeches of the day. For the young people who take part, the months of rehearsal and the day of the performance are among the great memories of their school years.
Sports Events Across the Country
Beyond the main stadiums, the whole country celebrates the sporting side of the day. The schools and the municipalities organize sports events: the races, the football and basketball tournaments, and the gymnastics displays.
The day is a holiday for the promotion of sport among the young. The sports clubs and the federations hold their events, and the day has become an occasion for the awards and the recognition of young athletes.
For many Turkish children, May 19 is the day of their first race or their first tournament. The spirit of the day is participation rather than competition, and the emphasis falls on the health, the discipline, and the joy of sport.
The School Celebrations
In the schools, May 19 is a day of performance and festivity. The children rehearse their folk dances, their songs, and their gymnastics displays in the weeks before the holiday, and the morning of May 19 brings the families to the schoolyards.
The ceremonies follow the familiar pattern of the Turkish school holidays: the flag, the anthem, the poems, and the speeches, followed by the performances of the children and the games of the afternoon.
The folk dances are the heart of the school celebration. The children perform the dances of their regions in the traditional costumes, and the day has the warmth of a family festival rather than an official one.
The Meaning of the Day
May 19 is a day with several layers of meaning. It is a commemoration of Ataturk and the beginning of the national struggle; it is a celebration of the youth of the country; and it is a holiday of sport and physical education.
The three meanings are joined in the idea of the future. The landing at Samsun began the struggle that created the republic, the youth are the heirs of that republic, and sport is the training of the body and the character of the nation.
The holiday is therefore both historical and forward-looking. It looks back to 1919 with gratitude and pride, and it looks forward through the young people who march and perform in the stadiums on the day.
Youth and the Republic
The celebration of youth on May 19 is tied to the founding ideas of the republic. The republic was built on the education of the young, and the schools, the sports grounds, and the youth organizations were among its first priorities.
The youth organizations of the republic took part in the ceremonies from the beginning, and the tradition has continued. The scouts, the sports clubs, and the school delegations march together on May 19 in every city of the country.
For visitors, the presence of the young in the celebrations is the most striking feature of the day. The republic, in its holiday, shows its faith in the generations that carry it forward.
Practical Tips for Visitors
If you are in Turkey on May 19, you will find the country celebrating its young people. The best experiences are the stadium ceremonies and the school parades, and in the cities the parks and the sports grounds host events through the day.
May 19 is a public holiday, so the banks and the government offices close, and the schools are closed for the celebrations. The shops and the museums in the tourist areas generally stay open, and the transport continues to run.
For the grandest celebration, plan a visit to Samsun, where the holiday was born. For the most touching celebration, find a small town, where the school performances and the family picnics give the day its warmest face.
The Day in the Regions
The celebration of May 19 takes on the colors of each region of Turkey. In the coastal cities, the day moves to the waterfront, where the youth parade along the promenades and the sports events are held on the beaches and in the seaside parks.
In the mountain towns of the Black Sea, the horon, the whirling folk dance of the region, is the heart of the celebration, and the young people dance in the squares with the families joining in a circle. In the southeast, the halay lines of the dancers stretch across the streets, and the music of the drums and the zurna fills the air.
The official program is the same everywhere, but the local performances give each city its own character. The visitor who travels on May 19 will find a country united in its ceremony and delightfully varied in its celebration.
A Day of National Pride
May 19 carries a deep sense of national pride. The landing at Samsun is taught in every school as the beginning of the modern Turkish state, and the holiday renews the story of the nation’s rebirth.
The pride is most visible in the faces of the young people in the parades. The marching bands, the flags, and the uniforms give the day a martial color, but the mood is joyful, and the crowds that line the streets cheer the passing columns of students and athletes.
For the visitor, the day is a lesson in Turkish identity. To watch the country celebrate its founder, its youth, and its independence together is to understand, in a single morning, the values that the republic was built upon and the hopes that it places in the next generation.
Frequently asked questions
What is Youth and Sports Day in Turkey?
May 19 commemorates the landing of Ataturk at Samsun in 1919, the beginning of the national struggle for independence. The day is also dedicated to the youth of Turkey and to sports, and it is celebrated with stadium ceremonies, athletic displays, folk dances, and school celebrations across the country.
How does Turkey celebrate May 19?
The main celebrations take place in the stadiums, with mass gymnastics displays, folk dances, and athletic events performed by young people. A torch relay runs from Samsun to Ankara before the day. Schools hold their own ceremonies and performances, and sports events are organized across the country.
Is May 19 a public holiday?
Yes, May 19 is an official public holiday in Turkey. Schools, banks, and government offices close for the day. Shops and museums in the tourist areas generally remain open, and public transport runs normally, making it easy for visitors to join the celebrations in the stadiums, parks, and squares.
All Over Information
The All Over Information editorial team researches and writes practical English-language guides to Turkey. Facts are checked against official and local sources before publication, prices are published as dated ranges rather than quotes, and guides are revised when things change. We accept no sponsored posts, paid placements or paid links.
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