Hidirellez is one of the oldest and most beloved festivals of Turkey and the Balkans, a celebration of spring that arrives on May 5 and 6 with fire, music, wishes, and feasting. Its name joins two holy figures, Hizir and Ilyas, but its roots run far deeper, into the ancient spring festivals of the region’s earliest peoples. To understand Hidirellez is to understand how old and new have blended in this corner of the world, and how a festival can carry thousands of years of meaning into the present.
Origins: Hizir and Ilyas
The name Hidirellez joins two figures of Islamic and Abrahamic tradition. Hizir is the mysterious helper of the faithful, the guide and protector who appears when needed and is believed to be immortal, while Ilyas is the prophet Elias, associated with rain, fertility, and the green of the earth.
According to tradition, the two saints meet on the night of May 5, and their meeting marks the turning of the seasons. The water they are said to drink together is the water of life, and the blessings they carry bring health, abundance, and luck to the world for the year ahead.
The story gives the festival its spiritual frame, but it is only part of the picture. The customs of Hidirellez, the fires, the wishes, the offerings, and the spring feasts, are far older than the Islamic tradition, and the festival has always been a marriage of the ancient and the new.
Pre-Islamic Roots: Spring in Anatolia
Long before Islam or Christianity reached Anatolia, the people of the region celebrated the return of spring. The spring equinox, the first green, the lambing, and the sowing of the fields all demanded celebration, and the festivals of the spring were among the most important of the ancient year.
The elements of those ancient celebrations survive in Hidirellez. The fire jumping, the purification with water, the wishes for fertility and abundance, and the feasting on the first spring foods all have parallels in the spring rites of the ancient Mediterranean and Central Asian worlds.
The continuity is remarkable. The same rituals that the ancient farmers performed to secure the year’s harvest are still performed on the nights of May 5, and the modern celebrants of Hidirellez are the direct heirs of the region’s oldest traditions.
The Meeting of Two Prophets
The heart of the Hidirellez story is the meeting of Hizir and Ilyas on the festival night. The two figures represent complementary forces: Hizir the wanderer, the helper of the lost and the desperate, and Ilyas the prophet of the rain and the green, who brings the earth back to life.
Their meeting is a moment of blessing. The tradition holds that wherever the two meet, the ground is blessed, the water turns sweet, and the wishes made at that time have a special power. The night of May 5 is therefore the great wishing night of the year.
For the celebrants, the story translates into practice. The wishes tied to the rose bushes, the offerings left for the saints, and the water drawn on the festival morning are all attempts to catch the blessing of the meeting, to place one’s hope in the path of the two holy wanderers.
Rituals and Their Meanings
The rituals of Hidirellez are simple, old, and rich in meaning. The fire is the festival’s great symbol: the bonfires and the small jumping fires represent the sun, purification, and the burning away of the old year’s troubles, and leaping over the flames is an act of renewal that everyone can share.
The water is the second element. On the festival morning, people wash in the water of springs and rivers, believed to bring health and beauty, and the water of Hidirellez is drawn and kept as a blessing. Fire and water together make the festival’s double sacrament.
The wishes complete the ritual cycle. Papers and ribbons are tied to the branches of the rose, the flower of Hizir, and the offerings of food and grain are left for the saints and the poor. Each ritual is a small act of hope, and together they make the festival’s prayer.
Fire Jumping and Purification
The fire jumping is the festival’s most famous and most dramatic ritual. As the evening of May 5 darkens, the fires are lit, and one after another, the celebrants leap over the flames, often repeating the jump three times. The act is a gesture of courage and purification.
The meaning of the jump is layered. The fire burns away the misfortunes of the old year, the leaper carries the strength of the flames into the new season, and the height of the jump is even read as an omen of the year ahead. The ritual is serious in its hope and joyful in its practice.
For the onlooker, the fire jumping is the most striking image of Hidirellez, the moment when the ancient festival becomes visible. The flames, the leapers, and the laughing crowd are the picture of the festival that stays in the memory.
Wishes, Ribbons, and Roses
The wishing is the festival’s gentlest ritual. On the eve of Hidirellez, people write their wishes on small papers, tie them with ribbons to the branches of rose bushes and trees, and leave them for Hizir to find. The rose is the festival’s flower, and the gardens fill with its ribboned branches.
The wishes are personal and universal at once. Some ask for health, some for love, some for abundance, and the festival treats all wishes with the same seriousness. The custom is one of the most tender traditions of Turkish folk culture.
For the visitor, the ribboned trees are among the most beautiful sights of the festival. The papers flutter in the spring wind, each one carrying a private hope, and the gardens of Hidirellez become galleries of the community’s wishes.
Food and Hospitality
Hidirellez is a festival of eating and sharing. The celebration falls at the first green of spring, and the festival food celebrates the season: wild greens, young onions, fresh herbs, and the first lamb, prepared in the traditional dishes of the region and shared in the open air.
The feasting is communal by design. The families of the festival spread their meals in the parks and the fields, the neighbors share their dishes, and the visitors are pressed to eat. The hospitality of Hidirellez is one of the festival’s oldest and most constant features.
The eve of the festival has its own food customs, with special dishes prepared for the night of the wishes, and the day of May 6 is given to the picnics. The food of Hidirellez is the taste of spring, and the sharing of it is the festival’s daily bread.
Hidirellez in the Balkans
Hidirellez belongs to the whole of the Balkan region, not only to Turkey. The festival is celebrated across the countries of the peninsula, wherever the traditions of Anatolia and the Balkans have mingled, and its other names echo across the borders.
The Thracian celebrations, in the European corner of Turkey, are among the most famous. The festivals of Edirne and Kırklareli draw thousands of celebrants, and the Romani communities of the region have made the Hidirellez celebrations there a byword for music, dance, and joy.
The Balkan connections give the festival its wider meaning. Hidirellez is a thread that ties the peoples of the region together, a shared celebration that crosses the borders and the languages, and its survival is a testimony to the deep unity of the Balkan world.
UNESCO Recognition
In 2017, the Hidirellez spring festival was inscribed by UNESCO on its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, joining the ranks of the world’s most treasured traditions. The listing recognized the festival’s age, its meaning, and its living strength.
The UNESCO recognition has brought the festival new attention. Researchers study its customs, visitors plan their travels around it, and the communities that celebrate it have gained a new pride in their heritage. The festival’s fame has grown without changing its character.
For the visitor, the UNESCO listing is a mark of what the festival deserves: recognition as a treasure of world culture. The fires of May 5 are lit by a tradition that the world has formally honored, and the celebration carries that honor lightly, as it has carried its age for centuries.
The Meaning of Hidirellez in Modern Turkey
In modern Turkey, Hidirellez remains a living festival, celebrated with undiminished joy in the villages, the towns, and the cities. It has adapted to the modern world, with the fires now lit in parks and the music played through speakers, but its heart is unchanged.
The festival’s meaning has also deepened. In a country of rapid change, Hidirellez is a point of continuity, a celebration that connects the present to the deepest past, and its survival is a source of identity and pride. The festival is old, and its age is part of its power.
And Hidirellez remains a festival of hope. The wishes tied to the roses, the fires jumped, and the water drawn are all acts of confidence in the future, and the festival’s message, that winter ends and spring returns, is as true and as needed as ever. That is the meaning that keeps the festival alive.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Hidirellez celebrated on May 5 and 6?
The date joins two traditions. According to the festival’s story, the saints Hizir and Ilyas meet on the night of May 5, marking the turning of the season, and the ancient spring festivals of the region were celebrated at the same time of year. The modern date is fixed on the calendar.
What do the fires symbolize in Hidirellez?
The fires represent the sun, purification, and renewal. Leaping over the flames is believed to burn away the troubles of the old year and to bring courage and luck into the new season, and the fire jumping is the festival’s most famous ritual.
Is Hidirellez celebrated outside Turkey?
Yes. Hidirellez is celebrated across the Balkans, wherever the region’s traditions have mingled, and similar spring festivals exist in many countries of the wider region. The Thracian celebrations of Turkey, however, are among the most famous, and in 2017 UNESCO inscribed the festival on its intangible heritage list.
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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