christmas

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  Christmas or New Year’s Tree?

  Written by Valantis on January 25th, 2011 in Living in Turkey, Turkish Culture1 Comment
  
  Celebrating Christmas a second time in Izmir brings a different experience to this expat. Having lived in Turkey for almost a year, the culture shock has come and gone, with Turkey becoming more of a home than a “cultural experience”. However, when people ask me about the holidays, they are left dumbfounded. “There are Christmas trees here. Santa Clause, lit up streets, the whole nine,” I described. “Really? But it’s a Muslim country,” my friends respond. They’re absolutely right, however, never underestimate the power of Christmas (marketing) culture. Although Turkey is predominately a Muslim country, Christianity flourished out of Asia...

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  Christmas in Izmir

  Written by Valantis on March 15th, 2010 in I was in Turkey, Living in Turkey3 Comments
  
  December 25th, 2009.  The Christmas trees were up, decorations covered the windows in the neighborhood, and everyone was filled with holiday cheer.  One might think I was in America from this description, but far from it, I was in Turkey.  Now, to those who may not be aware, many of the ancient traditions of the holiday stem from Asia Minor.  Santa Clause, originally St. Basil in the Eastern Orthodox Church, hailed from Caesarea, modern day Kayseri near Cappadocia.  To this day, a traditional Greek Christmas carol proclaims his miracle work in the lands of Anatolia.  In fact, his feast day...

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