It may be Mother’s Day throughout the world today, but in that small town in Afyon Mother’s Day was celebrated just two days ago on Friday. There was nothing special about this past Friday, as each Friday is a cause for celebration in Başmakçı. In fact, this practice is so common that if you gathered children off the street and asked them to name the days of the week they would list them as: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Mother’s Day, Saturday and Sunday.
Mother’s Day in Başmakçı began as a way for young women who had married and moved away to visit their mothers, a local tradition observed so the new brides would not forget about their maternal mothers and live completely with their in-laws. On this particular day of the week, women are taken by their husbands or fathers-in-law to see their mothers, who prepare by making their daughters’ favorite dishes, putting the kettle on for tea and awaiting their arrival.
‘Mother’s Day for centuries’
In this quaint Anatolian town, Mother’s Day is a day of shopping as well as a day off. With the exception of government offices, all businesses are closed. A large bazaar is set up in the town square and entire day is spent shopping and visiting mothers. In the past more than now, this would allow for young girls who were married to get in touch with their families, as they would have limited contact with their parents back home.
Vehbi Ersöz, a farmer from Başmakcı, sees the regional celebration as a social success. Noting that this custom helps strengthen family ties, “The modern world has weakened family ties and as a solution to individuality, they have declared Mothers’ and Fathers’ days as holidays observed once a year. These holidays, which emerged as a result of consumerism, are actually geared towards re-strengthening family ties. This practice discovered relatively recently by the modern world, has been practiced in our town for hundreds of years.’
Spending time with mothers
Now one would think that sons-in-laws do not get much out of this weekly event, but that is not the case. On this day, mothers prepare a special wrap for their sons-in-law, who would come pick up their wives at the end of the day. This special “kaynana dürmeci” (mother-in-law wrap) is made of flat bread stuffed with çökelek cheese and spinach.
Cab driver Şerif Cansever says that because the people of the region practice this custom so regularly, they are not aware of how wonderful it is. Outsiders visiting the town are amazed at the practice and its regularity, he notes, adding: “They sit at my office and just watch the mothers and daughters come and go all day, those visiting their mothers at home, those shopping with their mothers. Every Friday is like a holiday.”
