Kurban Bayrami

General Bayram Customs

There are customs common to both bayrams, Ramazan Bayrami and Kurban Bayrami. In this section, we will go through these briefly.

Remembering the Ancestors

On the day of bayram´s eve (the day before bayram starts), people go to graveyards to visit the graves of the lost ones and pray for their souls. It is common to take children along to give them the feeling of respect for the lost ones.

Bayram Prayer

On the first day of the bayrams, early in the morning (a little after sunrise), all the Muslims go to mosques to do the bayram prayer. This is very common in Turkey, even the people who don´t pray at other times generally go to the bayram prayer. This is the common way to start the bayram. After the prayer, which takes about 15 minutes, people gather outside to celebrate each other´s bayrams and maybe chat a little. In Kurban Bayrami, the sacrifice can be done after this prayer.

Buying Gifts?

People don´t buy gifts to each other in bayrams. Instead, it is common to buy new clothes to especially children for the bayram. This makes bayrams even more important for children since they wear their new clothes in the morning, go to prayer with their families and feel the freshness and joy of the bayram.

Visiting Relatives

One very important part of the bayrams is family and friend visits, especially the visits to the older members of the family. Large families commonly come all together at the house of the grandparents. This is a time to see the missed relatives and to close the gap between the members of the family before it grows too large.

It is an important custom to kiss the people that are at least one generation older than you in these bayram visits. This is another opportunity for the children to enjoy the bayram, since old people generally give money to little children who kiss their hands.

Turkish Phrases that you will Need for the Bayram

Now that we know the basics of the bayram and what it is all about, we can start learning some useful words and phrases we can use on these days. Note that the parts in brackets are for plural or formal use.

Bayramin (Bayraminiz) kutlu olsun.  Have a happy bayram.
Bayramin (Bayraminiz) mübarek olsun.  Have a blessed bayram.
Iyi bayramlar.  Happy bayram.
Bayram namazi  Bayram prayer
Bayramlik  Clothes bought and worn for bayram

1.	The Festival of Sacrifice
2.	General Bayram Customs
3.	Kurban Bayrami Traditions

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