andnNational Sovereignty Day in Turkey
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nPostednon April 23, 2016
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nAnpatriotic holiday AND a celebration of children, on the same date?
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nEverynyear on April 23, the people of Turkey commemorate the firstngathering of the Turkish Parliament, which happened on this date inn1920. n
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nOkay,nthat makes sense of the “National Sovereignty Day” part. Butnwhere do children come in?
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nThenfounder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, dedicated April 23 to all the children of the world. Because of this, Turkish kidsntake seats in the Parliament for the day. They elect a president whonaddresses the entire nation on TV. Other children are chosen tonreplace the Prime Minister, the cabinet ministers, and provincialngovernors. In other words, children symbolically run the nation, forna day.
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nAndnit’s not just symbolism. The child lawmakers actually discussnissues that are important to them. And the child executives actuallynsign executive orders about educational and environmental policies. n
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nAlso,nthere are children’s festivals held here, there, and everywhere. Thenstate-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation brings childrennfrom various nations around the world to Turkey; these child guestsnstay with Turkish families for a week and attend children’snfestivals. n
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nAllnof this sounds excellent. I think ALL nations should combine theirnpatriotic holidays with children’s days! UNICEF seems to agree andnhas recognized April 23 as International Children’s Day!
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nAlsonon this date:
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nImpossiblenAstronaut Day
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nSt.nGeorge’s Day in the U.K.
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nPhysicistnMax Planck’s birthday
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nThenDay of the Rose and the Day of the Book in Spain
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nPlaywrightnand poet William Shakespeare’s birthday (?)
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nEnglishnLanguage Day at the U.N.
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nPlannahead:
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Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nApriln holidays
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nMayn holidays
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nMayn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in May
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