İyd-i Milli was a national holiday that commemorated the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...

. It was celebrated in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

every 23 July, the date of the declaration of the

Second Constitutional Era The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...

, since 1909. The celebration of İyd-i Milli, the only national holiday in the Ottoman Empire, continued after the establishment of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in 1923, until it was abolished in 1935.

History

The issue of establishing a national holiday in the country first came to the fore upon the application of Mehmed Ziya Bey, an officer of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, when the relevant motion was read by

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

MP Ahmed Müfid Bey at the session of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

on January 21, 1909. While this proposal was being discussed at the parliamentary session on January 26, 1909, Istanbul deputy Hüseyin Cahit Bey suggested that the 23rd of July, when the Second Constitutional Monarchy was declared, be a national holiday instead of the establishment of the state. After being accepted in the assembly it was sent to the Layiha Committee.Yamak, Sanem; sf. 4 It was then presented to the Grand Vizier Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha, and with the decision of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

dated 30 June 1909, the bill was sent to the Presidency of the Parliament. The bill was read in the first session of Parliament held on July 5, 1909, was accepted and enacted.Yamak, Sanem; sf. 5 The decree in this direction was published in the newspaper ''

Takvim-i Vekayi ''Takvîm-i Vekâyi'' (, meaning "Calendar of Events") was the first fully Turkish language newspaper. It was launched in 1831 by Sultan Mahmud II, taking over from ''Le Moniteur ottoman'' as the official gazette of the Ottoman Empire. With the b ...

'' dated 6 July 1909.

References

* {{Public holidays in Turkey Culture of the Ottoman Empire Public holidays in Turkey July observances