Festivals and Special Dates

SEVENTH OF MAY – AKSU CELEBRATIONS :

It is celebrated every year on the seventh of May ( Anno Domini 20 May ). The locals from the city and the surrounding villages wake up early bring some food and drinks with them and gather together by the point where Aksu River, situated in East of Giresun, meets with the sea. The venue becomes a festive place. Everyone, especially sick ones, those with personal worries, those unable to have children and those with special wishes go to the border of the Aksu River, make a wish and throw seven pairs and one single rock into the water. The essence of the festival embodies liveliness and the concept of continuing to live on with the interest of producing and becoming the sovereign of nature. The woman is the one who represents life that is composed of the human, animal and plants. As life is about birth and birth is realized by women, a woman is the symbol of producing and thus she is highly respected. The earth is female as the woman. It becomes livelier in spring time the same way as a woman does while getting ready to give birth and it gives its produces in the summer. That is it becomes a mother. And this is why the fertility of a society and the earth is the same. These festivities whose traces have reached us as a cultural heritage from 4000 years ago are to celebrate the phenomena of spring, fertility and fecundation. There are signs of Anatolian culture and Shamanism traditions in the essence of these celebrations.

HIDIRELLEZ (SPRING FEST) :

It is believed that when it's the 6th.of May, the winter months are over as Hizir and Ilyas Aleyhisselam join together and special days are to come. A few young girls meet at night, make wishes and dig their rings beneath a rose tree. In the morning, they dig their rings our while singing ballads. They try to make their wishes come true in accordance with the meaning of the ballads they were singing.