Today in 1920s Turkey: 1 January 1925 (Istanbul’s Request for the New Year)

(Cartoon by Cemal Nadir, Zümrüdüanka, 1 January 1925, no. 207, page 1.)

English
The New Year: Pretty girl! Look, I brought you dolls, toys, trumpets!!
Suffering Istanbul: Oh Father Christmas, it would have been better if you would have brought a bit of coal and bread in their place!!

Türkçe
Yeni Sene: Güzel kız! Bak sana bebekler, oyuncaklar, borular getirdim!!
Muztarip Istanbul: Ah Noel Baba, onların yerine bir okka kömürle bir okka ekmek getireydin daha iyi olurdu!!

Comments:
Saint Nicholas or Father Christmas was adopted as a secular, gift-giving figure associated with the New Year (instead of the Christian Christmas) in Turkey as early as the 1920s. The inclusion of a medallion reading “1925” on his belt demonstrates this “New Year” connection. Visually, however, Father Christmas or as he is known in Turkish, Noel Baba is depicted much in the same way as he was represented in the Euro-American sphere, with a fluffy white beard, a fur-trimmed coat and hat, and carrying a hefty bag of gifts on his back. The recipient of his gifts is a personification of Istanbul (the word Istanbul is inscribed on her skirt) rendered as a youthful but emaciated girl kneeling in the snowy ground. The location of the scene is further cemented with the inclusion of one of Istanbul’s most famous monuments, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque in the background (identifiable by its six minarets). The cold of the winter is emphasized with the falling snow flakes surrounding the protagonists of the scene.

Non-essential or recreational “gifts” should only be exchanged in instances where basic needs such as sustenance have already been satisfied. Meaning, if one is starving or freezing in the winter, it is not possible to enjoy “play time” when the physical body is suffering. This hierarchy of priorities is at the root of this cartoon’s message. The text below the cartoon outlines the collective worries of many Istanbulites who may not be able to afford coal for heating or food for nourishment in the difficult winter months ahead. Here, Istanbul is not appreciative of Father Christmas’s many recreational gifts that can be seen spilling out of the old man’s bag. She suggests that more practical gifts of coal and bread, while not “fun”, would have been better received. In this way the cartoonist is able to express the most pressing priorities of the city’s least fortunate people at a moment of frivolous consumption for those not afflicted with life-threatening worries.

(Entire page, Zümrüdüanka, 1 January 1925, no. 207, page 1.)

This article has been updated and modified from its first iteration published right here on Steemit on 1 January 2017. For the original version see:
45. Today in 1920s Turkey: 1 January 1925 (Istanbul’s Request for the New Year)