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

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

Comments:
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. Published on the front page of the journal Zümrüdüanka on the first day of the new year, it deploys the mythology of Father Christmas and his universally renowned miraculous act of charity (i.e. gift-giving) toward highlighting the most important needs of the Turkey’s most populous city, Istanbul.

As mentioned in a previous post, Santa Claus or Father Christmas was adopted as a secular, gift-giving character associated with New Year (instead of the Christian Christmas) in Turkey as early as the 1920s. The inclusion of a charm which reads “1925” hanging off of his belt demonstrates this “New Year” connection.

Visually, however, Father Christmas or 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 rendered as a young, emaciated girl kneeling down on her knees. 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 unique number of minarets: 6). The cold of the winter is emphasized with the falling snow flakes surrounding the protagonists of the scene.

The text below 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 least fortunate people of the city.

Sadly, while in 1925 Istanbul’s problems revolved around feeding people and keeping people warm, today Istanbul suffers from much graver dangers. With yet another violent attack in the city over this New Year’s celebrations, safety and security is likely at the top of the list of Istanbul’s wish-list for 2017. The New Year massacre, which resulted in the death of 39 innocent people came on the heels of several other deadly attacks suffered by the city over the course of 2016. Thus, if it’s not too late, a gift of peace would be most appreciated by Istanbul in 2017. (Additional comments continued below.)

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!!

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

Additional Comments:
This image was created during the early years of cartoonist Cemal Nadir Güler (1902-1947) short but prolific career. His signature is located in the lower left corner of the image. Cemal Nadir Güler started publishing his cartoons in the magazine Diken in 1920 and his cartoons were soon accepted by other journals including Zümrüdüanka and Akbaba throughout the decade. He finally found regular employment with the newspaper Akşam in 1929 where he created a number of well-known recurring characters in his comic strips. Cemal Nadir was born in the city of Bursa where he is honored today with a street that bears his name. There is also a commemorative bust of the artist mounted on the sidewalk alongside this Cemal Nadir Street (Caddesi). There is also a mural recreating some of his most memorable characters running alongside the street. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a picture of these cartoons when I last visited Bursa, but I did take a picture of the bust, included below.

(Bust of Cemal Nadir Güler located on Cemal Nadir Street/Caddesi in Bursa, Turkey, 2013.)