Nevruz holiday move gets minister backing

"Some still believe that Nevruz and May Day become more meaningful if there are more conflicts," Günay told the Anatolia news agency in an interview. "However, this sort of approach reveals they don’t really understand their meaning. I support both Nevruz and May Day becoming official holidays."

Nevruz is a local festival that celebrates the coming of spring on March 21, when the night and the day are approximately equally long. Although the coming of spring is experienced more strongly in some parts of Turkey, including the eastern and southeastern regions, on March 21, Günay said everyone should have the right to celebrate the event as they like.

"It would be unfaithful to say Nevruz will be celebrated with the same enthusiasm all over Turkey just because of a state decision," Günay said. "You can’t celebrate a feast in Diyarbakır that is normally celebrated on the seaside, for instance. Nevruz is a kind of local event in this sense. But all should celebrate as they like, those who want to enjoy a holiday on that day should do so. It is a public feast. So, as the culture minister, I support the idea of making this day a holiday and preserving the cultural diversity."

But making people across the country celebrate the day with an official decision is likely to violate the sincerity of the event, Günay said, adding that the problem could be solved in unofficial ways. Likewise, Günay said May Day was a meaningful day in the historic conflict between capital and labor and that "May 1 could be made an official holiday, but again, via unofficial ways, so that those who work can either enjoy the holiday or join the demonstration." Noting that providing people with an opportunity to enjoy such holidays could ease suppressed feelings, Günay suggested potential conflicts around these sorts of events could be solved by making them holidays under "an unofficial formula."