‘Koleda’ takes place in Türkiye’s Thracian province

KIRKLARELI

Citizens in the Thracian province of Kırklareli celebrated the thousand-year-old Balkan tradition of "Koleda," a kind of Balkan Halloween believed to expel evil spirits.

Many people came together in the Büyükmandıra town of Babaeski district for the tradition, which is celebrated on the coldest days of winter with different names in various parts of Thrace.

Koleda has been celebrated in Büyükmandıra for the last six years. This year’s celebrations were as colorful as the previous years.

According the tradition, people paint their faces and wear white sheets to scare people by roaming the neighborhood and knocking on people’s windows with torches in their hands.

People gathered in houses before the celebrations and told horror stories as they have done for hundreds of years. It is believed those who cook and eat pumpkin desserts in their homes are not afraid of evil spirits.

After the stories, the people of the town cooked pumpkin dessert and started roaming the streets.

Mayor Ersan Çölgeçen stated that citizens have fun at the event and believe they have been purified from the gloomy spirit of winter. "On this night, we tie our scissors with rope in the coldest times of winter and throw them under the rug to protect our animals from predators. We throw our plates into our ovens and stoves and believe that its scent will prevent bad and pessimistic events from happening throughout the year."

Agah Temurlenk, who attended the celebration, said, "Koleda is an event that gathers all Thracians in the region. There will be a concert, and then there will be various shows and entertainment. It is a night of celebration."