Traditional halay dances at weddings to be performed with sticks

ISTANBUL

Weddings in Turkey will be held over the summer season, as Turkey will begin allowing people to slowly crawl out of isolation and lockdowns, although they will not resemble any wedding pre-COVID-19 life.

People in Turkey celebrate weddings with the traditional halay dance, which involves people holding each other’s hands and their shoulders touching each other’s forming long lines. But amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the weddings will require people to hold sticks connecting each other, rather than their hands.

Many couples could not hold their weddings due to isolations and lockdowns imposed in the country, as they had to post their ceremonies to a later date. This summer, they will be able to have their weddings.

The owners of wedding venues have called for the ban on weddings indoors to be lifted.

“We made our preparations as if the wedding ban would be lifted tomorrow. We have taken our precautions in order not to endanger the health of our people,” said Barış Ay, chairman of the Wedding Hall Owners and Organizers Employers’ Union.

“We will pay attention to the hygiene of employees and halls. Even at the wedding, we will want the halays to be performed with 1.5-meter sticks,” Ay said.

Wedding halls are planned to open in June and outdoor ceremonies will be given priority and more desirable, according to Turkish media.

On March 19, Turkey closed all wedding venues to stem the spread of novel coronavirus.