Turkish New Year Countdown: How Families Celebrate Yılbaşı
32 seconds · English narration and captions
In Türkiye, New Year's Eve is yılbaşı: for many families, a night at home with a full table, a game and a countdown. In this short video, the Roots & Talks characters show what the night looks like: a tree with lights, Noel Baba, tea and kuruyemiş, a game of tombala and the countdown from on to bir.
What the video says
Here is the narration, word for word.
How do Turkish families count down to the New Year? On, dokuz, sekiz…
In Turkish, New Year is yılbaşı.
Many homes put up a tree with lights, and kids know Santa as Noel Baba.
The table fills with tea and kuruyemiş.
Many families play tombala: Turkish bingo. A full row? Çinko! A full card? Tombala!
At midnight, everyone counts down. On! Dokuz! Sekiz! Yedi! Altı! Beş! Dört! Üç! İki! Bir!
Find New Year designs at Roots & Talks.
Keep exploring
- Turkish New Year traditions: the table, tombala, the tree and the words to say at midnight.
- Why the tree and Noel Baba wait for 31 December: in Türkiye, the tree, the lights and Noel Baba belong to New Year's Eve.
- How to say Happy New Year in Turkish: Mutlu yıllar, Yeni yılınız kutlu olsun and twelve short wishes for cards and messages.
- Üç, İki, Bir, Mutlu Yıllar collection: our countdown design, with “Üç, iki, bir…” above big “Mutlu yıllar!” letters, confetti and a gold underline.
- Yeni Yılınız Kutlu Olsun collection: a Turkish New Year wish in bold letters under three snowflakes.