Pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance:

It is mentioned that the people of Medina had two holidays during the Jahiliyya period. The people of Medina would play games and hold celebrations on these days. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) migrated to Medina and saw the people of Medina celebrating these holidays, he asked, “What are these two days?” They replied, “During the Jahiliyyah period, we used to celebrate on these two days.” It is recorded that these two holidays celebrated by the people of Medina during the pre-Islamic era were Nowruz(^[677])and Mihrican^{([ .}

ISLAM: Islam has abolished the celebration of these festivals, namely Nowruz and Mihrican. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah the Almighty has replaced your two holidays with two holidays that are better than them: These are Eid al-Fitr (Ramadan Holiday) and Eid al-Adha (Sacrifice Holiday).(^[680])Holiday days are days of peace and joy when sins are forgiven, the poor are made happy, and unity and togetherness are strengthened.

Nowadays: There are now very few people in Muslim societies who preserve the spirit of celebrating holidays. Although Eid is the most important occasion for maintaining family ties (^[681]), visits are often made merely for show. There are various reasons for this. One of the most common reasons is that spouses’ consent is prioritized over the satisfaction of family elders; another is that people with financial means believe they are self-sufficient. Visits made with the consent of spouses have not been completely discontinued, but they have become short and perfunctory. This is because the goal is not to win someone’s heart, but to complete the visit quickly without causing discord between spouses. Visits made with the mentality of “it would be rude not to go” or “they shouldn’t say we didn’t come” fall into this category. The other group is manifested by the person keeping the number of visits low, believing that they are not in need of anyone due to the comfort provided by their financial means. These fall into the group of visits made with the mentality of “So-and-so will ask for a loan” or “Why should I go, let them come to me.” Along with these, while the holiday should be a solution to situations such as envy, grudges, and jealousy, these situations become reasons for not making holiday visits. Here, the personal fault lies in not living in the manner required by religion. When visits are made for these and similar reasons, or not made at all, it leads to sins such as backbiting, lying, gossip, ostentation, and hypocrisy. After these occur, Eid visits resemble actions performed without spirit, like praying without ablution. This pushes us towards living with a pre-Islamic understanding of religion. (^[682])  Because this understanding prevails, even in areas populated by Muslim communities, the festivals of Nowruz and Mihrican continue to be celebrated, despite being forbidden by Allah and His Messenger.

^[677]  In Persian, it is formed from the combination of the words nev (new) and ruz (day) and means “new day.” Nowruz is a traditional New Year or, in other words, a festival of the awakening of nature and spring, celebrated by many peoples, primarily Turkic tribes, and communities in the northern hemisphere ( ).

^[678]  Autumn; one of the two major holidays following Nowruz, which originated from the Zoroastrian religion practiced by the Kurds before they adopted Islam. It is also called “Îdî/a Kurd.” It falls on the 16th day of the seventh solar month. It lasts for six days until the 21st day of the month.

^[679]  Ali Osman Ateş, Islam in the Age of Happiness in All Its Aspects, Beyan Publications: Volume 2, p.45

^[680]  Abu Dawud, Sunan, I, 675; Nasa’i, Sunan, III, 179–180

^[681]  Visiting relatives and believers, meeting with them, maintaining ties, forgiving the faults of relatives

^[682]  For the necessary explanation, see the section under the heading “religion”