---
title: "Yılbaşı: New Year’s Eve in Türkiye and Its Tree"
description: "How Türkiye celebrates Yılbaşı: a decorated tree for New Year instead of Christmas, Noel Baba, tombala with the family, pomegranates, the big lottery draw and gifts."
url: https://decomytree.link/blog/new-years-eve-in-turkey
language: en
last_updated: 2026-11-08
---

Blog · Around the world

# Yılbaşı: New Year’s Eve in Türkiye, and its tree

In December, Istanbul’s shopping streets fill with lights and decorated trees, but most of them are not for Christmas. In Türkiye, the tree belongs to New Year’s Eve: Yılbaşı.

By [Ömer Ercan](https://decomytree.link/about#founder), founder

## A New Year tree

For most people in Türkiye, the big winter celebration is New Year’s Eve, a secular holiday that many families enjoy. The decorated tree is called a **yılbaşı ağacı**, a New Year tree, and it goes up in homes, offices, cafés and shopping centres through December. Gifts are exchanged on New Year’s Eve, and **Noel Baba**, the Turkish Father Christmas, is part of the New Year story.

Türkiye’s Christian communities celebrate Christmas in their churches, but for most families the lights, the tree and the presents are all about the night of December 31.

## How the tree became a New Year tree

From 1926 Türkiye used the international calendar, counting the years the same way as most of the world, and in 1935 January 1 became a public holiday. Over the decades, the decorated tree, the lights and Noel Baba became symbols of the new year rather than of a religious holiday. For many families today, decorating the tree together in December is simply part of saying goodbye to the old year.

## Saint Nicholas was from here

The saint behind Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, was a 4th-century bishop of Myra, today the town of Demre on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast in Antalya. The Church of Saint Nicholas there is now a museum, and visitors come from all over the world to see it. And here is [how the Christmas tree itself began](https://decomytree.link/blog/history-of-the-christmas-tree).

## How the night goes

1. A long dinner
   Families and friends gather around a table full of meze, roast dishes (roast turkey, “hindi”, has become popular for the night), and plenty of dessert and nuts.
2. Tombala
   The classic New Year game: numbered pieces are drawn from a bag and everyone covers the numbers on their card. Whoever fills a row first calls “çinko”, whoever fills the whole card wins “tombala”, and the shouting is half the fun.
3. The lottery draw
   The national lottery’s New Year draw is one of the biggest of the year, and many families buy a ticket and follow the results.
4. TV specials and the countdown
   Shows, concerts and the countdown on TV, or fireworks over the Bosphorus for those who head out in Istanbul.
5. Midnight
   Hugs, “Mutlu yıllar!” (Happy New Year) and gifts. Then most people stay up long after.

## The New Year table

| Dish | What it is |
| --- | --- |
| Hindi dolması | Roast turkey stuffed with spiced rice, chestnuts and currants |
| İç pilav | The same aromatic rice, served on the side |
| Rus salatası | A creamy salad of potatoes, peas, carrots and pickles |
| Meze | Small plates: yoghurt with herbs, a spicy tomato dip, stuffed vine leaves |
| Kuruyemiş | Bowls of mixed nuts and dried fruit to snack on until midnight |
| Baklava or a cake | Something sweet for after the countdown |

## Little customs for luck

- **Pomegranates:** a symbol of plenty, they appear in decorations and gifts, and some families break one at the door for a fruitful year.
- **Red underwear:** wearing something red on the night is said to bring luck in the new year.

Brazilians have their own New Year customs, from wearing white to jumping seven waves: see [Christmas in Brazil](https://decomytree.link/blog/christmas-in-brazil).

## Gifts and the office draw

Like Secret Santa elsewhere, offices, classes and friend groups hold a **yılbaşı çekilişi**, a New Year name draw, in December. Everyone buys one gift for the person they drew, and the presents are opened at a party before the holiday. Here are [our tips for running a gift draw](https://decomytree.link/blog/secret-santa-rules).

## Where to see the lights

In Istanbul, İstiklal Avenue, Nişantaşı and Bağdat Avenue on the Asian side are favourite places to celebrate. On the night itself, crowds gather in places like Taksim for the countdown, and fireworks light up the Bosphorus.

## Useful phrases

| Turkish | In English |
| --- | --- |
| Mutlu yıllar! | Happy New Year! |
| İyi yıllar! | Have a good year! |
| Yeni yılın kutlu olsun! | Happy New Year to you! |
| Nice mutlu yıllara! | To many more happy years! |
| Yılbaşı ağacı | New Year tree |
| Noel Baba | Father Christmas |

## New Year messages

The days before December 31 are full of messages: “Mutlu yıllar”, “İyi yıllar”, long notes in group chats and stories. If you want ideas in Turkish, see our [New Year messages in Turkish](https://decomytree.link/tr/yeni-yil-mesajlari). And since the Turkish tree is a New Year tree, a [tree of messages](https://decomytree.link/create-tree) fits right in: friends hang gifts with their wishes on it during December.

Make your tree

Share the link and collect New Year wishes from your friends.

- [Create your tree](https://decomytree.link/create-tree)
- [Send a message](https://decomytree.link/send-message)

## Questions

### Do people in Türkiye celebrate Christmas?

Christian communities do. For most families, the tree, the gifts and the party belong to New Year’s Eve instead.

### Is New Year’s Day a holiday in Türkiye?

Yes, January 1 is a public holiday, and New Year’s Eve is the big night out.

### What is tombala?

A bingo-style game played at New Year: numbers are drawn from a bag and players cover them on their cards until someone completes a row or the whole card.

## Sources

Facts checked against these pages on November 7, 2026.

1. [New Year’s customs in Turkey: Wearing red, smashing pomegranates and other superstitions](https://www.dailysabah.com/life/new-years-customs-in-turkey-wearing-red-smashing-pomegranates-and-other-superstitions/news), Daily Sabah
2. [How New Year’s Eve is celebrated in Türkiye](https://www.dailysabah.com/life/how-new-years-eve-is-celebrated-in-turkiye/news), Daily Sabah
3. [The quintessential New Year’s feast in Turkey](https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/expat-corner/the-quintessential-new-years-feast-in-turkey), Daily Sabah
4. [Christians celebrate Christmas in church services across Turkey](https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/minorities/christians-celebrate-christmas-in-church-services-across-turkey), Daily Sabah
5. [Takvimde Tarih Mebdeinin Tebdili Hakkında Kanun (Law No. 698)](https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.3.698.pdf), Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi, Republic of Türkiye (in Turkish)
6. [Today in History: 1 January](https://www.ismetinonu.org.tr/en/today-in-history-1-january/), İsmet İnönü Foundation
7. [Take a road trip through Türkiye, home of the real St. Nicholas](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/antalya-turkey-home-of-st-nicholas), National Geographic
8. [Turkey’s Noel Baba: Saint Nicholas, Turkish style](https://qantara.de/en/article/turkeys-noel-baba-saint-nicholas-turkish-style), Qantara.de
9. [Where to celebrate New Year’s Eve 2025 in Istanbul and across Türkiye](https://www.turkiyetoday.com/lifestyle/where-to-spend-new-years-eve-in-istanbul-and-across-turkiye-3211620), Türkiye Today

## More pages

- [Christmas in Brazil](https://decomytree.link/blog/christmas-in-brazil): Amigo secreto, a midnight ceia and Christmas in summer
- [History of the Christmas tree](https://decomytree.link/blog/history-of-the-christmas-tree): From apples on a fir to a tree on your phone
- [New Year countdown](https://decomytree.link/new-year-countdown): Countdown to midnight on January 1, 2027
- [New Year wishes](https://decomytree.link/new-year-wishes): 130+ Happy New Year 2027 messages to copy