Before the start of the three months (The three months are the months of Rajab, Shaban and Ramadan, which are in the Hijri calendar and are holy according to the religion of Islam.), the tradition of "şivlilik" is also on the agenda. Sivlilik is a cultural event in Konya where children visit the houses in their neighborhoods and collect cookies every year during the day. Sivlilik, which dates back to the pre-Ottoman period, is among the celebrations that especially children look forward to.
In Konya, which was the capital of the Seljuk state, the beginning of the three months has been celebrated for hundreds of years with the custom called "şivlilik".
The celebration of "şivlilik", one of the oldest religious traditions dating back to the pre-Ottoman period, begins one day before laylat al-raghaib (the night of prophet Muhammed’s conception).
Sivlilik will begin with a lantern procession on January 25. On January 26, the children will collect their şivlilik.
After the evening prayers, the children take to the streets with their parents and wait for the neighborhood elders to light a fire in a suitable area.
Some of the children gathered around the burning fire jump over the fire. The fun and celebrations continue until late into the night.
On Sivlilik day, neighbors are given dishes such as baked, poppy or tahini buns, while children are given raisins, leblebi (roasted chickpea), dried fruit or packaged products such as wafers and chocolate.
Today, local administrations organize various activities to protect this cultural heritage.
Konya Metropolitan Municipality will give the joy of şivlilik to 200 thousand kindergarten and primary school students in 31 districts in order to keep the culture of şivlilik, which is a tradition unique to Konya, alive. Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay said, "I hope we will give şivlilik gifts to all our children on Friday, when report cards will be distributed in schools. Our aim is both to keep the tradition of şivlilik alive and to ensure that our children enter the mid-term holiday happy."
In addition, the Selçuklu Sivlilik Children's Day, which was organized for the first-time last year by the Selçuklu Municipality in cooperation with the Konya Metropolitan Municipality, will be celebrated this year as well. Last year, 535 thousand people attended the festival, which lasted for 5 days, breaking a historical record.
