The functions of April 23rd National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Forming the National Identity of Children

SUMMARY In this study, the functions of April 23rd National Sovereignty and Children's Day in forming the national identity of children are discussed. The study is limited to the Early Republican Period and the periodicals and children's magazines were scanned and data were obtained. The party's charter of the CHF was scanned at the point of creating the national identity ideology. The dormitory works published by the Ministry of National Education have been opened and evaluated under the heading of national education. The study consists of six chapters. In the first chapter, the historical aspects of the concepts of 'child, ceremony and nationalism' which constitute the main themes of the thesis, in the western and Turkish cultures have been examined until the Republic Period. In the second part, said the official holidays celebrated in the Republic of Turkey were discussed. In this context, the 29th Republic Day, 19 May Atatürk's Youth and Sports Day, 30 August Victory Day, 23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day, except the official festivals, were discussed in the historical context. The process of preparing April 23rd National Sovereignty and Children's Day, the opening of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TGNA), the announcement of the National Sovereignty and the celebration of the first festivals in this framework; the period leading to Children's Day was analyzed for years. In the third chapter, the first appearance of the concept of ın Children's Day in 1925 was explained; festive speeches, poems, stories and epics, concise words, advertisements and cartoons, competitions, which are the elements that help children's national identity, are published in newspapers and magazines were analyzed between the years 1926-1938 in the context of April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day. The characteristics of the modern Turkish-ideal Turkish child, which is to be constructed, has been investigated under the title of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Turkish child. In the fourth chapter, the 'Child Problem', which is expressed as 'national case', has been evaluated in the context of national identity, and in this way the problems of children in terms of their financial impossibilities, moral and manners solutions are researched, in the context of the issue of population, the issue of healthy and robust child rearing was tried to be analyzed in terms of the population problem of the period. In the fifth chapter, two effective institutions of the period and the successive Turk Ocaks and ix Halkevs were examined. In the sixth part of the thesis, the history and functions of Children's Days in celebrated throughout the world have been researched. In the final part of the thesis, it is stated that Children's Day, which is intended in the thesis study, contributes to the construction of children's national identity and and it was understood that Children's holidays were a process of constructing child identity. In the appendices, cover art of children's magazines, stamps and badges that were presented by Himaye-i Etfâl Society for Children's Day, and pictures of Gürbüz Children's Competition were put on. Key Words: Children's Day, National Holiday, Ceremony, National Identity, Children.