Beliefs about bread in Turkish culture

Every Society has its own culture and cultural products. Cultural heritage of a society is like an identity, it gives important information about that culture. Turkish culture is also complete with the values it has. In every pieces of that complete values, it is possible to see trace of Anatolian people. As a society, we are successful in transferring the cultural products that carries our personality from generation to generation. In history, Turkish culture sometimes influenced other cultures, and sometimes it was influenced by other cultures. However, in essence, Turkish culture always has a piece of its own.Beliefs of the society also form an important part of our culture. Our society developed some practices by putting meaning to some objects or natural events. These practices sometimes were indispensables of the society.In our culture, a holy meaning is put on bread, and it is a nutrient that has an important place in our kitchen. In Turkish culture bread is holy in every way. Not only in our culture but also in other cultures or religions bread come across with its holy aspects. This sanctity goes along swearing on bread. Sometimes it goes out of being a nutrient and used as a religious symbol. This practice is still continuing nowadays. Idioms like `bread Koran it curses ?(ekmek Kur?an çarpsın), `bread for the right to?(ekmek hakkı için), `I swear on bread?(ekmeğin üzerine yemin ederim), appeared out of the holy meaning that was put on bread. Bread is the only boon that is kissed when it is dropped on the floor. This practice is only peculiar to our culture. Somebody can never step on a bread or bread crumb, if somebody does so, it is believed that will be a sin. If there are bread crumbs on a bed and somebody lie on it, that will cause him to see nightmares and he will be disturbed all night. Bread is not appraised only with its holiness, but also with being a symbol for fertility. For instance, somebody who eats burned bread will find money, somebody who often cut bread on a dinner table will have many children, and when a bride is send to the groom by putting bread crumbs on her saddlebag are signs of that bread is also appraised as a symbol for fertility. It is possible to find beliefs about bread in time of transitions of the human life, such as birth, marriage and death. Bread is both nutrient and a cultural product that make us feel its existence in every part of our life.In our study, we pointed at the beliefs about bread in Turkish society by referring to the importance of the bread in Turkish kitchen and the cultural World. We aimed to emphasize the place and importance of that belief we produced in society?s culture.