Ankara Palas'ta düzenlenen bir çocuk balosunda çok sevdiği Türk çocukları arasında yer alır. (23 Nisan 1929) 

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Paşa'nın Çocuk Haftasına Yakın İlgisi

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Paşa, 23 Nisan Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı Haftası ile de yakından ilgilendi. Himaye-i Etfal Cemiyeti yöneticileri ve bir grup çocuğu Çankaya Köşkü'nde ağırlayarak bayramlarını kutladı.

23 Nisan 1929'da Ankara Palas'ta düzenlenen çocuk gösterisine katılarak çocuklarla yakından ilgilendi.

Öğrenci Etkinliğinde

"Büyük Gazi, günü çocukların arasında geçirdi, onları sevdi, okşadı; çocukların sevinci görülmeye değerdi." Gazi, ilk kez kutlanan "Çocuk Bayramı ve Haftası" nedeniyle Himaye-i Etfal Derneği'nin Ankara Palas'ta 15.00-19.00 saatleri arasında verdiği çay ziyafeti ve Çocuk Balosuna katıldı. Çocuk Balosunda, Başvekil İsmet Paşa, Meclis Başkanı Kazım Paşa, tüm mebuslar ve mebuslar, eşleri ve çocukları hazır bulundu.

At exactly 15:00 the curtain opened. The little children sang the National Anthem in unison. A little later, "A cute little girl named Great" sang her poem in front of Gazi's Statue and was greeted with applause. Afterwards, the Himaye-i Etfal March was sung. Later, the son of Chief Deputy İsmet Pasha Ömer (İnönü) recited a poem.

After a while, Gazi came to Ankara Palace, accompanied by Chief Aide Rusuhi Bey. At the door, President of Himaye-i Etfal Dr. They were welcomed by Fuat (Bulca) and members of the center. Little Wonder re-read the poem addressed to Gaziye. This poem, which was read very well, brought tears to everyone's eyes and the long applause had great repercussions in the hall.

The program was very rich. After the Erzurum dance, Süha Bey played a piece with the violin. Mrs. Azade sang the "Calculation Lesson". A Spanish dance was performed by Ms. Ayşe and the poem 'The Day I Was Born' was sung. Mr. Ömer İsmet sang the poems 'Mother' and 'Excuse'. Then 'Little Farmers' were beautifully represented. 'Oh Those Big People' 'The Almond Thief' monologues were very joyful. 'Letter March' was sung very well. Reşit Bey played some pieces with the law. They sang the poems 'Broken Baby' and '23 April' well. Butterfly, clock dances, especially Azerbaijan, Zeybek plays were very it was beautiful.

Little Sevinç's poem 'I Will Become a Soldier' ​​recited in his military uniform was very popular. The hall was very crowded. The performance left a cheerful mark on the guests. The veteran was giving compliments to the children separately. He was especially interested in little Sevinç, who sang the poem 'I Will Become a Soldier'. The show ended at 19.00 after the distribution of toys to the children.

Source : AAM Child Love in Atatürk, Cemil Sönmez, Year 2004. ISBN: 975-16-1746-4. Page:54-55

Starting The First National Holiday and Children's Day Tradition

The first Turkish Grand National Assembly, which was established and opened on April 23, 1920, was the foundation of the Republic as well as the reason for our first national holiday.

23 April 1921, the first anniversary of the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, was accepted as the "National Sovereignty Day" in the meetings held in the Assembly. In addition to the National Sovereignty Day of 23 April, 23 April is also celebrated as the National Sovereignty and Children's Day.

Another event that took place with the efforts of a group of teachers, students and Mustafa Kemal Pasha in Ankara during the War of Independence was the initiation of the tradition of celebrating the "Children's Day".

23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day, which has reached national dimensions in recent years and celebrated as the World Children's Festival, was celebrated for the first time in 1921 in Ankara with the contributions of Mustafa Kemal. Namely:

On April 23, 1921, when 23 April was accepted as the National Domination Day, Atatürk joined the holiday, which was celebrated with the students under the leadership of a group of teachers in Ankara, and named it today's 'Children's Day'.

The teacher who experienced the incident Avni Ağaoğlu, Ordinaryüs Prf. Dr. In the letter he wrote to Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, he says:

" Darülmuallimin (Teacher School) Alumni Association was established in Ankara in 1921, when the late Hamdullah Suphi was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Education. Sivas Deputy Rahmi Bey was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. At that time, there were few teachers who graduated from a teacher's school in Ankara, so he supported the membership of the society. Journalists, writers, poets, and intellectuals who loved this society as well as intellectuals were also included in the membership. Among these members were distinguished and mature people such as Yunus Nadi, Yusuf Akçora, Ahmet Ağayef, Sait Hikmet, Aka Gündüz, owner of the "Yeni Gün" newspaper. By decorating the square next to him with pine branches, he sent invitations to boys and girls' schools to celebrate April 23 for the first time and asked the children to participate in this holiday.

The Governor and the Director of Education, who strongly objected to the sudden feast of male and female students, visited the schools and warned them not to attend the meeting and that the teachers who would attend would be dismissed. Thereupon, the Alumni Association decided to complain about the issue to Mustafa Kemal Pasha and asked him to be a mediator for the presentation of the situation to the Pasha. When Yunus Nadi Bey explained the matter to Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Pasha said that the Teachers' Association could celebrate a holiday and that he would come and celebrate the children's holiday. Thereupon, the Chief of Police Dilaver Bey left all the students of the schools to the squares. While the ceremony was going on, Mustafa Kemal Pasha came to the ceremony in a passenger car. After listening to the poems and heroic poems read by the children, he congratulated them with a short speech.

23 Nisan Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı'nın "Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı" olarak kutlanması o yıllarda yasal bir düzenleme olmamasına rağmen o günlerden beri kutlanmaktadır.

Kaynak:   AAM Atatürk'te Çocuk Sevgisi, Cemil Sönmez, 2004 Yılı. ISBN: 975-16-1746-4. Sayfa:25-26