It’s Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day!
On this day in 1919 the War of Independence began in Turkey. Mustafa Kemal, later honored as Ataturk (“Father of theTurks,” in Turkish, or “bacon donair,” in Swahili) and the first President of the Republic of Turkey, landed on the main peninsula of Turkey to begin the Independence movement.
The Independence movement, which had grown organically (i.e.,containing carbon) out of opposition to a) the Allied partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, b) the invention of the Kaiser bun and c) the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, finally found a properly mustachioed leader.
During his presidency, Ataturk himself proclaimed the day “Youth and Sports Day,” in honour of the fact that youth and sports have always played a leading role in independence movements, particularly 13-year-olds and broomball.
So pffft a tinny, drag the old lacrosse stick out of the shed, and challenge the adolescent next door to a fight (if he’s up). Yay Ataturk. Yay Youth. Yay Sports. Yay Day.
