It is well known that Armenians honour their traditions with great care and love. Being the first Christian nation (by the way, the Armenians are very proud of this fact) they certainly know all church holidays, among which Christmas takes its special place.
The celebration lasts more than one day and it is accompanied by numerous rituals rooted in the centuries-old Christian history of the country.
Armenian Christmas date
The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the feast of the birth and Baptism of Jesus Christ on the 6th of January. Until the 5th century, all Christian churches celebrated this feast on January 6. Later, some churches began to celebrate Holy Christmas on December 25th. This was done to make people forget the pagan holiday celebrated on this day.
Armenian Christmas 2019
Every year Armenians celebrate Christmas on the same day, the 6th of January, and this year is not going to be an exception. There are too many interesting events on this day organized both by the church and by the creative people.
Armenian Christmas traditions
On the eve of the feast of the Holy Christmas, in the evening a liturgy is served, which is called “Chragaluits” (burning lamps). On this day, believers light a candle in the church and bring it home to light the house and prepare for the feast.
The next day, on January 6, the Christmas liturgy is served in the morning. Then the feast of the baptism of Christ with the ceremony of the water blessing is held.
According to Armenian customs, the week preceding Christmas is considered to be the period of fasting. It begins on the evening of December 29 and ends on the evening of January 5 at the Christmas table.
The next day of Christmas in Armenia is the day of remembering people who left this world. From time immemorial this custom named Merelots ensures people that the dead also remains part of the holy feast.
Armenian Christmas food
As regards the menu of Armenian Christmas table, there are several dishes at once: sweet pilaf from rice, dried apricots and raisins, dishes from greens and fish, and for dessert Gata is a must. It is obligatory to have red wine on the Christmas table.
The presence on the table of all these dishes is not accidental, because each of them has its own purpose. Rice – symbolizes the people, raisins and dried apricots – people selected by God to preach the faith of the Lord to the people.
Since ancient times, fish has been a symbol of Christians and distinguished them from followers of other religions.
Red wine symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ, and the round traditional sweet bread Gata is divided into 12 pieces, symbolizing the 12 months of the year.
Visit Armenia during winter holidays and let’s discover more about Christmas in Armenia with Levon Travel!
