Merry Christmas !

Armenian Cross,
also known as the
Khachkar Cross or
Siroun Cross

Dear Charlie,

I wish you a Merry Christmas!

No, it is not late: today is the day we celebrate Christmas in Armenia! Since half of my family is Armenian (most Armenians follow Christianity, but Armenia has its own church: The Armenian Apostolic Church - Armenia became the first country to establish Christianity as its state religion when the king of Armenia converted to Christianity around 301 AD. Before this, the dominant religion was Zoroastrianism... Alright, I am not going to do a history lesson on Armenia, if you want to know what that is you can go to the BBC website:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/ - ) and the other half is either Christian or Atheist, I get to celebrate Christmas twice a year! But don't be fooled, this does not mean twice as much of presents -sadly-

"Armenian Christmas," is a culmination of celebrations of events related to Christ's Incarnation. Theophany or Epiphany (Astvadz-a-haytnootyoon in Armenian) means "revelation of God," which is the central theme of the Christmas Season in the Armenian Church. During the "Armenian Christmas" season, the major events that are celebrated are the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem and His Baptism in the River Jordan. The day of this major feast in the Armenian Church is January 6th. A ceremony called “Blessing of Water” is conducted in the Armenian Church to commemorate Christ’s Baptism.

It is frequently asked as to why Armenians do not celebrate Christmas on December 25th with the rest of the world. Obviously, the exact date of Christ's birth has not been historically established—it is neither recorded in the Gospels. However, historically, all Christian churches celebrated Christ's birth on January 6th until the fourth century. According to Roman Catholic sources, the date was changed from January 6th to December 25th in order to override a pagan feast dedicated to the birth of the Sun which was celebrated on December 25th. At the time Christians used to continue their observance of these pagan festivities. In order to undermine and subdue this pagan practice, the church hierarchy designated December 25th as the official date of Christmas and January 6th as the feast of Epiphany. However, Armenia was not effected by this change for the simple fact that there were no such pagan practices in Armenia, on that date, and the fact that the Armenian Church was not a satellite of the Roman Church. Thus, remaining faithful to the traditions of their forefathers, Armenians have continued to celebrate Christmas on January 6th until today.

I personally am an agnostic atheist (I don't believe in any gods and I don't claim to know for sure that no gods can or do exist), but still I do like Christmas as it is a great occasion to bond with your family and get some presents... Of course haters are going to say that Christmas is not what it used to be, now it is just another capitalist-holiday... well I won't say it is not true but still, I really like Christmas season !

I mean, who does not like being wrapped up in a blanket in front of his TV with hot chocolate or --insert whatever food you love-- , binge-watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, Home Alone, How The Grinch Stole Christmas and --insert your favorite movie of all time-- ... and seeing the snow falling down outside? Also eating tons of food.. have you ever eaten Armenian food? I can tell you it is excellent, wonderful, so tasty and full of colors!! You have to try it !)

Anyway, even if you hate Christmas or if you don't celebrate it, I still wish you a Merry Christmas!

C.