Christmas in Armenia

Category: Middle East Travel

While the rest of the world has already celebrated Christmas on December 25, millions of Armenians are preparing for this holiday on a different date, January 6 to be precise. The reason for this date difference has a deep-rooted history.

Although the exact date when Jesus Christ was born has never been historically established, especially when it was not recorded even in the Gospels, early Christians celebrated this momentous occasion on January 6.

However, in the fourth century, the Roman Catholic Church decided to change the date of Christmas to December 25 to coincide with a pagan holiday dedicated to the birth of the Sun while the Christian Church of Armenia, which until now is free from any influence of the Vatican, was not affected by the change of date.

And while other Christians traditionally celebrate December 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ, Armenians see this event as a celebration not only of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem, but also His Baptism in River Jordan.

In celebrating their Christmas, Armenians who go by the old traditions would prepare for the holiday by fasting for a week. They would not eat meat during that time and would not eat any food at all on Christmas Eve. The fast would only be broken after the church's Christmas Eve service called "Badarak," when they return home to a holiday dinner.

The Christmas Eve dinner would either be as conservative as fried fish, lettuce, and spinach in commemoration of what Mary ate on the evening before the birth of Christ; or can be a festive banquet consisting of lamb and rice with raisins.

Armenians light up candles and attend church services on Christmas Day. In Armenia, the liturgical service is conducted by the chief bishop of the Armenian Church who holds the title "Catholicos of All Armenians." Men and women sit in separate sections as clouds of incense waft across the church.

After the service, the children would climb to the roofs of their homes with handkerchiefs and sing Armenian Christmas carols. Adults, meanwhile, fill the handkerchiefs with presents of raisins, fried wheat, or money.

No matter what the date is being celebrated, Christmas in considered a very important holiday wherever you may be.