Armenians have a strong and remarkable connection to God. As we are the first country to embrace Christianity in 301 AD, we keep the religious traditions and customs that came from many years. And one of the most famous and important feasts that Armenians celebrate is Easter. This holiday brings the connection between God and Armenians significantly closer.
Easter time is generally called Surb Zatik in Armenia, which connotes “being confined from sins.” During this time, Armenian Apostolic churches acclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As, when Jesus was crucified, humanity persevered through the absolution of sins.
Armenians celebrate Easter with happiness and exaltation as it is probably the holiest time of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
There is no distinct date for this holiday, and it changes every year. It is consistently celebrated between March 22 to April 26. It is because the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Easter on the first following Sunday of the primary full moon, after the Spring equinox. The Holy celebration will be commended on 4 April, in 2021.
There is a Holy Week that is before Easter. After the primary liturgy on Saturday night, all Armenians acclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ and say the accompanying expression, “Christ is risen from the dead,” to which you should answer, “Blessed is the resurrection of Christ”. And the main celebration of Easter starts on Sunday with a sacred service. With this, all Armenians finish the Great Lent that was held for seven weeks. It is said that all the believers ought to follow a 40-day lent to clean their bodies from sins and lavishness and refine their spirits, just like Jesus Christ.
Easter is admired in Armenia well before its date. There are various traditions related to Easter. The first, being the course of action of planting wheat seeds. After the seeds are grown like green grass, they put the red-colored eggs on them, symbolizing new life and birth. The eggs should be painted particularly in red as they address the shed blood of Jesus.
Another tradition is to paint those eggs red with natural ingredients, like onion layers. You boil the eggs with the onion strips in a bowl, and the color from the peels naturally shade the eggs. There is a fun and engaging game that all the kids love during Easter time. As expressed by the custom, two people should “fight” the eggs together. After picking an egg, each family member should hit it to the following egg. The egg that cracks, loses.
While celebrating Easter with Armenians you will moreover see another customary dish on the table that is an unquestionable requirement. It is the Armenian trout with red wine. Even though fish and red wine go poorly together, they address the dishes that are referred to in the Bible. The wine that Jesus created from water and fish was split between people.
In addition to this dish, you can also find a bowl of cooked rice with dried fruits and raisins that portray mankind and Christians around the planet.
Armenians additionally cheer Easter with traditional dances and songs. There is another and enchanting tradition among youth to gather around near Churches in Yerevan and dance traditional folk dances, sing traditional songs. Along these lines, Armenians keep the spirit of their ancestors and commemorate Easter with preserved traditions.
Սերո Կարագուլլյանի բլոգ 