So … During this holiday, Armenians visit churches, pray and also celebrate it together with Epiphany (baptism). The feast of Theophany covered, in the early centuries, the celebration of all the series of events beginning with the Annunciation up to the commencement of Christ’s public ministry which began with His Baptism, including the miracle of the wine in Cana. Armenian Church Christmas celebration in Kolkata. Bengaluru, Jan 6: While the rest of the world celebrates the Christmas Day on December 25, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates it on January 6. However, it became clear in the minds of the faithful that the Birth of Christ was too important an event to be celebrated as part of the feast or the Baptism and to be thus overshadowed by it. The day of this major feast in the Armenian Church is January … We asked Bishop Sahag Maşalyan, a member of Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, why Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 6. Regular services are held in the Holy Church of Nazareth and Christmas is celebrated on January 6. 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 Armenians hold fast to the date of January 6, which was defended at length by the 7th-century Armenian mathematician, Anania of Shirak, in "A Discourse upon the Epiphany of Our Lord and Savior." There was no such thing as a separate festival called Christmas, for, as we said before, this came under the main feast of Theophany. A ceremony called "Blessing of Water" is conducted in the Armenian Church to commemorate Christ's Baptism. Orthodox Christians didn't split from the Roman Catholic church until 1054, by which time Christmas had moved to January 6th, so again some Eastern Orthodox churches stuck with the Julian calendar which is why Christmas Day in Russia is January 7th. This is the oldest tradition and Armenian Orthodox Church retains it. As independent journalism and freedom of expression face increasing restriction in Turkey, Agos also acts as an independent platform for debate. Pope Siricius (d. 399) was also saying that January 6 is 'Natalitia Christi', the birthday of Jesus for Rome.”. We asked Bishop Sahag Maşalyan, a member of Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, why Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 6. Epiphany means the revelation that Jesus was the son of the God. We must first remember that in the early Christian church there were three main festivals: Easter, Pentecost and Theophany. 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. Thus, starting from 336, Christians adopted the new tradition spreading from Rome and began to celebrate Christmas on December 25. Meanwhile the Armenian Church in Jerusalem decided to hold onto the original January 6 date and then added the lost days to it which is why their Christmas is on January 18 and 19. San. Armenians celebrate the original Christmas, on January 6. Maşalyan said: “Egeria noted that Christians went to Bethlehem before sunrise in order to celebrate the birth of Jesus and rushed to Jordan River in order to celebrate the baptism of Jesus in the evening. January 6th along with the Epiphany which is crowned, as with other Orthodox Church's, in the observance of Christ's Baptism, with a glorious "Blessing of the Waters" in whose climax a Cross is plunged into the water as a sign of God's Saving mystery in Christ's life from Womb to Tomb. Last days of December are considered the low season, and the prices are cheaper in those days here, and the reason you already know. However, this transformation didn't took place immediately. In general, New Year’s Eve in Armenia and the Middle Eastern communities is observed as a day of celebrations, eating and drinking; it is also when gifts are given and when “Gaghant Baba” or “Dzmer Papik” (Santa Claus) makes his visit. Saying that Christianity began to be spread more effectively after it was adopted by Roman Empire in 4th century, Maşalyan explained why most churches celebrate Christmas on December 25: “One of the most important goals of Christian cultural revolution was doing away with the traces of paganism or transforming and Christianizing them. The Armenian Church in Jerusalem celebrates Christmas on January 6 according to the Julian calendar, which winds up being January 19 on the … Orthodox Christians follow many unique traditions in their celebration of Christmas, such as the holy fasting that occurs for between 40 and 25 days. "Lraper.org: A question often asked is why Armenians do not celebrate Christmas on 25 December, as the rest of the world generally does. In fact, these churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 in accordance with the old Julian calendar. Theophany or Epiphany (or Astvadz-a-haydnootyoon in Armenian) means "revelation of God," which is the central theme of the Christmas Season in the Armenian Church. Reminding that the first record about the celebration date of the birth of Jesus Christ was written by Saint Clement of Alexandria, who is a 3th century theologian, Maşalyan said that Christians who was living in Egypt in 2nd century was celebrating the birth and baptism of Jesus Christ between January 6 and 10. The day of this major feast in the Armenian Church is January 6th. The exact day and year of Christ’s birth have never been satisfactorily established, because nothing definite has been said about them 1n the Gospels. The reason is not in the difference between the old and the new calendar. Why? Etheria Silvia of Bordeaux, the famous lady pilgrim, whose writings about her pilgrimage to the Holy Land (in 385) have been recently discovered, testifies that in her time the 6th of January was observed in Bethlehem as the feast day of Christ’s Birth. After going to the church, families enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner. About the same time, one of the popes of Rome (Siricius) speaks of the 6th of January as Natalitia Christi, meaning Birthday of Christ. While it's not clear who gives the presents (Santa Claus, … Why are Armenians the only Christians in the world to celebrate Christmas on tbe 6th of January and not on the 25th of December, as all other Christians do? Being one of the major religious holidays, Christmas is celebrated by Orthodox Christians all over the world. The Armenian Church still clings to this older date of the 6th of January and to this older name, for in the Armenian language the proper appelation of this festival is “Asdvads-a-haydnootiun” (or simply “Haydnootiun”) which is a literal translation of “Theophany.”. On Epiphany, some Churches, like the Armenian Church, also celebrate the Jesus’ Baptism, which is when Jesus started his adult ministry. Although Armenia follows the Gregorian calendar, when the Romans changed the date of Christmas to December 25 in the fourth century, Armenians held to the original January 6th date. by Hratch Tchilingirian "Armenian Christmas," as it is popularly called, is a culmination of celebrations of events related to Christ’s Incarnation. Hence the first reason for the desired separation of these two feasts. Armenian Christmas is actually the original date for celebrating the birthday of Jesus. 6th of January. Jesus' baptism and the visit by three astronomers continued to be celebrated on January 6. The Armenian Church celebrates the holy birth (Sourp Dznount) of Jesus Christ on January 6. For instance, there are many churches that celebrate Christmas on January 7, such as Russian, Georgian, Ukrainian, Macedonian, Karabakh, Serbian, Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches. CHRISTMAS. Moreover, the name of the festival was not “Christmas” nor “Nativity.” It was called “Theophany” which is a Greek word meaning Manifestation or Revelation of God. A ceremony called “Blessing of Water” is conducted in the Armenian Church to commemorate Christ’s Baptism. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas together with another holiday called Epiphany on January 6th. Contemporary historians date a visit of Julian the Apostate to a church in Gaul (France) in 361 on “Epiphany and Nativity” which shows that at that time the feast was still combined in Gaul. However, the Birth and the Baptism of Christ held the chief place among these various events. January 6 is Christmas according to the calendar of Armenian Church. The consequence was that neither commemoration could be kept fully and properly.” The writer then goes on to plead with the Bishop of Rome to ascertain the exact date of Christ’s Birth, or else to find some means to celebrate them separately. So the Church thought to prevent the faithful from attending the “abominable” celebrations of this very popular pagan festival on that particular date. So they did and still continue to celebrate of January 6th. When is Armenian Christmas? Since the festivities appealed Christians, the church divided the Theophany Holiday on January 6 and moved the celebration of the birth of Jesus to December 25. Many Orthodox Christians annually celebrate Christmas Day on or near January 7 to remember Jesus Christ’s birth, described in the Christian Bible. Ltd. Şti. A ceremony called “Blessing of Water” is conducted in the Armenian Church to commemorate Christ’s Baptism. As early as A.D. 386 the 6th of January was observed in Bethlehem, Holy Land, as the day of Christ’s Birth and Baptism. However, this is not the only calendar difference among the churches. December 25 versus January 6 The central event in this feast was the Baptism of Christ, for it was on this occasion that Christ was definitely and most solemnly proclaimed by the heavenly voice as the Son of God, that is, God manifested on earth. “The faithful” the letter says, “met before dawn at Bethlehem to celebrate the birth from the virgin in the cave; but before their hymns and the lections were finished they had to hurry off to river Jordan (13 miles from Bethlehem) to celebrate the Baptism. A ceremony called “Blessing of Water” is conducted in the Armenian Church to commemorate Christ’s Baptism. Furthermore, one of the Church Fathers of the 4th Century, St. Ephiphanius, says quite clearly “January 6th is the day of Christ’s Birth.”. Rather than compete with an already popular holiday, the church simply decided to move Christmas Day to December 25th and celebrate January 6th as John Cassian asserts in his “Collations” (written in 418-427) that the Egyptian monasteries still observe “the ancient custom” celebrating the Nativity and the Baptism on January 6. But it is a historical fact that the celebration of Christ’s birth on the 6th of January in all the Christian churches goes further back than that of the December. Please see calendar of religious events below. The change did not penetrate into Armenia for two reasons: first, because Armenia was not within the Roman Empire, and secondly, Armenians having no such pagan festival on the 25th of December to suppress, did not see and reason to follow the new custom. Maşalyan pointed out that travel notes written by Egeria Silvia of Bordeaux in 386 contains accounts on Christian ceremonies that she came across during her pilgrimage to Israel and these notes support this information about Christians in Egypt. It … However, there is a 13-day difference between the new Gregorian calendar and the old Julian calendar and because of that, it is thought that they celebrate it on January 7. In Armenian tradition, this feast day commemorates not only the birth of … A letter from a Bishop of Rome in the 4th century has been quoted relating to the joint celebration of the Birth and Baptism of Chist on the 6th of January. Agos was founded in 1996 by Hrant Dink and a group of his friends, in order to report the problems of the Armenians of Turkey to the public. ve Tic. The new Christmas having been started in the West, spread very quickly to the East and all over the Roman Empire. The Paschal mystery recapitulates creation. Agos's editorial policy focuses on issues such as democratization, minority rights, coming to terms with the past, the protection and development of pluralism in Turkey. In the West, the Council of Saragoss (Spain) in 380 still ignored the December 25th. There is no other person on earth whose birthday is celebrated like this.”. That pagan holiday hadn't been celebrated in the east. But everything is different in Yerevan and Armenia during Christmas days. Copyright © 2021 St. Thomas Armenian Apostolic Church, 2019 Donor, Member & Friends Appreciation Reception, Saints of the Armenian Orthodox Apostolic Church – In Armenian & English. Find answers to this and many more questions as you celebrate a year of Armenian customs, heritage, food and culture. 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 preparation for the Surp Dzinunt ceremony took seven weeks at the Armenian Church. Here you go mentioned from one of the most trustworthy newspapers, “Agos”. Let us now consider why the 25th of December was finally decided upon as the day for celebration of Christ’s Birthday. That does not mean they do not celebrate Christmas though. The blessed water is offered to all as a The Roman Catholic church has changed it in the 4th century. A ceremony called “Blessing of Water” is conducted in the Armenian Church to commemorate Christ’s Baptism. So far from these few quotations, it is clear that both in the West and in the East, the celebration of Christmas and Baptism were combined and observed on the 6th of January. The change did not penetrate into Armenia for two reasons: first, because Armenia was not within the Roman Empire, and secondly, Armenians having no such pagan festival on the 25th of December to suppress, did not see and reason to follow the new custom. Another noteworthy aspect is that Armenian Orthodox believers celebrate the Armenian Christmas on January 6, which is the day of the Theophany in Greek Orthodox belief. Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church and … Favourite answer Armenians pride themselves on being the first nation to declare Christianity (301AD). As an Armenian from the Middle East, we receive or get tagged with Martha’s Joke around the 6 th and 7 th of January , Curious souls among my network would google the reason, while others would ask us , Why do Orthodox Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 6? It is the first newspaper in the Republican period to be published in Turkish and Armenian. The day of this major feast in the Armenian Church is January 6th. 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