Christmas hasn't come for Armenians

Boston has a very large population of Armenian Americans, most of whom live in Watertown, a lively streetcar suburb right ouside of Cambridge. Watertown is full of Armenian restaurants and shops, the Armenian Cultural Center, and Armenian Churches. Even the public schools offer the Armenian language as one of the more popular foreign languages in schools. In Watertown, it isn't unusual to hear young children speak only Armenian at the playground.

The Armenian Orthodox church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany on January 6. A note in the St. James Armenian Apostolic Church's bulletin explains why:

Why Do Armenians Celebrate Christmas on January 6th?

"Armenian Christmas," as it is popularly called, is a culmination of celebrations of events related to Christ's Incarnation. Theophany, or Epiphany (or Asdvadz-a-haydnootyoon in Armenian, which means "Revelation of God"). This is the central theme of the Christmas Season in the Armenian Church. During the Armenian Christmas season, the major events 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 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 nor is it recorded in the Gospels. However, historically, all Christian churches celebrated Christ's birth on January 6th until the fourth century. The feast of Christmas was not a separate church feast for the first four centuries of Christian history. It was celebrated with Epiphany in the one great feast of God's appearance on earth in the form of the human Messiah of Israel.

The Nativity began to be celebrated on the twenty-fifth of December in order to offset the pagan festival of the Invincible Sun, which occurred on that day. The Church established it quite consciously as an attempt to defeat the false religion of heathens. Christ is the True Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2), who is himself worshipped by all of the elements of nature.

Christ was revealed at His Baptism as God and Savior. The voice of the Father and appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove likewise was a revelation of the Holy Trinity and One Godhead.

The feast of Christmas is the celebration of the world's salvation through the Son of God who became man for our sake that, through Him, we might ourselves become divine sons of God the Father by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit in us.

Of course, I want to know what treats are served on Armenian tables during Christmas. This looks like a recipe many people enjoy:

Anoush Abour

7 cups hulled wheatberries*
14 cups water
5 cups sugar
2 cups golden raisins
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups walnuts
2 cups blanched, slivered almonds
Cinnamon to sprinkle on top

*Available in Armenian specialty stores and in most health food stores.

In a large pot, bring the wheat and the water to a boil, remove from heat and soak overnight. By the next morning, the wheat should have doubled in size.

Cook over very low heat, adding the sugar until nearly all the water is absorbed (it should have the consistency of porridge). Stir in the raisins and the vanilla extract. Divide into small bowls and decorate with walnuts and almonds arranged to look like petals. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Makes 8 servings.

Here are a couple more recipes for Armenian Christmas. Please let us know if you've tried any of these recipes.

And Happy Christmas Jan 6th to Armenians all around the world.

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Christmas hasn't come for Armenians

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