WHY ARMENIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ON JANUARY 6

Painting by Roudolf Kharatian

"Armenian Christmas," as it is popularly called, is a culmination of celebrations of events related to Christ's Incarnation. Theophany or Epiphany (or Astvadz-a-haytnootyoon in Armenian) means "revelation of God," which is the central theme of the Christmas Season in the Armenian Church.

The major events that are celebrated during the Armenian Christmas season 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. At the end of the solemn Christmas Divine Liturgy, a ceremony called "Blessing of Water" is held in the 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 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 affected 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. Remaining faithful to their Church traditions, Armenians continue to celebrate Christmas on January 6th until today.

Traditionally, Armenians attend church services on Christmas Eve and then share a meal with family and friends. There are variations of local customs based on the different regions of the world where Armenians live (in some 100 countries). In Armenia, January 6th is a national holiday.

In the Holy Land, the Orthodox churches use the old Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar (introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1578), to determine the dates of religious feasts. Accordingly, the Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 19th and the Greek Orthodox celebrate on January 7th.

On the day before Armenian Christmas, January 18th, the Armenian Patriarch, priests, seminarians and the faithful travel from Jerusalem to the Church of Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem, where elaborate and colorful ceremonies take place. In the large square of the Church of Nativity, the Mayor of Bethlehem and City officials greet the Patriarch and his entourage.

A procession led by Armenian scouts and their band advance the Patriarch into the Church of Nativity, while priests, seminarians and the faithful join in the singing of Armenian hymns. Afterwards, church services and ceremonies are conducted in the Cathedral of Nativity all night long and until the next day, January 19th.

By Hratch Tchilingirian