ARMENIAN CHRISTMAS
Why Armenians Celebrate Christmas on January 6th?
by Hratch Tchilingirian
"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. 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 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 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 and subdue 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 effected 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. Thus, remaining faithful to the traditions of their
forefathers, Armenians have continued to celebrate Christmas on
January 6th until today.
In the Holy Land: January 18th
In the Holy Land, the Orthodox churches use the old calendar
(which has a difference of twelve days) to determine the date of
the religious feasts. Accordingly, the Armenians celebrate
Christmas on January 18th and the Greek Orthodox celebrate on
January 6th.
On the day before Armenian Christmas, January 17th, the
Armenian Patriarch together with the clergy and the faithful,
travels from Jerusalem to the city of Bethlehem, to the Church of
Nativity of Christ, were elaborate and colorful ceremonies take
place. Outside, in the large square of the Church of Nativity, the
Patriarch and his entourage are greeted by the Mayor of Bethlehem
and City officials. 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 sing of Armenian
hymns. Afterwards, church services and ceremonies are conducted
in the Cathedral of Nativity all night long and until the next day,
January 18th.
