Armenian national holidays from Paganism to Christianity

Armenian national holidays at different times had different manifestations and meanings. However, the roots of these holidays are so deeply embedded in the self-awareness of the people, that even religious and political changes could not affect them. From ancient times to this day, Armenian culture is distinguished by many unique national holidays. We all celebrate these holidays as Christian ones, but most of them date back to pre-Christian times. In this article, we tried to highlight several national holidays that have come a long way from paganism to Christianity.

Easter and goddess Anahit

In the Christian world, Easter is considered the holiday of the resurrection of Christ. In Armenian, this holiday is called Zatik. This name comes from the word “zatel” (to separate), which means to separate and get away from sin. On this day, the entire Christian world celebrates the Resurrection of Christ.

However, in Armenia, the roots of Easter are much older. Before, Easter was considered a spring sowing holiday and was dedicated to the goddess Anahit, who was the patroness of the fertility of her native land.

According to legend, when after the flood the Aryans settled in the Ararat valley, they noticed that the sprouts and flowers were completely covered with gray. The ancestor of Aryans Man makes sacrifices to the goddess Anahit with a request to drive away the darkness and return thousands of colors of nature to them. However, Anahit replies that only the Firebird is able to return colors to the nature: it sings with its magic voice, lays colorful eggs and returns colors to the nature. But the Firebird is hidden in the underground kingdom, and Man must free and return it.

Man returns to Ararat with the Firebird. He releases it, and the Firebird begins to sing, emitting different colors and laying colorful eggs. Then Anahit arrives to Ararat, collects colorful eggs and spreads them all over the valley. After that, Anahit orders the Firebird to build a nest on Mount Ararat and give keep the colors of the country bright.

From that day on, the Aryans joyfully cultivate the land, and children, young brides and girls sing, dance and play with eggs until late at night.

Unlike Christians, who paint Easter eggs in dark red (as a symbol of the shed blood of Christ), the Aryans painted them in all kinds of colors. For them, Easter was a holiday of the rebirth of life and the spring awakening of nature.

Vardavar and the goddess Astghik

In the Christian world, Vardavar is known as the day of the Transfiguration of Christ, which is celebrated on the 98th day after the resurrection of Christ. During this holiday, people traditionally pour water over each other, release doves into the sky, which symbolize the Flood, the salvation of Noah’s family and Noah’s dove.

During the pagan period, the Vardavar holiday was dedicated to the goddess Astghik. In Armenian mythology, Astghik was the goddess of love and beauty, and the beloved of the god of thunder Vahagn.

According to the legend, Astghik was born from sea foam, and wherever she went, she left traces of blood behind her, in the place of which roses grew. Astghik showered roses from the sky and endowed Armenian girls with unearthly beauty. Rose in Armenian is “vard”. Vardavar was one of the most beloved holidays of pagan Armenians. They celebrated it in a big way. During Vardavar everyone poured water over each other and shared love and beauty. During the holiday, they praised Astghik and gave each other a symbol of the holiday – a rose.

According to one of the Aryan legends, the god of the underworld kidnaps Astghik. After that, love and beauty disappear, and the souls of the Aryans fill up with hatred. Everyone becomes ugly and cruel. However, Vahagn defeats the beast, frees the goddess Astghik. He goes around the whole Armenia, sprinkles the Aryans with rose water and endows everyone with the love of the goddess Astghik.

In the old days, people celebrated Vardavar on the banks of rivers and lakes, where there was a lot of water. Vardavar was also considered the day of worship of the water. Many rituals related to water and rain were common among the Armenians. Water was associated with blue color, which was a symbol of clarity and purity. According to the epic “Daredevils of Sassoun”, the Armenians worshiped water and considered themselves created from water (Sanasar and Bagdasar).

Vardavar is also considered an apple festival. There was a tradition not to eat apples until Vardavar. Only on the day of Vardavar, after the blessing of the harvest, it was possible to collect and use apples.

Virgin Mary and Anahit

Everyone is familiar with the holidays of Dormition of the Mother of God or the Grape blessing. According to the legend, the Virgin Mary visits her son’s grave for 12 years after the crucifixion of Christ and prays. One day, during one of the prayers, the angel Gabriel visits her and informs the Mother of God about her ascent to heaven.

In Armenia, after the adoption of Christianity, all the qualities of the goddess Anahit were attributed to the Virgin Mary. The temples of Anahit turned into the churches of the Virgin Mary. The holidays dedicated to Anahit turned into the holidays of Mary, because all the virtues of femininity and motherhood were summarized in the goddess Anahit.

The traditions of grape blessing were much older than Christianity and were associated with the celebration of Navasard, the Armenian New Year. In the old days, the Grape blessing was also dedicated to the goddess Anahit. This day was celebrated as a harvest festival. The first fruit of the blessed grape was gifted to Anahit.

In the Armenian fields and gardens, people performed the ceremony of glorification, after which the harvest began. Everyone took part in the celebration. Songs, dances and games accompanied the holiday.

After the adoption of Christianity, people started to associate the Grape blessing day with the day of Dormition of the Mother of God. On this day, only grapes are blessed in the church, since it is considered one of the noblest fruits. Wine for the liturgy is also prepared from grapes.

Trndez

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Trndez every year, 40 days after Christmas. This holiday is considered an invitation for everyone to go towards Lord.

In ancient times, Trndez was a holiday dedicated to fire. According to ancient Armenian ideas, the flame burning during Trndez warmed the sun, thereby softening the cold and accelerating the arrival of spring. Since Armenians considered themselves sons of the Sun, they also worshiped the earthly form of the sun – the fire. During the holiday, our ancestors, jumping over fire, interacted with this natural element.

During the pagan period, people made predictions by looking at the smoke of a fire. With the help of the smoke people predicted what the harvest of this year would be like. People looked at the direction of the smoke and tried to guess from which side the bride or groom would come. The fire of Trndez was kindled mainly with the help of wheat ears. While the fire was burning, women would bring the holiday dishes on trays: a dish of roasted wheat flour, raisins, a mixture of toasted cereals, walnuts, and roasted chickpeas. They circled around the fire with trays, and some of these dishes were poured onto the fire. If the hem of a clothing was accidentally lit while flying over the fire, it was considered a sign of success.

People of Musaler had a custom, according to which during Trndez, the hostess of the house would open the door and windows of the house to drive out winder and invite spring.

According to Grigor Tatevatsi, the fire carries the following meaning: “By lighting a fire, Christians ask for the fire of God’s love and put the fire in the service of God”.

Tsakhkazard or Tsarzardar

A week before Easter, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Tsaghkazard. It symbolizes the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. On this day, the sacristy of the church is opened, and people take home the branches of blessed willow or olive tree. People keep these branches at home or in a barn, so that their year would be full of goodness and wealth, and diseases go away.

However, in pagan times people also celebrated Tsarzardar, dedicated to the worship of the tree. This holiday was associated with the awakening of the nature, arrival of spring, and with the deity of the resurrected nature under the protection of Ara the Beautiful. In ancient times, Armenians worshiped trees, such as willow, platanus, cistus, oak. They were a symbol of the eternity of the universe, fertility, the tree of life.

In ancient times, during the Tsarzardar holiday, the sacred and symbolic tree was decorated with colorful pieces of fabric and different fruits. In some places, the trees were decorated with eggs, which served as protection from evil.

During the Tsarzardar, people also performed the rainmaking ritual with the help of Nuri dolls. The girls made a doll, carried it from house to house and asked Nuri to pour rain on the dried ground. It is also believed that this doll symbolized the goddess of water Nare. The Tsarzardar holiday was dedicated to her, since water is that vital element, without which nature cannot come to life.

During pagan times, most national holidays were dedicated to the worship of gods and various elements of nature. Despite the fact that with the adoption of Christianity many holidays received a new name and meaning, a number of pagan customs retain their value. However, today the holidays have the same function as in the past – to unite people around the national idea of the holiday and ritual.

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