Dear Friends,

On the occasion of the New Year 2008 I extend my very wishes to you and your loved ones. May our Heavenly Father bestow His richest blessings upon our church family and inspire a new enthusiasm for the Apostolic Orthodox Holy faith.

May the Lord bless the Armenian Church universal under the wise leadership of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; as well as all the hierarchs, clergy and faithful of the Armenian Church.

This New Year we also offer a special prayer for peace on earth and a spirit of understanding, forgiveness and toleration among all people.

Next Saturday and Sunday we will be celebrating Christmas according to our venerable Armenian tradition. Since each year people ask the reason why we Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 6th rather than on December 25th, I share with you the following article from the Diocesan Website explaining our Christmas tradition.

Happy New Year to all!

With prayers,
Hayr Simeon

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) 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 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. Thus, remaining faithful to the traditions of their forefathers, Armenians have continued to celebrate Christmas on January 6th until today.

by Dn. Hratch Tchilingirian

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With prayers.
Hayr Simeon
December 30, 2007