Religious Festivals

The church pulls out the stops for Armenian Christmas on January 6 (Epiphany), Easter and the Feast of the Annunciation (the second Sunday of August), when the Katoghikos blesses the grape crop. According to locals, you should never eat grapes until after that feast.

Other celebrations are Derendes on February 13th, based on a pagan fire ritual where newlyweds purify their marriage by jumping over fire, and Vardevar in July (days vary according tot he pastoral calendar), which is a purification by water. Vardevar is also celebrated by the masses with people pouring water on unsuspecting passersby.

The Feast of Meron (meh-RON)
Meron is something akin to the holy oil used in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, a mixture of 40 types of flowers and herbs found in the bible, distilled in olive oil and water. Made every 7 years, or in the year a new Katoghikos is appointed, the ritual is one of the most important in the Armenian Church.

The belief is that the first Meron was made by Grigor, and when the next was made, they mixed the remaining portion from his first Meron to the new, therefore the holiness and blessing from the first Meron is distilled into the new and distributed to Armenian and Orthodox churches worldwide. 40 types of flowers and herbs are used to distill the aromatic oil, including frankincense and myrrh. Distilled in water for three days, they are then added to purified olive oil and the remaining Meron from the previous ceremony.

The "new" Meron is further cut on an annual basis. In 1998, 300 liters were made, a large amount compared to past years. The last Feast of Meron was in 1995, and there is talk that they may schedule a special Meron ceremony to coincide with the 2001 Celebration.