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Тraditions: Old Armenians Met New Year Focused on Spiritual Values

New Year, Amanor (New Year), Kaghand (Armenian Santa Claus), Tareglukh (the first day of the next year), Avetis (good news), Navasard – it doesn’t matter the name, as in all cases the meaning is the same – a start for something new. The oldest nations marked New Year in March. Then the cultivation activities began and March was considered as the first month of the year. January 1 was declared the New Year beginning only in 46 B.C. by Julius Cesar. In Armenia, the New Year is celebrated since the times when, according to a legend, the forefather Haik defeated Bel. Navasard was the first day of the year and was celebrated in August. Then the pagan Armenians began to celebrate New Year in November and since the 18th century - on January 1. According to Armenian mythology Amanor was Amatur’s wife – the God of nature and harvest, Kenats Tsar (Tree of Life) - symbol of fertility. According to artist Lusik Aguletsi the New Year ceremonies lasted 12 days and were closely related to church rituals. The 1st of January was Kaghand, ritual days were also Khtum, Navakatik, Chragaluys, Tsnund (Birth of Christ), Mkrtutyun (Epiphany), Tnorhnek. At present these are known as just days of church calendar. “During those 12 days it seemed as if the Earth and the Heaven linked with each other. That is why people held special ceremonies related to the space tree,” says Lusik Aguletsi. The space tree is a vertical line like a stub stretching from Earth to Heaven. It was put into the fire vertically and everybody entering home added a branch beside the stub thus making the fire burn until January 6 – Christ’s birthday. Rockrose and fir-tree were considered ritual trees and decorated in different times. Lusik Aguletsi has warm memories about the New Year nights she has spent in Nakhijevan. “We sang good songs and my grandmother put dried fruits, sweets and nuts into our bags and blessed us,” tells the artist. Since it was Lent time and people were going to celebrate the Birth of Christ, food was prepared and provided without meet on the first days of New Year. The inseparable part of the holiday table were “pasuts dolma” (a dish made of different kinds of wheat and beans and wrapped in cabbage leaves), round “gata” (a sort of dry cake) and four-angled “pakhlava” (a cake with nuts and soaked with honey). “There is a language of symbols well known by our forefathers,” says Lusik and adds, “While baking a cake the Armenian woman knew why, for example, “gata” was round-shaped: because it symbolized the Sun, and why “pakhlava” had four angles: this symbolized the four sides of the world or the Cross.” Seven kinds of dried and seven kinds of fresh fruit, seven sorts of nuts, but the main meal, however, remains Tarehats (New Year bread). Tarehats or Talauzi, Upurnika or Ghalachi – a mysterious gata known by different names - hides the sign of fate in it. Everyone holds breath when gata is cut. And the one, who receives a piece with the sign inside, will have success during the year. Today there are almost no families in Armenia preserving traditions of their forefathers and implementing the New Year rituals. “The man himself/herself has to decide what is a priority for him/her– the New Year feasting or standing closer to the God and keeping spiritual values,” says Father Shmavon Ghevondyan of the Armenian Apostolic Church. According to him the soviet system has its part of blame for the present situation: people have become more materialist. “However the Apostolic Church conducts preaching, and today many believers follow the Lent sacrament,” assures Father Shmavon. “Generally national customs are preserved and transferred through the family and the government. The first ring has been distorted, the second one lacks in our country,” says ethnologist Spartak Seyranyan, former Minister of Education and Science. According to him the specificity of the Armenian national holidays and rituals is that they have mainly Christian basis. As a result during soviet times they have been identified with the religion rituals and thus disregarded. The former Minister is sure that the government should conduct consistent cultural and educational policy to restore and preserve these values. “During my reign as a Minister of Education, ethnology was being developed to involve in the curricula of high schools as a compulsive subject, however, it remained incomplete for some reasons,” notes Spartak Seyranyan.

Source: JNews.am

Comments

• Vahagn (2010-01-25 12:17:31)

  quite interesting material about lost traditions. good luck Tamara

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