SCENES FROM THE ‘BLESSING OF THE GRAPES’
Leslie Berestein Rojas
Southern California Public Radio
Aug 29, 2011
What is a Blessing of the Grapes? Guest blogger and comic Lory
Tatoulian spent mid-August traveling around Southern California to
various picnics associated with this traditional Armenian religious
feast day/social event, and she brought her camera.
The ceremonies are held to celebrate a religious feast day, the
Assumption of the Virgin Mary. But there is also substantial merriment,
feasting – and an association with fertility? A bit of the background,
from Lory:
August was the time in the eastern world when many harvests bore their
first fruit, most notably the grape. And, before expensive fertility
treatments came along, the ancient Armenians would make offerings to
the fertility Goddess Anahid in hopes of getting pregnant.
Nowadays, the ritual symbolizes the venerated role of St. Mary being
the mother of the vine which bore the fruit that came to absolve our
sins through communion wine made from the grape. Congregants offer and
eat the grapes in hopes of having their prayers and wants fulfilled.
Some women believe it will help them conceive, the elderly feel that
it can cure arthritis or any physical ailment, and businessmen hope
to see their stock portfolios grow. Besides grapes, some people bring
in objects and place them at the altar for blessing. It’s not rare
to see a doctor bring in a stethoscope or a student place pencils at
the altar, in hopes of receiving blessings.
Lory reports that she was not making offerings to any fertility
goddess. She preferred to play it safe and stick to what she describes
as “kebab, Armenian line dancing, music, backgammon and a lot of
grape consumption” during her visits to three local grape-blessing
festivals in Glendale, Culver City and San Diego.
But she did bring along her sense of humor. Here she shares a few of
her favorites scenes, along with her interpretation.
Lory has written for Multi-American about navigating an Armenian
supermarket (parts one and two), what to do at the Navasartian Games,
and shared her love of light and shadow in a great photograph of a
Glendale crosswalk.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
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