Valley Sun , CA
Jan 5 2012

Religious leaders visit local hospitals ahead of Armenian Christmas

January 5, 2012 | 3:13 p.m.
Armenian religious leaders made their rounds to local hospitals on
Thursday to mark Christmas according the Julian calendar – Jan. 6.

His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, and His
Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western diocese
of North America, toured Glendale Memorial Hospital and Glendale
Adventist Medical Center, respectively, on Thursday, visiting patients
and blessing traditional bread to mark the occasion.

Many Armenian Americans celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and his
baptism in the Jordan River according to the original Julian calendar
instead of the standard Western or Gregorian calendar. Known simply as
Armenian Christmas, Christians in ancient Armenia stuck to the
original Jan. 6 date when others began celebrating Christmas on Dec.
25, as dictated by the Romans.

— Jason Wells, Times Community News

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