CHAMBERSBURG MAN CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS IN ARMENIA
By IRIS HERSH
Chambersburg Public Opinion
Jan 9 2012
PA
Alfred Mueller, Chambersburg, celebrated the traditional Armenian
Christmas this week in Armenia, with his family.
“All Christians celebrated what we now call Christmas on Jan. 6 until
the 5th century A.D.,” Mueller said.
The early church did not recognize the Nativity of Christ. Instead,
it celebrated only Christ’s theophany, the revelation that Christ
was the Son of God when He was baptized by John in the Jordan,
said Mueller, who is a professor and chair of the department of
communications studies at Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, Md.
The Catholic church retains part of this early tradition by celebrating
Epiphany, the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus, on Jan. 6.
A big change took place in 451 AD. As part of its definition of
Christ as both God and man in the same person, the church declared
that Christ’s nativity would be celebrated Dec. 25, the first day
after the winter solstice, when daylight begins to lengthen. This
change reflected the church’s theology that Christ was conceived to be
“The Light of the World.”
Armenians did not accept the church’s theological definition of
“person,” so they continued to celebrate on Jan. 6, although nativity
celebrations were added later.
This emphasis explains why Armenians celebrate Christmas without the
materialism prevalent in American tradition, Mueller said. Unlike
the American Christmas, which emphasizes a visit by Santa Claus,
Armenians do not exchange gifts on Armenian Christmas. Instead, the
Armenian Santa (Dzmer Pap) visits children on Jan. 1 — New Year’s Day.
In Armenian homes, the faithful celebrate Christmas from 5 p.m. Jan. 5
to 5 p.m. Jan. 6, during which time they eat no meat, as a spiritual
preparation for Christ’s coming.
The first evening, Armenians attend a Divine Liturgy service at church,
after which each family takes home a lighted candle to symbolize the
Light of Christ coming into their homes. Their evening meal consists of
fish, rice pilaf, greens and wine. Mueller’s family’s tradition at this
meal is to eat two types of fish and put a straw broom under the table
while eating the meal. The broom commemorate Jesus’ birth in a manger.
“That’s a Catholic tradition from eastern Europe,” he said.
The following morning, families attend another Divine Liturgy and in
early afternoon, they return to church for the Blessing of Water. Some
of that blessed water is taken home.
“Christmas dinner for Armenians introduces meat into the Christmas
celebration,” said Mueller. “In our home, we ate a meal that consisted
of beef, pork and chicken shish kebab, salads and wine. But each
family’s traditional meal differs.”
From: A. Papazian