Ma’an News Agency, Palestine
Jan 18 2014
Palestinian Armenian community celebrates Christmas
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Armenian Christians in Palestine are celebrating
Christmas on Saturday with a procession through the streets of Jesus
Christ’s birthplace.
The Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem Nourhan Manougian arrived before
noon in Bethlehem and marched to the Church of the Nativity, the site
in the city’s historic center where Jesus is believed to have been
born.
In anticipation of the event, streets were decorated and locals came
out to watch. Bethlehem police director Luay Zreiqat told Ma’an that
150 police officers were deployed along the route of the march, and
dozens of police officers were stationed in Manger Square as well.
Palestinian Armenian Christians who follow the Armenian Patriarchate
of Jerusalem mark Christmas nearly two weeks after the majority of
Armenian and Eastern Orthodox denominations, who mark the holiday on
January 6 or 7, and more than three weeks after Western Christians
mark Christmas, who celebrate on December 25.
The differences in dates of celebration are due to the use of
different calendars, as Western Christians mark the holiday using the
Gregorian calendar, Orthodox Christians and most Armenian
denominations mark the holiday using the Julian calendar, and the
Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem marks Christmas using the Julian
calendar but with a different date.
Groups of Armenians began moving to Palestine beginning in the fourth
century and mainly settled in Jerusalem, where, in the seventh
century, they established a Patriarchate Complex which has since
attracted Armenian pilgrims.
Thousands of Armenians also arrived fleeing the massacres in the
Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, after which many settled in
Palestine.
According to Armenian sources, some 7,500 Armenians today live across
the Holy Land. About 300 live in Bethlehem, 2,100 in Jerusalem and the
rest live in Acre, Ramle, Nazareth, and Beersheba. There are a small
number of Armenians in the Gaza Strip as well.
There are around 200,000 Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, Gaza
Strip, and inside Israel in total, while hundreds of thousands more
live abroad.
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.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2014/01/19/jerusalem-palestinian-armenian-community-celebrates-christmas/
