Holidays in Armenia
New Year’s Day
For ages, New Year in Armenia was celebrated on the 21st of March. However, during the 18th Century in Armenia, January 1st was accepted as the beginning of the New Year.
The New Year celebration is one of the most anticipated holidays for an Armenian family. Families with modest means and low income do their best to save money for New Year table. People even do more than they can afford, since it’s believed that “You’ll spend the year just the way you’ve welcomed it” and also people will be welcoming guests the following days, so the table has to be as “rich” as possible.
The Table
One of the most anticipated New Year table “accessories” is the pork leg. It has become one of the main symbols of the holiday. However some families that are trying to be original, are replacing the pork with turkey or some fish.
Other traditional things for the table are meat snacks ,various salads, fruits (orange, apples, pomegranate, bananas, grapefruits), various nuts (pistachio, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, etc. Dried sweet snacks from all kinds of fruits is also a must-have for the table.
For the bread we usually put Armenian thin lavash since it lasts longer fresh. For about a week we don’t do any shopping (actually we wouldn’t be able to do it since the stores are closed), so all that days we are eating the food prepared in advance.
February- St. Sargis Holiday – This holiday is very popular among Armenians, especially among young people. There is no exact date for observing it and it is celebrated on a Saturday from January 18 to February 23, 63 days before Easter. On the night of the holiday young people, eat salty pies to dream at night. They believe that St. Sargis decides their fate and the person who gives them water to drink in their dreams will become their future spouse.
Ալէն Տէր Մինասյանս 