Valleywide : Armenian Churches Celebrate Christmas

In keeping with religious and cultural dictates, it is Christmas in January today for Holy Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church in Encino and St. Peter Armenian Church in Van Nuys.

Contrary to most of Christendom, many Armenian and Eastern Orthodox churches do not celebrate Christ’s birth in December, explained Father Shnork Demirjian of St. Peter, located at 17231 Sherman Way. The difference in dates stems from a conflict between pagan and Christian faiths in the 3rd and 4th centuries, he said. At that time, all churches celebrated Christmas in January, while pagans held feasts in late December to celebrate the winter solstice.

“In order to counterbalance that pagan feast, they moved the Christmas celebration to the 25th” of December, Demirjian said. “But in the Armenian church, we didn’t do a feast like the pagans, so there was nothing to counterbalance.”

January Christmas celebrations--including Masses, singing and the blessing of the water to recall the birth of Christ--have become a point of pride for Armenians, he said. Churchgoers “see it as their own identity,” he said.

Christmas is also the time of a great dinner among the clergy and community members, said Father Vicken Vassilian of Holy Martyrs church, 5300 White Oak Ave.

The dinner will include fish, Armenian cheese, spinach, eggs and holy bread--circular, saltless loaves embossed with the image of Christ.

During the meal, the eldest person at each table breaks the bread into small pieces and distributes it to everyone at the table. The bread is soaked in red wine and eaten, a ritual known as tatakh.

At St. Peter church, Demirjian holds Christmas Eve services in both December and January, so no one will be alienated. “The birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is so great that we have to celebrate it twice,” he joked.

Both churches expect more than 2,000 people to attend Christmas services today.