On April 24th, Armenians will celebrate Easter. In Soviet times people in Armenia didn’t forget about Christian traditions and holidays. Christianity, along with the language, has always been the most important part of the national identity of the Armenians. Easter is called "Zatik" in Armenia, which means riddance of suffering.
In the past, Easter was called “karmir kiraki” (bloody Sunday) in Armenia. First of all, the eggs should be painted red. The colour red is a symbol of the blood that Jesus shed for peoples’ safety.
Women had to hand-make at least one egg and hang it on a traditional Easter Tree of Life. A Tree was made out of cherry twigs and red and green threads: the red one was a symbol of woman's nature and the green one - of man's nature.
There was also a bloody tradition. Several bulls would be killed at Easter. A sacrifice was made at a churchyard on the Saturday before Easter. The meat was boiled by the most respected representatives of the community. In the morning it was given to everybody.
This tradition is shocking for other Christians. The Armenians embraced Christianity in the year 301, which is why the gentile tradition of sacrifice became a canon of the Armenian church.
Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to VK.
