ARMENIAN Christmas

Celebrated on January 6th

Christmas Wish: Armenian Style
By Jon Marsh Ethnic Affairs Writer

01/07/99
Sydney Morning Herald
Page 3
Copyright of John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd

Sydney's Armenian community celebrated Christmas yesterday in a tradition dating back more than 1,600 years, to the time of Emperor Constantine.

About 1,000 worshippers who attended a 4-hour service led by Archbishop Aghan Baliozian at the Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection, Chatswood, greeted each other with the words "Shenorhavor Dzenount" - Merry Christmas in Armenian.

The celebration dates back to 325, when Constantine - the Roman empire's first Christian emperor - summoned the Council of Nicaea (now Iznik, in Turkey) from where the State was ruled, and decreed that Christmas should be celebrated on January 6 - the date which also marks the epiphany, or baptism of Christ.

Though many Western churches later moved Christmas celebrations to December 25 because of growing concern about the popularity of pagan festivals linked to the winter solstice, Armenians held fast to January 6.

The church follows the Julian calendar, as do the Russian, Macedonian, Serbian, Ukrainian and elements of the Greek Orthodox churches, which celebrate Christmas in Sydney today.

Armenia , which became independent after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, is in the mountainous region of the Caucasus, bordering Georgia, Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan. The church has always played a strong unifying role in the Armenian communities scattered around the world.

"The Armenian community in Australia comes from at least 22 different countries," said Archbishop Baliozian, who is also the spiritual head of the Armenian communities in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

"We have our own mini multicultural society here in Sydney and they have a very strong bond with the church."

The chairman of the Ethnic Affairs Commission, Mr Stepan Keryasharian, is a leading member of the Armenian community. "Effectively, until 1991, Armenia has not had a government since the third century so the church has taken on the role of providing a focal point for the community," he said.

"Great efforts have been made to maintain our language, which is flourishing. Because Armenians tend to live away from their homeland most speak at least three languages - Armenian, the language of the country where they were raised and English."

Armenian settlers first came to Australia during the gold rush days of the 1850s but large numbers started to arrive only after World War II, mainly from South-East Asia.

Another wave of migrants came from the Middle East in the 1960s and there are now an estimated 40,000 Armenians here, with 25,000 in the Sydney area.

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