As we all know, every holiday evolves and changes by the time. On April 16th we are all going to celebrate Easter. Reservin Armenia decided to look back and find out how the holiday was celebrated in the past. Also we will give you an extra bonus and share recipes you will definitely find useful.
Almost in every country in the world this holiday’s symbol is an egg. In the past people went to church service with an egg in their pockets and after the service was finished, they ate the egg. Easter egg is considered to be the essence of life. It was accepted to make a ‘’matagh’’ a sacrifice of lamb or rooster. On that day people served ‘’ttkhmor’’ salt, incense, grain, water and other things and underneath this was placed the meat, egg so these food will also be blessed.
Exploring the history it becomes clear, that in Armenia the only habit that survived is to serve eggs on that day. But unlike our ancestors we now color eggs in red or in other colors. We also use onion for natural coloring of eggs. The red color symbolized the blood Christ sacrificed for human sins. Usually the eggs are placed in special grasses.
The other popular dish for Easter is rice pilaf with raisin. Pilaf symbolizes all humans, where raisins are the believers.
It’s interesting that Armenia doesn’t have an access to any sea, but we prefer lamb meat to fish. Another Easter dish is Armenian ‘’ishkhan’’. This aristocrat fish is a symbol of Christianity as it's believed to be cruciform. B. C. in the 1st century it was accepted, to recognize Christians by drawing fish on the sand.
A lot of families also serve spinach or other plants. In some way it is a way to celebrate Spring. After severe winter, the nature comes to rescue people by feeding humans with it's goods. It at some point reminds us about paganism traditions, but again after adopting Christianity many paganism traditions were converted into Christian ones.
And don’t forget that Easter table won’t be complete without red wine.
Christ is risen from the dead! Blessed is the resurrection of Christ! Happy Easter everyone!!
