ARMENIANS TO MARK CHRISTMAS TONIGHT.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer GLENDALE - Armenians throughout Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, will gather tonight as they begin their celebration of the Christmas holidays, with Masses scheduled at local churches. For the nearly 50,000 Armenians living in Glendale and Burbank who follow the Christian calendar established centuries ago, Jan. 6 is Christmas Day. The Armenian Apostolic faithful are expected to celebrate with vigils tonight - Christmas Eve - and the blessing of water at Masses on Saturday, to honor not only Christ's birth but also his baptism by St. John - believed to have occurred exactly 30 years later. ``Centuries ago, in the old country, people would go light candles from church on Christmas Eve and take the light to their homes, where they had dinner and celebration,'' said Father Sipan Mekhsian, assistant to the archbishop of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church Armenian Church, autonomous Christian church, sometimes also called the Gregorian Church. Its head, a primate of honor only, is the catholicos of Yejmiadzin, Armenia; Karekin II became catholicos in 1999. of North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . ``They would have a feast and then the blessing of the four corners of the world - for prosperity, peace and mutual understanding.'' He said the Armenians will celebrate another of their feast days on Sunday, when church services are held to honor the deceased. Armenian Catholics follow the Roman Catholic calendar and celebrate Christmas in December and the Epiphany Epiphany (ĭpĭf`ənē) [Gr.,=showing], a prime Christian feast, celebrated Jan. 6, called also Twelfth Day or Little Christmas. Its eve is Twelfth Night. - the baptism and revelation of Christ - on Jan. 6. Father Raphael Minassian, of St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church sui juris within the Catholic Church. Historically it represents a schism from the Armenian Apostolic Church. in Glendale, said his congregation celebrates in the same way as the Apostolic, with the blessing of water. ``The water is taken by people to their houses and they keep it for the whole year to bless their home and their sick,'' he said. Peter Abajian of the Armenian Assembly of America Armenian Assembly of America, according to its website [1], aims to "strengthen U.S./Armenia and U.S./Nagorno Karabakh relations, promotes Armenia's and Karabakh's democratic development and economic prosperity and seeks universal affirmation of the Armenian Genocide" via said because the local Armenian population is so diverse, there are many different ways to celebrate the holidays. |
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