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Armenian Culture?

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  • #1

    Armenian Culture?

    As some of you know I recently had my 20th birthday. As usual, that fateful moment came where they bring out the cake and sing you that silly song. Once all the candles were blown out my friends asked me and my cousins what the Armenian birthday song was and if we'd sing it. We all just kinda looked at each other dumbfounded... if there was one, we didn't know it? To solve the queit moment my friends all broke out into the Hebrew version of Happy Birthday and all seemed to have a good time singing it while I sat there wondering why neither me or any of my cousins knew the Armenian birthday song, if there even is one.

    This is just one of the many recent events that made me wonder exactly what armenian 'culture' I am trying to preserve here. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not questioning the richness of my history, believe me, I know the history and I know there's much to be proud of our ancestors for. But history and culture are two different things... History is what's done with already, culture effects you (or SHOULD effect you) on a daily basis.

    For examples... is there an Armenian 'rite' or passage? Latinos have Quincianeras, Jews has Bat and Bar Mitzvahs... hell, even the mostly cultureless Americans have the flimsy "sweet sixteen"... do Armenians have anything to that effect? How about Holidays... and I don't mean just an Armenian version of Christmas or Easter... I mean a uniquely Armenian holiday? If there is I've never heard of it, cause cause not once in any 360 days a year have I ever said "Oh wait... this is a uniquely Armenian holiday"

    I like to think that being Armenian is more than just a nationality.. it's a state of mind, is a certain way of being... but maybe I'm just romantisizing it for my own benefit. I want to preserve Armenian culture... is there one?
    "All I know is I'm not a Marxist." -Karl Marx
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  • #2
    Uniquely Armenian Holiday : Vartavar

    It's a day in mid-July where everybody has a huge waterfight basically. It's a blast. We don't celebrate it much here, but I remember how we used to have the time of our lives back in Syria or last summer in Armenia.

    At the children's rehab center where we were working, there were 3 soldiers that were doing their service there (working on the fields and other such laboring jobs), with whom we became good friends. Anyways, the eve of Vartavar, I'm pretty sure they held a meeting with their General planning their attack on us because they got all of us SOAKED, without getting a single drop of water on them. I was very proud of our Armed Forces that day.

    Later, we went to downtown Yerevan, near Garabi Lij (where Arno Babajanian's statue is now placed) and joined a group of 12-13 year olds who were spraying all the passer-bys and the cars. aaah, good times..


    And Happy belated Birthday Jinx!

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    • #3
      Somehow I knew it would be Dants that would come to my rescue

      We need to celebrate it in America also... if for no other reason than me wanting to through a bunch of water balloons at my little brother and make him cry again

      So anything other than super soaker day? and I'm not just talking about holidays only.
      "All I know is I'm not a Marxist." -Karl Marx

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      • #4
        You should learn the Armenian birthday song, it's not that hard. If I could, I would attempt to type it out in english, but I would butcher it.

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        • #5
          There is that whole thing that happens before a wedding, where the bride's side parties at her house, and then the groom's side arrives with drums and zurna and everything, and the bride must hide, while the groom must find her, meanwhile, one of the people from the groom's side must steal something from the bride's home...It turns into quite the party, and I think they evnentually all go to the groom's house to continue...

          A friend of ours married a Greek lady, and they decided to maintain this Armenian tradition. So the whole family (around 60-70 people) went down to this area in Montreal that is densely populated by Greeks, making a huge scene with their drums and screaming and singing, that around 5-10 police cars came. None of them stopped though, so they took the bride and went back to the groom's house, followed all the way there by all those policemen. It was as if they were being escorted. And of course, everybody received speeding tickets when they arrived to the groom's house, so they all went in dancing and waving their tickets in the air, singing "yes al ticket geeeeraaaa!!! yes al ticket geeerraaaaa!!"

          I don't know if that last paragraph made any sense, but it truly was an amusing story.

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          • #6
            You have to realize that most holidays are religious or political. Look at all of the American ones: aside from Easter and Christmas which are christian and many countries celebrate, and Halloween which is pagan, everything is stupid made-up political nonsense. Most cultures do not have many holidays and what ever they do have, is based on there religion. The Americans can make you feel like you lack holidays but that's because you're focusing on Americans. If you celebrate Christmas, Easter, Vartavar, the independance of Armenia from the Ottoman on May 28, Mother's day on April 7th, Trndez on February 14, the Mesrob Mashtots day on October 12, you are probably up to par with most countries.
            Birthday songs? I hate birthday songs.

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            • #7
              You forgot the September 21 independance. Why do people leave that one out all the time?!?

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              • #8
                Alright, alright... and independence from Sovietism.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Baron Dants
                  There is that whole thing that happens before a wedding, where the bride's side parties at her house, and then the groom's side arrives with drums and zurna and everything, and the bride must hide, while the groom must find her, meanwhile, one of the people from the groom's side must steal something from the bride's home...It turns into quite the party, and I think they evnentually all go to the groom's house to continue...

                  A friend of ours married a Greek lady, and they decided to maintain this Armenian tradition. So the whole family (around 60-70 people) went down to this area in Montreal that is densely populated by Greeks, making a huge scene with their drums and screaming and singing, that around 5-10 police cars came. None of them stopped though, so they took the bride and went back to the groom's house, followed all the way there by all those policemen. It was as if they were being escorted. And of course, everybody received speeding tickets when they arrived to the groom's house, so they all went in dancing and waving their tickets in the air, singing "yes al ticket geeeeraaaa!!! yes al ticket geeerraaaaa!!"

                  I don't know if that last paragraph made any sense, but it truly was an amusing story.
                  You talkin about Park X? I know there are a whole lot of greeks there.


                  And one more holiday...New Years. Armenians celebrate that like no other. Just get outside when its right at 12:00 and hear all the AK shots, fire crackers, some cheap fire works...its a diffrent feeling then you would get at the best North American holiday...atleast for me.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by MadHandle
                    You talkin about Park X? I know there are a whole lot of greeks there.


                    And one more holiday...New Years. Armenians celebrate that like no other. Just get outside when its right at 12:00 and hear all the AK shots, fire crackers, some cheap fire works...its a diffrent feeling then you would get at the best North American holiday...atleast for me.
                    Park X indeed. Have we met?

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