Armenians celebrate birth of Christ

Interesting.


http://www.glendalenewspress.com/religion/story/34579p-51094c.html#
Public schools will be closed and thousands will celebrate the birth of Christ today.

Many Armenian Christians observe Jan. 6 as Christmas, said the Rev. Vazken Atmajian of St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale.

In the 4th Century, the Roman Catholic Church celebrated Christmas on Jan. 6 but officials realized there was a pagan celebration, which was anything but holy, on Dec. 25 called the "Birth of the Sun", he said. Since many Christians were tempted to debauch themselves on the pagan holiday, the Roman Catholic Church started celebrating the birth of Christ on Dec. 25 as a way to retain the Christians, Atmajian said.

"But the Armenian church has no affiliation with the Catholic Church and we had no pagan celebration," Atmajian said. "Armenia has been Christian from the beginnings -- about 60 AD."
Other than that, the church is very similar to other Western churches, he said.
"We are an orthodox church," he said. "We use the same Bible, we recognize the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Mary so there is nothing theological about why we changed this."