February 5, 2021
Love holidays. Which one and how to celebrate?
St. Sargis, St. Valentine or Trndez - these three are considered to be holidays of love. There are many occasions to congratulate lovers in January and February. Some couples choose everything, some have their own beliefs and move according to religious preferences. And the newly engaged or married couples mostly celebrate the Trndez holiday.
How do they differ from each other and what is the link between these 3 very different holidays? And what will happen if we celebrate them all in one day?
A small spoiler, in order to prioritize, you need to first study the sources of the holidays and understand which one is closer to our hearts.
Perhaps we should start with the upcoming holiday first.
A warrior or an intercessor for love?
St. Sargs is called the intercessor of love, the patron saint of lovers. It is a portable church holiday. It mostly coincides with January 28 and it is not a coincidence either. Sargis was a general who was martyred for the Christian faith with his son Martiros and 14 (according to some sources, 40) other warriors.
Christianity and Valentine's Day.
Let's start with the origins. The tradition of Saint Sargis was written down by Nerses the Gracious in the 12th century. It is collected from the stories of 3 Sargises, in the work "The Conduct of Saints". In many icons St. We can see Sargis with a baby on a white horse. The child is Martiros himself.
From the beginning, Sargis was the intercessory patron of families and fertility, and since love is the basis of a family, it is necessary to start a family first. At that time, St. Sargis can become a sponsor of this couple. In other words, the holiday can be celebrated by those who want, dream or plan to get married. It is customary to believe that girls who have eaten a salty cookie will see their future husband in a dream.
It is already clear who is celebrating and who should be congratulated.
And how is this holiday celebrated?
After a five-day fast, a young girl eats a salty cookie, the night before the festival of St. Sargis. After eating, you should not drink water, should sleep on a hard bed. And the one who brought water in a dream will be the future husband.
The ritual of making salt cookies is also symbolic and important. According to tradition, it is prepared by widows. It is customary to believe that the husband knows from the other world who the girl's future husband will be and how they will meet. And the woman is the link connecting the two worlds.
There is also another belief. The girl puts a plate full of kama near the door or window, and if she sees a horse's hoof mark there in the morning, she will definitely find her knight that year.
Why salty cookie and kama?
Both are made from flour. The flour itself is wheat-based. Since ancient times, wheat has been a symbol of fertility for a newborn child. And the salt melts the snow, which turns into water. Water also symbolizes life. And if we find a connection between the commander, his little one and Valentine's Day, it is already clear why that day has turned into an occasion to celebrate Love Holidays.
Saint Valentine and Saint Sargis.
The day of St. Valentine's Day remains unchanged: February 14. Many people do not perceive it as a Christian holiday, but consider it a beautiful poem and gift-giving day. Some think that it is against the Armenian Apostolic Church and do not mention it. There are also couples who believe that these two holidays are the adapted options of the same day and celebrate one of them. In any case, there has always been a comparison between these 2 days as the holidays of Love. Let's try to draw parallels between historical characters and understand if they are similar in reality.
Similarities and confusion.
Both holidays are celebrated in winter and are quite close to each other. But is that the only reason why they are often confused?
In addition to the fact that Valentine is also considered the intercessor of lovers, they are both sanctified. It is also a Christian holiday. But it was more accepted by the Orthodox, and the celebration has nothing to do with fertility or marriage. Unlike Sargиs, the latter is depicted alone with roses, plants and birds.
Who was Valentine?
Two historical figures named Valentine are known to history. The Romans collected information about these characters as early as the 3rd century and compiled the already sanctified Valentine tradition.
He was one of the supporters of Christianity and for that reason he was arrested and later refused to change his faith and was sentenced to death. Exactly on February 14. There is also a version that he was arrested because of secretly marrying couples so that the spouses would not go to the battlefield. Already in prison, he treated the jailer's blind daughter and, at the end, on the day of his execution, he left her a paper with the signature "Your Valentine".
And so, is there a difference?
The holiday of St. Sargis is radically deeper, based on magic. And although there are arguments about Valentine's Day, it is a beautiful holiday, flavored with more folk traditions. To celebrate or not, every couple decides for themselves.
There is another "inconvenience" related to Valentine's Day. It coincides with one of the most popular Christian holidays among Armenians, Trndez (celebrated on February 13).
Couples before the Lord.
Trndez is the only one of these 3 holidays that is associated with Christ. On the 40th day after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph took the baby to the temple, where a man named Simon recognized him as soon as he saw him. And came to meet the Lord.
What do couples have to do with all this?
The roots of Trndez lead to paganism. Fire was a symbol of fertility, and therefore also of marriage. Usually, by lighting a fire, the gathered people believed that they were burning the cold of winter. After all, even nowadays there is a belief that after February 13 the weather starts to warm up.
Love holidays and Trndez.
Everyone celebrates this day, and newlyweds and engaged couples, hand in hand, jump over the fire as a sign of fertility. The same applies to the festive table of Trndez: it is full of Armenian dishes, fruits, beautiful decorations, aghandz, baklava, charaz, various dried fruits.
As we can see, all three holidays are not only for loving couples. All holidays can be considered LOVE DAY. Love can be even towards nature or yourself.
