ArmenPress
Feb 14 2005

ARMENIAN CHURCH MARKS TRNDEZ FEBRUARY 14

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 14, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Church marked today
a feast called Trndez. According to religious custom this holiday is
connected with the idea of coming forward to the Lord with fire,
after 40 days of his birth. The Armenian Church celebrates it on
February 14th – 40 days after January 6th, when Armenians mark their
Christmas, from which it derives the religious name: “Tearn end
aradj” or “Trndez”- Coming Forward to the Lord. The main ceremony of
the holiday is a bonfire, symbolizing the coming of spring.
Songs and dances around the fire continue until the fire dies
down. Domestic animals and seeds are brought to the area of the
festivities. Newly married couples are the first to leap over the
fire. This leaves the bad events of the past behind. The couple
lands, purified and cleansed, amid the blessings of the next year.
Recent mothers also jump over the fire to leave behind the
traditional isolation period of forty days and to be freed from any
evil.
The direction the smoke blows is used to forecast the crop for the
year. If it goes South or East, it is a good omen for the wheat crop.
If it blows to the North or West, however, the forecast is not
favorable. The direction of the winds in February is an indication of
the abundance of the autumn crop.