VARDATON DEDICATED TO MEMORY OF SAYAT NOVA HELD ON MAY 27 IN TBILISI

Noyan Tapan
May 31 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 31, NOYAN TAPAN. An annual Vardaton (holiday of roses)
dedicated to memory of Sayat Nova took place on May 27 at the Surb
Gevorg Armenian church of Tbilisi. Officials of Georgia and Armenia,
Armenian and Georgian art figures participated in the holiday. RA
People’s Artist Zhenia Avetisian, Dudukner (Armenian national pipe)
quartet, Sayat Nova bard and Nazani folk ensembles of goosans’
(Armenian national poet-singer) song left Armenia for Georgia. 1 mln
600 thousand drams (about 4.6 thousand U.S. dollars) were allocated
for organization of the celebration from the RA state budget.

As Karine Khodikian, the RA Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth Issues
stated at the May 30 press conference, Vardaton is held in Yerevan as
well, starting from 2006. In her words, the RA Government envisages
to every year allocate money from the state budget for organization
of Vardaton.

The holiday has arisen since 1913 when the 200th birthday anniversary
of Sayat-Nova was celebrated in Tbilisi on the initiative of Hovhannes
Tumanian. A celebration, Vardaton, is organized in the yard of the
Surb Gevorg church of Tbilisi every year, on the last Sunday of May,
starting from that day. During the celebration lovers of Sayat Nova’s
songs lay red roses to the goosan’s grave.