Gyumri has never celebrated Vardavar in such a way. Gyumri-born producer Ruben Mkhitaryan on Sunday told this to Tert.am.
“We have welcomed about 1,000 people yesterday alone, 2,000 to 3,000 [more] people are on the way, and there are 4,000 people at the [main] square,” he said. “There has never been such a thing in Gyumri; I’m convinced that [from now on] it [Vardavar] will be celebrated [in Gyumri] in such a way every year.”
Many well-known Armenians on Sunday have come to Armenia’s second largest city, along the lines of Mkhitaryan’s challenge that was made on social media. Ruben Mkhitaryan had challenged people to come to Gyumri, to celebrate Vardavar there, to shoot their “wet” video, and to mention the people whom they would like to see and water in Gyumri.
As reported earlier, the Armenian Apostolic Church on Sunday celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, which is commonly known among Armenians as Vardavar. On this day, it is customary in Armenia that people drench each other with water.