The Armenian Apostolic Church today observes the holiday of St. Sargis, the patron of the young and those in love.
St. Sarkis is one of the most beloved saints among the Armenian nation. St. Sargis was a Christian commander in the 4th century, who was killed along with his son Martiros by a Persian king for refusal to change his faith.
On the night of the holiday, young people eat salty pies and don’t drink water to encourage dreaming at night. They believe that St. Sargis decides their fate, that the person who gives them water to drink in their dreams will become their future spouse. People also put a plate with flour outside the door to have a record of St. Sargis’s horse riding through the flour. They believe St. Sargis appears with lightening speed on his radiant horse, and that the traces left in the flour serve as a good omen to bring them luck. In people’s imagination St. Sargis is handsome and appears with a spear, a gold helmet and gold armor.
