Jose Mourinho has revealed he apologised to Henrikh Mkhitaryan after substituting the midfielder at half-time during the FA Cup victory over Derby County, ESPN reported.
The Armenian national team captain and Manchester United midfield was handed just his second start in two months against the Championship side at Old Trafford on Friday. But he lasted just 45 minutes before he was replaced with Romelu Lukaku, who scored the second goal in a 2-0 win.
However, Mourinho said afterwards his decision had been "unfair." He told a news conference: "I didn't like what I did, unfair, he didn't deserve.
"He was playing well, he was not playing bad, he had a couple of mis-possessions, but he was giving a good dynamic to the team and my feeling was that [Marcus] Rashford is not going to score a goal and because of that I am not going to lose time and I am going to play Romelu and I am going to sacrifice a player and Mkhi was the one I sacrificed.
"But it is not something I normally do and at half-time I apologised to him in front of the people because he didn't deserve it."
To note, in Mkhitaryan's absence, Lukaku came off the bench to score his first goal in five games.
The Armenian has not scored for United since September and has completed 90 minutes just twice all season
By Liam Blackburn
12:20, 6 JAN 2018
Henrikh Mkhitaryan received an apology from Jose Mourinho having been taken off at half-time against Derby, the Manchester United manager has revealed.
The Armenian's latest opportunity to impress lasted just 45 minutes as Mourinho hooked the midfielder for Romelu Lukaku following a goalless opening half where Mkhitaryan looked bereft of confidence.
At one point he sailed a cross way over its intended target and also misplaced a simple pass to groans from around Old Trafford.
Mkhitaryan has not scored for United since September and has completed 90 minutes just twice all season, yet Mourinho was apologetic when explaining his half-time withdrawal in a game his side went on to win 2-0.
"(It was) unfair. Unfair," he said.
"And I told that at half-time. I didn't like what I did. Unfair. He didn't deserve it.
"He was playing well, he was not playing bad. He had a couple of missed possessions but he was playing well, he was giving (a) good dynamic to the team.
"My feeling was just that (Marcus) Rashford is not going to score a goal. In the moment he's not going to score a goal. And because of that I'm not going to lose time and I'm going to play Romelu.
"And then I had to sacrifice a player and it was Micki the one that I sacrificed.
"But it's something that I normally don't do. I did at half-time. I apologised to him in front of the people because he didn't deserve (it)."
Meet KÁRYYN, the digital adventurer who inspired Björk
The Syrian-Armenian-American’s minimal music captures childhood memories of Aleppo and seems to come from a another dimension
Louise Bruton
KÁRYYN: time to get acquainted with her work – and how to say her name. Photograph: Derek Hutchison
In what appears to be a highly-stylised pronunciation of Karen, the composer and vocalist KÁRYYN will initially have you at a loss as to how to say her name and will then swiftly leave you speechless with her layered and ambient music.
Based in Los Angeles, the Syrian-Armenian-American’s music is minimal, but with its overlapping vocals, gentle orbing synths and rigid electronic interference, it makes for an all-enveloping experience. She trips up over the set rules of music, and takes us to a place that feels like a different dimension. Oh, yes. We’re going intergalactic with this one.
Also, Björk includes the composition KÁRYYN did on the Of Light opera (co-written by Samantha Shay, who is under the mentorship of Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic, no less) as one of her inspirations from 2017. If Björk is inspired by your work, then you’ve absolutely nailed it.
In 2017, she released the singles Aleppo, Purgatory (both from her Quanta series) and Moving Masses, from Of Light, through her own label Antevasin (a Sanskrit word that translates to “one who lives at the border”). With a promise of new material to surface this year, it’s time to get acquainted with her work.
Aleppo captures her childhood memories of visiting relatives in Syria, and she laments the city she once knew so well, contrasting it with the one that’s crumbling down. The various crunches and blips that you hear over her fragile voices are intended to echo the destruction we see played out on the news.
The pining, delicate strums of Binary feel isolated, and conjure up the quest for a soulmate between the 1s and the 0s, which should feel dystopian, but, when we’re looking to be paired up and matched online – to find love in the abyss – Binary is our hollow reality.
Supping from the same cup as FKA Twigs and Zola Jesus, KÁRYYN’s music ensnares your brain and jolts your senses. It’s an immersive experience and her sounds leave a barely there but altogether heavy imprint on your brain.
If we were ever invited round to his Killiney gaff for dinner, we now have a debate locked and loaded for him. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he said: “I think music has gotten very girly. And there are some good things about that, but hip-hop is the only place for young male anger at the moment – and that’s not good.”
Girly. It’s hard to know what his definition of girly is. Is it sensitivity? Is it synths? Is it wearing high heels? But if he’s worried about girliness stepping in and taking the place of the angry, male voice in the charts, I suggest he prepares himself for a new type of rage. The fearless and boundless rage of girls and women that are finally having their say in a society that was built to silence them. Take that, Bono.
<img class="wp-image-5013418 size-full" src=”"http://images.indianexpress.com/2018/01/armenian-family-delhi-ie.jpg" alt="10 days on, Armenian home gears for its very own Christmas" />
Mane Mkrtchyan, her family at their Lajpat Nagar home.
By Anchita Ghosh
Christmas and New Year festivities are over for most, but not in a few houses in the capital. A Lajpat Nagar address — home to the only “pure Armenian” family in the capital — is gearing up to celebrate Christmas on January 6, when Jesus Christ was baptised.
The occupant of the house, Mane Mkrtchyan (27), who made India her home around 10 years ago, says Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity in the year 301.
“We have always celebrated Christmas on January 6. December 25 became popular under Roman influence in the 4th century,” said Mane, who lives in Delhi with her mother, twin sister and a nephew. Her father Senekerim Mkrtchyan, a retired engineer, joins them for six months during winters. This year, her other sister, who lives in Moscow with her family, has also joined them with her two children for Christmas.
Though Mane’s is the only pure Armenian family in the city, there are around 50 Indo-Armenian families in the NCR. Among them is Dr Gayane Movsisyan Sayeed, MD, Cardiologist and president of Armenian Cultural Centre in Delhi.
Dr Gayane says Armenia is the only country to follow Apostolic Church, which celebrates Christmas on January 6.
“Celebrations start from December 31 with some keeping a seven-day fast,” said Dr Gayane. “The day starts with prayers and ends with a community get-together and feasting. Since there is no Armenian church in Delhi, we mostly pray at home,” she says.
“Christmas is all about time with family and home-cooked food,” said Mane, a PhD scholar in Hindi from JNU. She says some of the must-haves on the Christmas table include gaphama — rice and dry fruits, including raisins, steamed inside a pumpkin — lavash, a tandoori-like bread and fish.
Dr Gayane says rice, raisins and fish have a meaning too. “Rice represents the world and raisins symbolise the Christians. Fish is the symbol of Jesus Christ,” says Dr Gayane.
Every year, around this time, the city’s small Armenian community comes together. This time, the gathering was at India Habitat Centre on January 1.
Mane, however, hopes to spread the word on her country’s culture through the Armenian Cultural Centre, founded in 2015 on September 21 — the Armenian Independence Day.
Glendale hospitals gather community and religious leaders to celebrate Armenian Christmas
Jeff Landa
With the help of local religious leaders, two Glendale hospitals held ceremonies Friday to help the large Armenian community in the city celebrate Armenian Christmas, which falls on Jan. 6 each year.
At Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, prelate of the western United States, and members of his clergy led a ceremony with prayers at 11 a.m. in both English and Armenian.
“The start of the new year presents a wonderful opportunity for mankind and will be patient for renewal,” Mardirossian said. “The new year brings this opportunity for renewal, however, [it] comes from God.”
Hospital staff, employees and executives were joined by local leaders such as Glendale Mayor Vartan Gharpetian, Fire Chief Greg Fish and state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), who spoke briefly before the ceremony.
“As a Roman Catholic, representing an Armenian community, I love celebrating Christmas twice,” he said. “It’s an honor to represent such a vibrant and spiritual community.”
Faith-based hospital Adventist Health Glendale held a similar Armenian Christmas ceremony at noon led by Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, leader of the Western Diocese Armenian Church.
Derderian said prayers and blessed water and the Armenian pastry called Gata as a symbol of the baptism of Jesus Christ.
“There are millions of interpretations about our thoughts and feelings [of Christmas], but one statement in which I will leave with you: Christmas is the time where we lead our lives to holiness,” he said.
Council members Paula Devine and Vrej Agajanian as well as Mayor Gharpetian also joined the Adventist ceremony.
In keeping with tradition, the Armenian Orthodox Church maintains Christmas on Jan. 6, which is 12 days after the Dec. 25 date many other denominations observe the religious holiday.
Armenian Christmas is also referred to as the Epiphany or the Holy Nativity of Christ.
On January 6, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Jesus Christ.
The Armenian Church celebrates the holy birth (Sourp Dznount) of Jesus Christ on January 6. In Armenian tradition, this feast day commemorates not only the birth of Christ, but also His baptism by John the Baptist. The latter is remembered through the "Blessing of Water" ceremony, which follows the Divine Liturgy on January 6.
On the eve of the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Jrakalouyts Divine Liturgy (the lighting of the lamps service) is celebrated in honor of the manifestation of Jesus as the Son of God (theophany). It is custom for the faithful to hold lit candles during this special service. On the following day, the mystery of our Lord's baptism in the River Jordan is remembered in the ceremony of the Jurorhnek, or the "Blessing of Water."
In ancient times, this ceremony was celebrated by the riverside or sea shore, but, for various reasons, it was later confined to the interior of the churches. During the ceremony, the cross is dipped in water, recalling Christ's immersion in the Jordan River. Blessed oil, or Holy Chrism (Muron), is poured into the water from a dove-shaped container, symbolizing the appearance at the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the voice of the Father proclaiming to all that Jesus is His Son.
The Holy Chrism is prepared in Holy Etchmiadzin and is blessed by the Catholicos assisted by the bishops. Muron contains olive oil, balsam and the essence of forty different flowers and herbs. At the end of the ceremony, members of the congregation are given the blessed water to drink, thereby sharing in the life giving act of Christ. As water is essential to the life of the body, drinking the blessed water is a reminder that participation in the acts of Christ is essential for eternal life.
Lebanese citizens with Armenian roots celebrate Christmas at an Orthodox church in Beirut, Jan. 6, 2018. (The Daily Star/Screengrab LBCI)
The Daily Star
you've reached a subscriber-only article. Sign up now and access the full breadth of The Daily Star content in minutes.
subscribe nowunrestricted access1 month…$12 | 3 months…$30 | 6 months…$55 | 1 year…$99 Existing users can login here or register for a new account.
*
*
BEIRUT: Lebanese-Armenians celebrated Christmas Saturday as politicians sent warm wishes to the estimated 200,000 observing the holiday.
“Merry Christmas to the Armenian and Coptic communities,” President Michel Aoun tweeted Saturday. “On this blessed night, we hope that the peace of the Nativity of Bethlehem will shine on our entire East and stop its bleeding.”
Prime Minister Saad Hariri tweeted: “Best wishes to the Armenian and Coptic communities on Christmas. May God restore upon Lebanon and the Arab world security and peace."
Minister Inaya Ezzeddine also wished the community a Merry Christmas, saying she hoped that it would mark the beginning of a return to peace.
“May God restore upon Lebanon and the entire world security, safety, stability and peace,” she wrote, in a tweet that included an image of a Paul Guiragossian painting, “Madonna and Child.”
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, whose Free Patriotic Movement is heavily aligned with the Armenian Tashnag Party, tweeted in both Armenian and Arabic.
“No matter how diverse our cultures are, the homeland is one. No matter how different the calendar is, Christ is one. To our Lebanese citizens of Armenian origin: Merry Christmas and [warm wishes].”
As followers of the Orthodox Church Saturday engaged in Christmas celebrations, other Christian communities in Lebanon also celebrated the Epiphany.
Festive event was organized in the courtyard of the St. Anna Church in Yerevan on the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Jesus Christ. During the concert, citizens gave musical performances accompanied by national dance and song.
To note, the Armenian Church celebrates the holy birth (Sourp Dznount) of Jesus Christ on January 6.
Daily Sundial, California State University, Northridge
Jan 6 2018
By Alin Boughousi
–
Jan 6, 2018
A table set with dishes, such as zook, that are eaten during Armenian Christmas dinner . Photo credit: Karin Abcarians
Armenian Christmas occurs every Jan. 6 and is celebrated by all Armenian religions such as Catholic, Apostolic and Christian. It is a day for family to come together, break fast and be merry.
This holiday holds a special place in my heart since I am Armenian, and it gets me closer to my culture.
On Jan. 6, most of us go to church to celebrate. The church service features water blessed by the priest, which we then take home in many cups. The water is supposed to help all your ailments. When I went to my first Armenian church service, it was great and an eye-opening experience. I never knew what was involved in the ceremony. It made me feel closer to God and what it it means to be an Armenian.
This holiday is a good excuse to see family you haven’t seen a long time. We get the opportunity to gather with family one more time as the new year gets underway.
It’s all different from regular Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners; we eat traditional foods rather than turkey and ham. My family loves to cook the traditional foods: cuckoo pilaf which is a mixture of eggs and different greens that form together to make a cake-like dish, and zook, which is Armenian for “fish”. Some famiies also have kabobs.
For the zook, we sometimes have it breaded or we put the whole fish in the oven! We also add other things like salad, vegetables, rice and crispy fish for people who don’t like the normal salty fish and more. We dip Holy bread into wine and eat it – this symbolizes Christ.
We share stories of anything that has happened since we last saw each other on Christmas and eat, eat and eat! There’s also dessert after.
We end the night with goodbyes, which end up taking forever; Armenians tend to extend goodbyes. We’ll stand by the door continuously talking and almost forgetting we were leaving. Eventually, we actually say the goodbyes and head home.
One misconception people have about Armenian Christmas is that they think we get more gifts. That isn’t true. We don’t. In fact, it would be completely weird if we gave each other gifts. Ours is a celebration of Christ and his incarnation; it has to do with the baptism of Christ. People also tend to think we don’t celebrate regular Christmas because we have our own. That’s not completely true; some do and some don’t. Some families just wait until Armenian Christmas, while others celebrate both.
It’s nice to have an extra excuse to hang out with family isn’t it? In our busy and hectic lives, we sometimes forget to see our families, so the holiday season reminds us to slow down and appreciate them.
CAIRO – 6 January 2018: Christmas celebrations erupted in the Armenian Orthodox Church on Ramses Street in Cairo on Saturday morning.
Armenian Orthodox churches all over the world celebrated Christmas on January 6, as did the small Armenian community in Egypt. The Armenian Orthodox Church has been under the vigilant watch of the police.
Egypt has three main Christian denominations: the Orthodox, the Catholic and the Protestant or Evangelical. Each sect celebrates Christmas on a different date, although rituals are often the same.
On Friday, Assistant to the Interior Minister and security managers reviewed all services and security facilities located near churches to secure the coming Christmas festivities.
The Governor of Cairo, Atef Abdel Hamid, announced earlier that Cairo’s public parks will open their doors to the public for free on Christmas day. Also, the governor announced that tickets for the Nile bus trips will be 50 percent off.
Abdel Hamid stressed that strict directives were given to the presidents of the districts to make field visits to the local churches and the nearby streets and stores, ensuring that concrete security measures are effectively put in place, including surveillance cameras.
The spokesman of the Coptic Church Paul Halim said that Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Marks Diocese will lead the Christmas Mass at the new Nativity of Christ Cathedral in the New Administrative Capital on Saturday.
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is scheduled to take part in the Mass, that will kick off at 19:00 CLT.
Christmas Mass this year will be celebrated for the first time at the new Nativity of Christ Cathedral as a fulfillment of President Sisi's promise made last year while attending the Mass at the Cathedral of St Mark in Abbasiya.