Christianity occupies a special place in the life of Armenians. Armenia is the first country to adopt Christianity as the official state religion in 301 AD, and for many centuries the Armenian people have carefully preserved centuries-old traditions. One of the most famous and important holidays is Easter. This holiday better than others demonstrates the connection of Armenians with God.

The Armenian name for Easter is “Surb Zatik”, which means “removal from sins”. At this time, the Armenian Apostolic Church proclaims the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the crucifixion of Jesus, mankind was granted remission of sins.

Armenians celebrate Easter with special joy and great enthusiasm, as this is perhaps the brightest and greatest holiday of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

This holiday does not have a clear date, it changes every year. Usually Easter is celebrated on one of the spring days from March 22 to April 26. This is because the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Easter on the first Sunday that follows the full moon after the vernal equinox.

Easter is preceded by Holy Week. After the main liturgy on Saturday evening, all Armenians greet the resurrection of Jesus Christ by saying: “Christ is risen from the dead”, to which you should reply: “Blessed is the resurrection of Christ.” But the main celebration of Easter begins on Sunday with a solemn morning service. With this, all Armenians end Great Lent, which lasted seven weeks. All believers must observe a 40-day fast to cleanse the body of sins, as well as cleanse their souls, as Jesus Christ did.

For Easter in Armenia, they begin to prepare long before the onset of the holiday itself. Various traditions are associated with Easter. Wheat seeds are sown in a special dish. After the wheat sprouts have sprouted, red-colored eggs are laid on the green shoots, which symbolize new life and rebirth, as well as the blood of Jesus shed for humanity.

Another tradition is to dye eggs red using natural ingredients such as onion skins. To do this, you need to boil the eggs in a bowl along with the onion peel, which gives the eggshell the desired shade. There is a fun and exciting Easter game that all kids and adults love. According to custom, the participants in the game hold the egg in their hand and hit the egg held in the opponent’s hand. It is necessary to beat so as to break the egg in the hands of the opponent. The cracked egg is taken by the winner. All family members participate in this game.Easter