Grape has a unique place in Armenian culture. Symbolizing fertiliy since pagan times, blessing of grapes has made its way to Christianity by taking the form of Annunciation of Virgin Mary, the Asdvadzadzin Day. The holiday is celebrated by Armenians on 15th of August or on the closest Sunday to it. We have made a compilation from our oral history archives on how Armenians celebrated this feast in Anatolia in the recent past.

“We would build a fire on Asdvadzadzin”

"We, the people of Everek (Develi, Kayseri), used to have this tradition: In August, we would climb this smaller mountain to the South of Fenese, called Mount Khach, on Saturday eve before the day of the Asdvadzadzin Feast, and we would build a fire while up there. People from Everek would be on this side, and those from Fenese would be on the other. Everyone would go up on their roofs to watch that fire. Villagers would prepare torches from long rods, and small children would shout: 'the wooden cross is on fire!' Turks would accompany us, adopt the holiday, and call it 'kindle alight.' Everek folk would also climb up Mount Erciyes that day, and would build a fire there.

"They used to light a fire on the Khach Mountain. Why did they light a fire? That fire was lit at night when the color of the grapes changed. They gathered there, prayed, took some rubber tires there and set them on fire."

"Muslim neigbours used to wait for the grapes to be blessed"

"Armenians would try not to eat any grape unless it was blessed, but they would eat it anyway. This had an economic basis: It was to prevent the destruction of vineyards before the grapes ripened. Such things were obeyed without hesitation. These were rituals openly practiced. Actually, Muslim neigbours used to wait for the grapes to be blessed."

"On Sundays in summer, it was a tradition to go the church without having a breakfast, at least for our family. My brother and father used to go to the vineyard to fetch grapes without fail. I thought they were skipping church, but it might not be the case. We had a stone patio where we used to eat sitting on the floor after church. There would always be eighter manti or boiled cheese börek pastry. Canary melon, watermelon, various things…"

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