Tweet
The Daily Star, Lebanon
Jan 6 2015
Christmas the Armenian way
Justin Salhani| The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanon hasn't boxed up its Christmas decorations just yet, as
the celebrations are just beginning for some. A large percentage of
Lebanon's prominent Armenian community celebrates their version of the
holy day Tuesday, Jan. 6.
The sixth is Epiphany for most Christians, but Armenians use the day
to celebrate a culmination of the season's events.
For them, the sixth is Christmas, celebrating the nativity of Jesus in
Bethlehem, but it also symbolizes Epiphany, when Jesus was baptized in
the Jordan River. Unlike the Orthodox and Protestants who follow the
historic date of Armenian Christmas, the Armenian Catholics, however,
follow the Catholic Church in Rome and celebrate on Dec. 25.
"They go with the [Catholic] pope and with Rome," Zara Sirop Hagop
said with a slight chuckle. Hagop is one of the local mukhtars in
Beirut's Burj Hammoud neighborhood.
While large sections of the Lebanese-Armenian population have moved
out of Burj Hammoud over the years and integrated into other areas,
the neighborhood is still strongly connected to the community through
the ubiquity of Armenian restaurants, businesses, cultural centers and
churches.
Christmas decorations are still hung over main thoroughfares, with
white lights dangling in the shape of snowflakes, illuminating the
streets and spreading Christmas cheer. Shops are decorated for the
holiday, with many storefronts painted with the English words "Merry
Christmas."
"Geographically it is known as an Armenian neighborhood," Hagop said.
"There are many Armenians but there are also Shiites and Lebanese
Christians, as well as many foreigners moving into the area."
The reasons Armenians celebrate on the sixth are historical and
traditional. Until the fourth century, the Catholic Church also
celebrated Jesus' birthday Jan. 6. But as Christianity spread into
Europe, the day was merged with a Roman pagan holiday celebrated Dec.
25.
Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of Christ Dec. 25 and
Epiphany Jan. 6. Armenians, however, decided to stick with the
traditional, historical and "correct" day for celebrating Christmas,
as expressed by one person interviewed by The Daily Star.
Tuesday is a national holiday in Lebanon, meaning shops will be closed
across the country, but in Burj Hammoud most establishments - 90
percent according to the local mukhtar - will stay closed Wednesday as
well, as Armenian Orthodox and Protestants partake in a two-day
celebration.
Taking a break from preparing for the Armenian Orthodox St. Sarkis
Church's 4 p.m. Mass Monday, 19-year-old Phillipe Jinian told The
Daily Star about some of the customs his community participates in for
Christmas. People will gather and sing hymns for the neighborhood
Monday evening.
Sitting behind his office desk, Hagop said that the midnight carols
bring joy to the community and are paired with music from accordions,
guitars and other instruments. Here, they deliver the story of
Christmas in a musical manner.
"The people go to each building in the neighborhood and sing the story
of Jesus Christ," Hagop said.
The next day, families come together to celebrate the occasion with
food and holiday spirit.
"We gather and eat together [on Christmas Day]," Jinian said, adding
that it is customary to prepare fish. Other traditional Armenian
Christmas dishes include rice, wheat soup and nevik - a dish made of
green chard and chickpeas. Lebanese Armenians, however, are likely to
include a number of fusion dishes that have culminated from their time
living in and integrating into Lebanese society.
A second Mass is often attended by families on Armenian Christmas Day.
Unlike most Christians in Lebanon, however, the Armenian community
doesn't stop the party after Christmas.
"We celebrate tomorrow but also the day after tomorrow," Hagop said,
with a wide smile on his face.
Armenian families take part in a tradition that is unique to their
culture on Jan. 7. They visit cemeteries where their loved ones are
buried. Here, they pray and take the time to remember and spend time
with those who have died.
"In Armenia they go live and spend the whole day there," Hagop said.
"They eat in the cemetery."
Hagop said that the celebration in Lebanon is not as extravagant as
those in Armenia, where it is an act that the entire nation takes part
in.
After the day at the cemetery, a Mass is planned for the various
Armenian churches. There are four Armenian Orthodox churches in Burj
Hammoud alone and even more outside. Priests from the various houses
of worship gather with the community to hold a large Mass at Burj
Hammoud's Nursing Home.
Also unique to the Armenians, Christmas gifts are traditionally doled
out on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31. In Armenia, Christmas Day is more of a
religious holiday therefore the gifts are handed out beforehand.
Chef Raymond Blanc's Galette des Rois
This remarkably simple dessert is only served once a year to mark
Epiphany, celebrated on Jan. 6. It is the custom to hide two little
figurines or fava beans in the almond cream. The ones who find them
will become the King and Queen for the day and of course have all of
their wishes realized.
INGREDIENTS
For the puff pastry
- 400 grams puff pastry, all butter, ready rolled
For the almond cream
- 75 grams butter, unsalted, at room temperature
- 75 grams icing sugar
- 75 grams Almond, powder
- 1 egg, free range/organic, whole
- 1 egg yolk, free range/organic
- 1 tablespoon dark rum or cognac
COOKING METHOD
Cutting out the circles of pastry
You will get two sheets of pastry - 35 / 22.5 cm in a pack, so cut a
20 cm for the base from one sheet and a 22 cm circle for the top out
of the other sheet; refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
Making the almond cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients
together and mix to a smooth texture; reserve in the fridge.
Making the galette
Spoon the almond cream into the center of the puff pastry reserved for
the base. With a palette knife spread the cream into an even circle
leaving a 2 cm gap from the edge. Brush the beaten egg yolk mixture
around the 2 cm gap and carefully drape the top circle of pastry
neatly on top, press gently to expel all the air and using your thumb
seal the pastry all around the edge. Chill or deep freeze the galette
for 1 hour to firm up the pastry and with a sharp knife, trim the edge
of the galette to an even circle so that it rises evenly.
With the back of a knife crimp the outside edge of the pastry all
around. Here you can use your artistic flair.
Scoring the galette & egg washing
Brush the galette with beaten egg yolk. With the side of a fork or
back of a knife, start from the center of the galette and score a
spiral right up to the edge of the pastry. Repeat this to achieve an
attractive design (if you feel unsure you could just simply crisscross
the top of the galette).
Cooking the Galette
Cook in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Leave it to rest for 5
minutes before serving.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Life/Lubnan/2015/Jan-06/283150-christmas-the-armenian-way.ashx
Jan 6 2015
Christmas the Armenian way
Justin Salhani| The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanon hasn't boxed up its Christmas decorations just yet, as
the celebrations are just beginning for some. A large percentage of
Lebanon's prominent Armenian community celebrates their version of the
holy day Tuesday, Jan. 6.
The sixth is Epiphany for most Christians, but Armenians use the day
to celebrate a culmination of the season's events.
For them, the sixth is Christmas, celebrating the nativity of Jesus in
Bethlehem, but it also symbolizes Epiphany, when Jesus was baptized in
the Jordan River. Unlike the Orthodox and Protestants who follow the
historic date of Armenian Christmas, the Armenian Catholics, however,
follow the Catholic Church in Rome and celebrate on Dec. 25.
"They go with the [Catholic] pope and with Rome," Zara Sirop Hagop
said with a slight chuckle. Hagop is one of the local mukhtars in
Beirut's Burj Hammoud neighborhood.
While large sections of the Lebanese-Armenian population have moved
out of Burj Hammoud over the years and integrated into other areas,
the neighborhood is still strongly connected to the community through
the ubiquity of Armenian restaurants, businesses, cultural centers and
churches.
Christmas decorations are still hung over main thoroughfares, with
white lights dangling in the shape of snowflakes, illuminating the
streets and spreading Christmas cheer. Shops are decorated for the
holiday, with many storefronts painted with the English words "Merry
Christmas."
"Geographically it is known as an Armenian neighborhood," Hagop said.
"There are many Armenians but there are also Shiites and Lebanese
Christians, as well as many foreigners moving into the area."
The reasons Armenians celebrate on the sixth are historical and
traditional. Until the fourth century, the Catholic Church also
celebrated Jesus' birthday Jan. 6. But as Christianity spread into
Europe, the day was merged with a Roman pagan holiday celebrated Dec.
25.
Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of Christ Dec. 25 and
Epiphany Jan. 6. Armenians, however, decided to stick with the
traditional, historical and "correct" day for celebrating Christmas,
as expressed by one person interviewed by The Daily Star.
Tuesday is a national holiday in Lebanon, meaning shops will be closed
across the country, but in Burj Hammoud most establishments - 90
percent according to the local mukhtar - will stay closed Wednesday as
well, as Armenian Orthodox and Protestants partake in a two-day
celebration.
Taking a break from preparing for the Armenian Orthodox St. Sarkis
Church's 4 p.m. Mass Monday, 19-year-old Phillipe Jinian told The
Daily Star about some of the customs his community participates in for
Christmas. People will gather and sing hymns for the neighborhood
Monday evening.
Sitting behind his office desk, Hagop said that the midnight carols
bring joy to the community and are paired with music from accordions,
guitars and other instruments. Here, they deliver the story of
Christmas in a musical manner.
"The people go to each building in the neighborhood and sing the story
of Jesus Christ," Hagop said.
The next day, families come together to celebrate the occasion with
food and holiday spirit.
"We gather and eat together [on Christmas Day]," Jinian said, adding
that it is customary to prepare fish. Other traditional Armenian
Christmas dishes include rice, wheat soup and nevik - a dish made of
green chard and chickpeas. Lebanese Armenians, however, are likely to
include a number of fusion dishes that have culminated from their time
living in and integrating into Lebanese society.
A second Mass is often attended by families on Armenian Christmas Day.
Unlike most Christians in Lebanon, however, the Armenian community
doesn't stop the party after Christmas.
"We celebrate tomorrow but also the day after tomorrow," Hagop said,
with a wide smile on his face.
Armenian families take part in a tradition that is unique to their
culture on Jan. 7. They visit cemeteries where their loved ones are
buried. Here, they pray and take the time to remember and spend time
with those who have died.
"In Armenia they go live and spend the whole day there," Hagop said.
"They eat in the cemetery."
Hagop said that the celebration in Lebanon is not as extravagant as
those in Armenia, where it is an act that the entire nation takes part
in.
After the day at the cemetery, a Mass is planned for the various
Armenian churches. There are four Armenian Orthodox churches in Burj
Hammoud alone and even more outside. Priests from the various houses
of worship gather with the community to hold a large Mass at Burj
Hammoud's Nursing Home.
Also unique to the Armenians, Christmas gifts are traditionally doled
out on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31. In Armenia, Christmas Day is more of a
religious holiday therefore the gifts are handed out beforehand.
Chef Raymond Blanc's Galette des Rois
This remarkably simple dessert is only served once a year to mark
Epiphany, celebrated on Jan. 6. It is the custom to hide two little
figurines or fava beans in the almond cream. The ones who find them
will become the King and Queen for the day and of course have all of
their wishes realized.
INGREDIENTS
For the puff pastry
- 400 grams puff pastry, all butter, ready rolled
For the almond cream
- 75 grams butter, unsalted, at room temperature
- 75 grams icing sugar
- 75 grams Almond, powder
- 1 egg, free range/organic, whole
- 1 egg yolk, free range/organic
- 1 tablespoon dark rum or cognac
COOKING METHOD
Cutting out the circles of pastry
You will get two sheets of pastry - 35 / 22.5 cm in a pack, so cut a
20 cm for the base from one sheet and a 22 cm circle for the top out
of the other sheet; refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
Making the almond cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients
together and mix to a smooth texture; reserve in the fridge.
Making the galette
Spoon the almond cream into the center of the puff pastry reserved for
the base. With a palette knife spread the cream into an even circle
leaving a 2 cm gap from the edge. Brush the beaten egg yolk mixture
around the 2 cm gap and carefully drape the top circle of pastry
neatly on top, press gently to expel all the air and using your thumb
seal the pastry all around the edge. Chill or deep freeze the galette
for 1 hour to firm up the pastry and with a sharp knife, trim the edge
of the galette to an even circle so that it rises evenly.
With the back of a knife crimp the outside edge of the pastry all
around. Here you can use your artistic flair.
Scoring the galette & egg washing
Brush the galette with beaten egg yolk. With the side of a fork or
back of a knife, start from the center of the galette and score a
spiral right up to the edge of the pastry. Repeat this to achieve an
attractive design (if you feel unsure you could just simply crisscross
the top of the galette).
Cooking the Galette
Cook in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Leave it to rest for 5
minutes before serving.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Life/Lubnan/2015/Jan-06/283150-christmas-the-armenian-way.ashx