Christmas is celebrated on January 19 in Armenia. This is because they believe that Christ’s birthday should be celebrated on the same day as his baptism. Present day January 19, used to be January 6 in the old Julian calendar. The Armenians prepare for Christmas with a fast. They eat no animal food for a week and no food at all on the last day before Christmas. The fast is broken only after the Christmas Eve service, when they return home to a dinner of rice pilaf. The children then go onto the roofs with handkerchiefs and sing carols. Adults fill up the handkerchiefs with presents of raisins or fried wheat or sometimes money. There are also morning services on Christmas Day.
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