BEGIN:VCALENDAR METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Apple Inc.//iCal 3.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-WR-CALNAME:Armenian Holidays X-WR-RELCALID:C3469E0D-D164-4CEE-87D9-D5E2C73C08AE VERSION:2.0 X-WR-TIMEZONE:US/Pacific BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:7 DESCRIPTION:New Year is celebrated a whole week starting with December 3 1\, by baking New Year cookies and tables laden with food and different kinds of sweets. During this week\, people exchange gifts and congratula tory wishes\, and their homes are open to welcome everyone. Visiting beg ins on January 1 and lasts through Christmas-January 6.\n\nArmenian chil dren believe that Dzmer Papik (Santa Claus) brings gifts on New Year’s E ve. Several days or weeks before the holiday\, children write letters to Dzmer Papik telling him what toys they wish. UID:83F39CAA-8F1B-4471-B1FC-27FC3EFD22A5 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090101 DTSTAMP:20090825T182439Z SUMMARY:Ամանոր / New Year Day CREATED:20090825T030307Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090102 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:5 DESCRIPTION:Christmas – the Birthday of Christ is celebrated by people a ll over the world. The Armenians celebrate this day as a major Christian religious holiday\, together with the Epiphany (baptism) and attend chu rch services in their neighborhoods. Part of the ritual is the “Blessing of Water\, when water is blessed with the holy chrism symbolic of Chris t’s baptism.\n\nThe most beautiful and meaningful parts of the holiday o ccur at home and in church. Many families go to church on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Then they sit down to enjoy a traditional Christm as dinner. According to tradition\, the main dish is fish and rice prepa red with butter. Wine is served with dinner. UID:134368C6-33BB-4434-AF4C-05B4DC0BFA32 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090106 DTSTAMP:20090825T182539Z SUMMARY:Սուրբ Ծնունդ / Christmas CREATED:20090825T030615Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090107 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:6 DESCRIPTION:Every year on April 24\, Armenians all over the world solemn ly honor the memory of over a million victims of the 1915 genocide. In A rmenia thousands of people join the annual procession on foot to Tsitser nakaberd to pay their respect to those who perished in this massive atte mpt to exterminate the Armenian people and forcibly remove them from the ir ancestral lands. This is an official national holiday. UID:60673D55-B887-428C-9593-AAF1B8732FDE TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090424 DTSTAMP:20090825T183025Z SUMMARY:Եղեռնի զոհերի հիշատակի օր / Genocide Remembrance Day CREATED:20090825T031003Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090425 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:7 DESCRIPTION:On this day in 1918\, the Armenian people restored what was left of historic Armenia to statehood after half a millennium of lost so vereignty. The celebration of this day marks the beginning of the modern Armenian quest for independence. Short lived\, the 1918 Republic was sw allowed by the USSR for seventy more years\, but inspired a spirit of ho pe and self determination for future generations. This is an official na tional holiday. UID:B0ADBAED-67D9-48E6-8DC1-C8F5B87B5292 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090528 DTSTAMP:20090825T182356Z SUMMARY:Հանրապետութայան օր / Republic Day CREATED:20090825T031300Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090529 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:5 DESCRIPTION:Ascension Day is the holiday of love and enjoyment\, which i s celebrated outdoors in the blossom of May\, 40 days after Easter. In a ncient times on this day the young ladies were allowed to walk freely in the fields\, sing songs\, and make acquaintances\, which often became c rucial in their lives. According to people’s imagination this is the nig ht of miracle. At midnight exactly nature finds the gift of speech\, the water is still for a second\; the sky and the earth embrace\; the stars kiss one another. Space stops its wheel and the one who witnesses these magic moments will have his or her dreams fulfilled. UID:5C109A9D-A631-4FF5-872D-810938D31E6F TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090521 DTSTAMP:20090825T182313Z SUMMARY:Համբարցում / Hambartsum CREATED:20090825T031722Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090522 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:5 DESCRIPTION:The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia was adopted thro ugh a national referendum on July 5\, 1995. Constitution Day is an offic ial holiday in Armenia. UID:6A0894E4-DC1E-42E1-923A-D1C90AC210A3 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090705 DTSTAMP:20090825T183104Z SUMMARY:Սահմանադրության օր / Constitution Day CREATED:20090825T031830Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090706 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:6 DESCRIPTION:A devastating earthquake in 1988 killed thousands of people and destroyed most of the Republic’s infrastructure. The earthquake was felt as far away as the Armenian capital\, but it was the second and thi rd most populous cities of Leninakan (now Gyumri) and Kirovakan (now Van adzor) that were among the most devastated. UID:0E98203F-A175-471D-BB81-7303D3A677F6 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20091207 DTSTAMP:20090825T183312Z SUMMARY:Երկրաշարժի զոհերի հիշատակի օր / Spitak Earthquake Remembrance Da y CREATED:20090825T032012Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20091208 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:4 DESCRIPTION:The Armenian Church celebrates this holiday on the Sunday ne arest September 14\, which is devoted to the Holy Cross (Surb Khach). Th is holiday also serves as a memorial to those who have passed away. UID:2A39809F-7EBD-4464-8DBB-03752BFBD997 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090913 DTSTAMP:20090825T183137Z SUMMARY:Խաչվերած / Khachverats CREATED:20090825T032434Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090914 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:5 DESCRIPTION:In the traditional Armenian range of holidays\, the Transfig uration is the major summer holiday and is celebrated 14 weeks after Eas ter. In pre-Christian Armenia this holiday was associated with the pagan goddess Anahit\, to whose heathen temple the young and the old went on pilgrimage. The word Vardavar has two meanings: “the flaming of the rose and “to sprinkle with water. According to legend\, the goddess Astghik spread love through the Armenian land by sprinkling rosy water and prese nting roses. The god Vahagn kept and protected that love\, constantly fi ghting against evil. This feast was transformed after the adoption of Ch ristianity. On Vardavar in modern times\, everybody pours water on one a nother\, starting in the early morning\; no one is allowed to feel offen ded or displeased by mischief on that day. UID:066A168D-B992-42CA-A5FA-BCDF296F1977 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090719 DTSTAMP:20090825T183118Z SUMMARY:Վարդավառ / The Transfiguration CREATED:20090825T033321Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090720 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:12 DESCRIPTION:According to religious custom this holiday is connected with the idea of coming forward to the Lord with fire\, after 40 days of his birth. The Armenian Church celebrates it on February 14th - 40 days aft er January 6th\, from which it derives the religious name: coming forwar d to the Lord. The main ceremony of it is a bonfire\, symbolizing the co ming of spring.\n\nThe celebration of the Trndez is pagan in origin and is originally connected with sun/fire worship in ancient pre-Christian A rmenia\, symbolizing the coming of spring and fertility. UID:36A6FAF9-72B6-4007-A2EC-52A91F42E155 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090214 DTSTAMP:20090825T182626Z SUMMARY:Տռնդեզ (Տեառնընդառաչ) / Trndez (Purification) CREATED:20090825T175129Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090215 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:9 DESCRIPTION:Palm Sunday (Tsaghkazard) is celebrated one week before East er and marks Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem as the messiah. Th e customs observed on this holiday begin with boys and girls dressed in their best clothes. The engaged men of each village uproot a young willo w tree and decorate the branches with colored pieces of cloth\, fruit an d candles. UID:0A041A2A-4BBA-4727-B132-006F4582B5A0 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090405 DTSTAMP:20090825T183004Z SUMMARY:Ծաղկազարդ / Palm Sunday (Tsakhkazard) CREATED:20090825T175540Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090406 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:3 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT UID:B31CF6F9-FE40-4D29-93A4-44FC9FD4E554 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090219 DTSTAMP:20090825T180449Z SUMMARY:Վարդանանք / Vartanank CREATED:20090825T180414Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090220 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:4 DESCRIPTION:Independence Day is an official holiday in Armenia. The rest oration of the Republic of Armenia in 1991\, after 70 years of sovietiza tion\, followed a national referendum on secession from Soviet Union. UID:04363617-1022-4910-901B-5B3E083EC68E TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090921 DTSTAMP:20090825T183154Z SUMMARY:Անկախության օր / Independence Day CREATED:20090825T180535Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090922 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:5 DESCRIPTION:This holiday is dedicated to the creators of Armenian alphab et Mesrop Mashtots and Sahak Partev\, Translators and Interpreters of th e Bible.\nThe Armenian alphabet was invented in order to translate the B ible into Armenian and paved the way for the first Golden Age of Armenia . Over the centuries\, Armenian writers\, philosophers\, mathematicians\ , and scientists\, have taken inspiration from the Holy Translators’ leg acy to achieve excellence in scholarship\, creativity\, and world acclai m in spite of long periods of devastation\, attack\, conquest and subjug ation. UID:9FBE1602-F805-4CE6-BDFF-072D1265F370 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20091013 DTSTAMP:20090825T183215Z SUMMARY:Սուրբ Թարգմամչոց / Holy Translators Day CREATED:20090825T180628Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20091014 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:4 TRANSP:TRANSPARENT UID:27847083-BF75-49BF-9868-413F77985E48 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20090318 DTSTAMP:20090825T181540Z SUMMARY:Միջինք / Mijink CREATED:20090825T180738Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20090319 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR