Aditi Bhaduri 

Kolkata celebrated Christmas on 6th January.  Yes, again!  The city had just celebrated Christmas on 25th December with its famed pomp and ceremony. No doubt many will be confused but the celebrations at the start of the New Year are those marked by the Armenian community in the city. 

The service was held at the Church of Holy Nazareth in Kolkata's bustling Burrabazar Area, standing on street called Armenian Street. Originally built in 1688, and later rebuilt in 1724, it stands out as a living testimony to the age-old ties between Armenia and India.

The two countries cannot be more different – one is a dot on the map, almost a city state with only three million people. The other is a giant with the world's second largest population, yet both are bonded by the invisible threads of history and memory – ancient nations, swept up in conflicts, with loss of territory, dispossession, partition and diasporas.

While Indians are just discovering Armenia, for most Armenians, India is an indelible part of their collective history and nation building. Cities like Kolkata, Chennai and Surat are dotted with edifices, churches, tombstones, most of them crumbling, but silently testifying to an once throbbing presence of this Caucasian community.

Armenianas attending the Mass on Christmas in Kolkata's Church of Holy Nazareth

 Why did Armenians come to India to settle down -  so far from their native hearths traveling across mountains and valleys and lakes and rivers when there were no railways or air routes? 

According to Vachagan Tadevosyan, the Chairperson of the Armenian Church in Kolkata, it was trade that brought them here. Most who made their way here were from Julfa in Iran which then was the only country standing between India and Armenia. 

Armenians made their way to India mostly in the seventeenth century, but much before that,

Thomas of Cana, also said to be an Armenian,  had landed on the Malabar coast in the 8th century CE. And it was in Kolkata that the largest settlement took place. The oldest Christian grave in Kolkata is that of Roza Bibi, an Armenian, dating back to 1630, testifying to the long presence of the community. 

At its height the community numbered 25,000 strong. This is reflected in the fact that the community built the sprawling Armenian school and college in Kolkata and in none of their other settlements in India. The arrival of the British further facilitated trade and commerce further Armenians across Bengal and further east to British colonies and protectorate like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. 

An Armenian Family clicks a photo inside the Holy Church of Nazrath

A cornerstone of the Armenian identity even today remains their faith. The Armenians are mostly Orthodox Christians and much of their lives revolved around their church which formed the core of any Armenian settlement anywhere.  Even though the community has dwindled there are still three functioning churches in Kolkata, and two more in Chinsurah and Saidabad in West Bengal.  

So why do the Armenians celebrate Christmas on 6th January and not on 25th December as most other Christmas do?

The Armenians pride themselves as being the first nation in the world to officially adopt Christianity. On 6th January Orthodox Armenians celebrate the combined feast of the Nativity and the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. The Baptism is also known as Epiphany or Theophany because according to the Bible, during the baptism, a voice from heaven proclaimed that Christ was the Son of God. The word theophany is Greek word theophaneia meaning the appearance of God to man.

Armenians call the combined celebration "The appearance of God amongst men." According to Armenian clergy, around 340 AD, as per Christian sources, the date was changed from January 6th to December 25th in order to replace a "pagan" feast dedicated to the birth of the sun, which was also celebrated on 25th December.  At the time Christians continued to celebrate this feast. This practice was subjugated by the Church hierarchy in Rome by declaring 25th December as the official date of Christmas. This quickly spread to other Christian communities.  However,  since Armenians did not observe any feast at all on 25th December,  the continued to observe Christmas on 6th January. 

The Christmas Mass at the Holy Church of Nazrath

Marie Stephen, one of the handful of pure blooded Armenians in the city attended both church services - one on the eve at the "Big Church" as the Armenians call the Holy Nazareth church,  and the other on Christmas Day itself. The service was long, the alternative decorated with candles and flowers. The priest sang the liturgy and read out passages from the Bible, also explaining why the Armenians celebrate Christmas on 6th January. 

There are barely 100 odd members of the community left in Kolkata.  Most have inter-married and many have migrated not to Armenian but to greener pastures in Australia and New Zealand. 

However, as the community dwindled in India, Armenian children not just from Armenia but from Iran, Russia, Iraq, and Syria come here for their schooling. The college is run and managed by the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Hence priests from Armenia are dispatched to Kolkata to run and manage the APCA, besides the affiliated Davidian Girls School, all the Armenian churches across India, as well as institutions like the old people's home in Kolkata.

A Priest with an Armenian family at the Church

The Christmas eve service was followed by a dinner at the Armenian College. Students of the school performed traditional songs and dances. Christmas Day again saw a long service at the "Big Church ", with the Divine Liturgy, led by the Pastor of Armenians in India the Reverend Father Tajad Tsaturyan. The Christmas Day service also included the Blessing of the Water ceremony in remembrance of the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. Armenian Ambassador to India,  Vahagn Afyan also came down to Kolkata to attend the service.  

The service was followed by high tea and games at the Armenian Sports Club. Gifts were given to the children.  Reminiscing on Christmas in her childhood when the community was still a thriving one, Marie recalled the fancy dress competition that children and youth from the community participated in. 

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And so another Christmas in the life of Kolkata's Armenian community was celebrated. While the old gives way to the new, the Armenian churches and clubs and educational institutions, stand tall and proud testimonies to the fated bonds between India and Armenians and the embracing spirit of Kolkata.