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FRESNO'S ARMENIAN-AMERICANS CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF BLESSING OF THE GRAPES
Merced Sun-Star
Aug 14 2013
Published: August 14, 2013
By Carmen George - The Fresno Bee
It is the music that stays with you.
Hundreds of voices singing together in an ancient language, beneath
the boughs of old oak trees.
They sang to celebrate Fresno's 100th anniversary of the blessing
of the grapes during a traditional Armenian sermon Sunday morning at
the California Armenian Home.
Woven within the songs is the secret of how the tradition has survived
in the community for a century, said Luceen Chirinian Israelian,
a choir member for Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Fresno.
"I feel I'm an Armenian when I hear the music, in my blood," Israelian
said. "Each word, the way it's written -- the music is exactly the
meaning of the words, that's why it's so beautiful."
To explain, she smiled and sang the word "holy" three times, each time,
with a new richness.
"Our church consists of music," she said.
Israelian, a resident of Fresno for 20 years, was born in Beirut,
Lebanon, where her family moved during the genocide of 1915 that
killed an estimated 1.5 million Armenians.
Watching the priests in their decorative robes, praying and blessing
the grapes, she said, "We see ourselves in this sermon."
"I start dreaming," she said. "I see the pictures of all my history,
from before the massacre ... even though I'm not in my homeland in
Fresno, it's OK, I'm joining with my tradition. I feel I'm in historic
Armenia because what we are doing is coming from there."
Close to 2,000 people attended Sunday's grape blessing and festival,
which included live music, dancing and food, said Varoujan DerSimonian,
chairman of the church's board of trustees.
The blessing of the grapes dates back before Jesus Christ.
Traditionally, priests went into vineyards to bless the fruit before
a fall harvest, asking for protection from the elements and for a
bountiful crop.
Armenians consider grapes the "queen of all crops" because of their
association with wine, symbolic of the blood of Christ, DerSimonian
said.
To honor Fresno for carrying on the tradition for the past 100 years,
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of America led this year's Holy Badarak,
or "Divine Liturgy," at Sunday's blessing of the grapes.
He said tradition based on faith is the "light of the Armenian nation."
This year also is the "Year of the Armenian Mother," symbolizing love,
sacrifice, faithfulness, dedication and the role model of all mothers,
the Virgin Mary, he said.
Next Sunday, the church will celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin
Mary into heaven, also the date of another blessing of the grapes to
be held by the St. Paul Armenian Church at California Armenian Home.
For 60-year-old Sam Bagdasarian, a lifelong Fresno resident, the
blessing of the grapes ceremony has survived because of the bond
shared by the area's Armenian-Americans and their desire to pass
tradition on to the next generation.
"You come out and see family and friends and everyone sharing it
together," Bagdasarian said as he held the hand of his 3-year-old
granddaughter Lenna. "That makes a big difference."
As the traditional music began to play Sunday, the youngest
stepped onto the dance floor first -- five girls, ages 4 to 6, the
great-granddaughters and great-nieces of a Fresno Armenian grape
farmer, now deceased.
As the girls joined the circle of dancers, swaying with hands linked,
the daughter of the now-gone grape farmer, Laura Abrahamian, said
tearfully that her father would be very proud.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2013/08/14/3164916/fresnos-armenian-americans-celebrate.html
Merced Sun-Star
Aug 14 2013
Published: August 14, 2013
By Carmen George - The Fresno Bee
It is the music that stays with you.
Hundreds of voices singing together in an ancient language, beneath
the boughs of old oak trees.
They sang to celebrate Fresno's 100th anniversary of the blessing
of the grapes during a traditional Armenian sermon Sunday morning at
the California Armenian Home.
Woven within the songs is the secret of how the tradition has survived
in the community for a century, said Luceen Chirinian Israelian,
a choir member for Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Fresno.
"I feel I'm an Armenian when I hear the music, in my blood," Israelian
said. "Each word, the way it's written -- the music is exactly the
meaning of the words, that's why it's so beautiful."
To explain, she smiled and sang the word "holy" three times, each time,
with a new richness.
"Our church consists of music," she said.
Israelian, a resident of Fresno for 20 years, was born in Beirut,
Lebanon, where her family moved during the genocide of 1915 that
killed an estimated 1.5 million Armenians.
Watching the priests in their decorative robes, praying and blessing
the grapes, she said, "We see ourselves in this sermon."
"I start dreaming," she said. "I see the pictures of all my history,
from before the massacre ... even though I'm not in my homeland in
Fresno, it's OK, I'm joining with my tradition. I feel I'm in historic
Armenia because what we are doing is coming from there."
Close to 2,000 people attended Sunday's grape blessing and festival,
which included live music, dancing and food, said Varoujan DerSimonian,
chairman of the church's board of trustees.
The blessing of the grapes dates back before Jesus Christ.
Traditionally, priests went into vineyards to bless the fruit before
a fall harvest, asking for protection from the elements and for a
bountiful crop.
Armenians consider grapes the "queen of all crops" because of their
association with wine, symbolic of the blood of Christ, DerSimonian
said.
To honor Fresno for carrying on the tradition for the past 100 years,
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of America led this year's Holy Badarak,
or "Divine Liturgy," at Sunday's blessing of the grapes.
He said tradition based on faith is the "light of the Armenian nation."
This year also is the "Year of the Armenian Mother," symbolizing love,
sacrifice, faithfulness, dedication and the role model of all mothers,
the Virgin Mary, he said.
Next Sunday, the church will celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin
Mary into heaven, also the date of another blessing of the grapes to
be held by the St. Paul Armenian Church at California Armenian Home.
For 60-year-old Sam Bagdasarian, a lifelong Fresno resident, the
blessing of the grapes ceremony has survived because of the bond
shared by the area's Armenian-Americans and their desire to pass
tradition on to the next generation.
"You come out and see family and friends and everyone sharing it
together," Bagdasarian said as he held the hand of his 3-year-old
granddaughter Lenna. "That makes a big difference."
As the traditional music began to play Sunday, the youngest
stepped onto the dance floor first -- five girls, ages 4 to 6, the
great-granddaughters and great-nieces of a Fresno Armenian grape
farmer, now deceased.
As the girls joined the circle of dancers, swaying with hands linked,
the daughter of the now-gone grape farmer, Laura Abrahamian, said
tearfully that her father would be very proud.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2013/08/14/3164916/fresnos-armenian-americans-celebrate.html