Armenian tradition of Ash Wednesday

Avak Chorekshapti – Great or Holy Wednesday

The important events of Holy Week begin from Ash Wednesday onwards. According to tradition Ash Wednesday neutralises the bad and wicked. This is the day that washing is done, plates and dishes are polished and every corner of the house is cleaned, so there in no dirt anywhere.

On this day the Marash Armenians harvest green vegetables – khurug or nvag – from the fields and make them into soup, hence the festival’s name. Every member of the family has to eat some of it. There is the belief among the Marash Armenians that, during Lent, all the oils in the human body melt away over the Lenten period, leaving only a small amount, about the size of an almond, that is melted by eating khurug.