Try your luck today
Today the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Ascension Day (Hambartsum), which falls on the 40th day after Easter between April 30 and June 3.
"Unfortunately, this holiday is not very popular, but we all have our share of the blame for that," ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan told "A1+".
Although Ascension Day shifts, it always falls on a Thursday.
According to tradition, the mother of flowers is the Christian Varvare virgin who escapes her idolizing father and takes shelter in a cave on Mount Ara located near Ashtarak. The father pursues and kills his daughter.
Before her death, Varvare had asked God to treat children with flower illness and measles with her name. God fulfilled her request and the parents asking for Varvare's good word no longer have diseases.
That cave has turned into a site of pilgrimage. There is always water flowing from the walls of the cave, symbolizing Varvare's tears that are able to cure diseases.
On Ascension Day, people throw leaves and girl's items into a bag. They participate in a potluck and find out whether the girl will get married that year or not. This all includes songs, jokes and a fundraiser, followed by a lottery during which the first person to find his or her item will be get married soon.
