The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary — is one of the great holidays of the Armenian Church and the oldest of the seven holidays dedicated to the Mother of God. Unlike the Russian Orthodox and Catholic churches, in the calendar of the Armenian Church this holiday does not have a fixed date, but is a transitional — it is celebrated on the Sunday closest to August 15.
This day, dedicated to the death of the Mother of God, has been celebrated in Armenia since the 5th century. This is a bright holiday — speaking about the departure of the Mother of God from life, the word «dormition» (dormancy, sleep) is used, which confirms the unusualness, mystery and greatness of the event.
After the liturgy on the day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a ritual of blessing grapes is performed in Armenian churches, which is by no means combined with the holiday. The blessing of the grapes ripening at this time is only timed to coincide with the Assumption. In the southern regions of Armenia, where grapes ripen earlier, their blessing was combined with the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
According to consecrated tradition, the first harvest was always brought to the temple. The tradition has ancient roots and is a gratitude to the Creator for the earthly blessings given to people. The clergyman reads the corresponding fragments of the prayer, blesses the grapevine three times, after which the fruits are distributed to parishioners. In the old days, the ritual was performed in a church vineyard or in the garden of one of the ministers.
By the way, the Feast of the Assumption itself is preceded by pre-holiday fasting and navakatik (Qanun). And on the day after the holiday, the deceased (Merelots) are remembered. Funeral services are held in all churches, after which people visit the graves of their relatives.