A day of sadness and hope

14 years ago

Easter Lilies – Google image

As a kid, I always found Easter to be a confounding holiday. I couldn’t reconcile the joy of chocolate bunnies with the image of Christ on the Holy Cross.

You’d think a boy whose middle name is Haroutyun — Armenian for Resurrection — would have grasped the promise of eternal hope a bit sooner. But it took a while, and a bit of maturity, for the message to sink in.

This year, the calendar presents a fresh challenge as well as an opportunity. Easter coincides with the day when we commemorate the Genocide that claimed the lives of more than a million Armenians across the Ottoman Empire nearly a century ago.

For us, this is certainly no occasion for pastel bonnets. But it is surely a time for reflection on the enduring legacy of the Armenian people and their culture, and on the meaning of sacrifice.

And it is just as surely a day to crack a few hard-cooked eggs and eat them with chorag and cheese for breakfast, as Armenians have always done.

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Anonymous says:

April 24, 2011 at 4:47 pm

Was gonna say Happy Martyrs' Day, but happy doesn't really cut it?? You know what I mean! Thinking of those who made the road possible for us by sacrificing their lives. I think I only have one uncle left from that generation, then they're all gone. Just wish they could have all lived long enough to see the genocide acknowledged. Politics!! :(