Happy Vartavar festival to Armenians

The Armenian community in İstanbul yesterday celebrated Vartavar, one of the five major festivals of the Armenian Church, at the Surp Krikor Lusavoriç Church on Kınalıada.

The celebrations continued throughout the day with water games, traditional halay dances, and gatherings bringing hundreds of people together.

Hayr Surp Harutyun Damatyan, who led the church liturgy, joined the community to celebrate the festival, Agos newspaper reported.

Also known as the Water Festival, Vartavar is derived from the Armenian words vart, meaning rose, and var, meaning radiance.

The festival is believed to have a history of around 5,000 years, with roots tracing back to the narrative of Noah’s Flood. The tradition of splashing water on one another during the festival symbolizes the renewal of life through the abundant rain that fell after the flood. (TY/VK)