reblog the pinned post!!!!

Women and children gathered in the church yard / Pilgrims. Women and children are gathered in front of a one-story building / Women going on pilgrimage / Pilgrims are sitting under trees. Pots are placed on the fire / Pilgrim men sitting on the ground / People going on pilgrimage to the saint Yegishe church.

Vartashen, Utik, early XX cent. History Museum of Armenia.

According to traditional Armenian belief, Grox (the writer) is a spirit who records a person's deeds during their lifetime, determining the purity of their soul. This concept may be linked to Tir, the god of writing and literature in Armenian mythology. In some interpretations, it was believed that anyone whose name Tir wrote in his notebook would die. This is where the curse "may the writer take you" originates.

During the Christian era, Grox was mistakenly represented as a Christian spirit who no longer recorded human deeds but instead determined each person's fate, inscribing it on their foreheads. Over time, Grox came to be depicted as an evil spirit, sometimes identified with Satan. Thus, the curse "get lost in Grox’s embrace," which originally signified death, took on a more negative connotation. However, this was not originally characteristic of Grox in Armenian traditional beliefs.

An Antique hand knotted woolen wedding runner, woven in Artsakh, Armenia. CA 1880-1890.

"The stylization of the figures is indicative of Armenian provenance, even when compared to other antique carpets where the Armenian origin is clear due to Christian symbolism or Armenian inscriptions.

Master Book List for the YA World Challenge for 🇦🇲 Armenia

YA Like Water on Stone, Dana Walrath ⌛ Forgotten Fire, Adam Bagdasarian 💚🛩️⌛ Daughter of War, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch 🛩️⌛ Lake of Sighs, Meli Sarkissian 💚🦋 One Man Guy, Michael Barakiva 💚🛩️🌈 As the Poppies Bloomed, Maral Boyadjian 💚⌛

NA/Coming-of-age All the Light There Was, Nancy Kricorian 💚⌛🛩️ The Gray House, Mariam Petrosyan 💚🦋 The Gimmicks, Chris McCormick The Spice Box Letters, Eve Makis ⌛🛩️ A Place Far Away, Vahan Zanoyan 💚 My Name is Aram, William Saroyan 💚🛩️

Memoir Four Years in the Mountains of Kurdistan, Aram Haigaz 💚 Vergeen: A Survivor of the Armenian Genocide, Mae Derdarian

Childrens A Weave of Words: An Armenian Tale, Robert D. San Souci

Adult books to consider Three Apples Fell from the Sky, Narine Abgaryan 💚⌛ The Sandcastle Girls, Chris Bohjalian 💚⌛ Rise of the Phoenix, T. Isajanyan 💚🦋 Mayda, Srpuhi Dussap 💚⌛

source

armenia has been ranked 47th out of 49 european countries for lgbt rights.

Early 16th century liturgical psalter from Armenia. Cover.