#matagh

...It dates back to the times of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the Christian who was imprisoned for over a decade by King Trdat, but eventually converted the king and Armenia to Christianity. He then offered a thanksgiving sacrifice to God in the Church of St. John the Forerunner, in Taron, killing various animals and distributing them to the poor. Matagh is an offering, its meaning and symbolism is a gift to God, and giving assistance to the poor.

The offering is carried out as a gratitude to God for having saved someone from misfortune or recovery from poor health as well as a plea for the peace of the souls of the deceased. Since military service is compulsory for men once they turn 18, I found out that matagh is usually carried out when then their sons come home safely from their service. The other thing required for offering a sacrifice is a healthy male animal and salt. The animal to be sacrificed has usually been a lamb but it can be a cow, sheep, chicken or a dove. If the animal to be sacrificed is a cow, its meat is distributed to 40 houses. If the animal is a lamb or sheep, its meat is distributed to 7 homes. If the animal is a chicken, its meat is distributed to 3 houses. If the sacrifice is a dove, then it is set free. Once the animal has been sacrificed the meat must be cooked right away and distributed the same day and preferably eaten before sundown. A matagh offering is also cooked in a particular way. The salt must first be blessed and is also the key element that purifies the matagh and differentiates it from a pagan sacrifice. The meat is cooked in salted water. According the Armenian Apostolic Church, the origin of matagh comes from Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and other patriarchs. Christ Himself during the Last Supper ate the meat of the Easter lamb, which is considered to be matagh, handed down by the Prophet Moses. Matagh cannot be done 40 days before Easter and also cannot be performed on a Wednesday or Friday.

The family of a man whose body landed on a freeway sign during a car crash says they performed a lamb sacrifice for him days earlier for protection from harm. Richard Pananian, 20, of Burbank had been battling serious health issues but overcame them, said his cousin, Armen Kardashian. He would not say what the health issues were. This time, his family wasn’t taking any chances and was determined to protect him, so they performed a matagh, or offering, on Oct. 25. Matagh is a tradition of the Armenian Church and often used to show appreciation to God for saving a life, asking for good health or for peace for deceased loved ones.

Pananian’s family hoped the offering of the lamb would provide some protection, his cousin said. Five days later, on Friday, Pananian was headed to his new job at Glendale Collision Center, his cousin said.

He was driving on southbound on the 5 Freeway just north of California 134 when his Ford Fiesta rear-ended a pickup truck and overturned, said Officer Edgar Figueroa, a California Highway Patrol spokesman. The CHP said Pananian was not wearing a seat belt. He was ejected and landed on the Colorado Street freeway sign. Shortly before the crash, the CHP received a call at 7 a.m. about the driver of a Ford Fiesta traveling recklessly. Rescue crews used a ladder to the remove his body from the freeway sign. Kardashian said he is overwhelmed with thoughts of his cousin’s life and the bizarre turn it took.

“Say we have to go, but not in that way,” Kardashian said. “It just became a spectacle.” Pananian had always worn a seatbelt before Friday’s crash, his cousin said. Pananian, who was a car aficionado, had even installed a racing safety harness for his driver’s seat, his cousin said. Now his family is trying to raise $50,000 for "unexpected financial burdens.” GoFundMe pages have been set up by Pananian's family and their co-workers described the 20-year-old as "one of the most friendly, giving, compassionate people you would ever meet." So far, more than $15,000 has been raised in the effort to assist his family members, who are "facing many unexpected financial burdens," according to the family’s page. Pananian is survived by his mother, father and older brother. “He had a bright future,” he said.

Tough to find a place to start with this one. The lamb sacrifice didn’t protect your son? I mean this has to be the first time this hasn’t worked right? Did they do something wrong? I don’t want to get super technical here but a “lamb” is a sheep under a year old, could they have possibly killed a mutton? Classic mistake. A little bit of research shows this isn’t just a cut and run thing. Pretty specific shit here. Has to be eaten before sundown. Can’t be grilled over an open flame. Has to be shared by 7 families. Pretty big margin for error. I’d even go so far as saying instead of the ritual lamb sacrifice, maybe a good old fashioned seat belt might have been the difference here. Struggling to make ends meet, poor kid probably didn’t have enough money to afford a car with a seat belt. OH. He installed a racing safety harness? AND this is the first time he’s not worn a seat belt? Find me a more aggressive move than installing a restraint system and not using it. I absolutely love that. Complete trust in the lamb sacrifice. “My family killed a lamb to protect me. Fuck speed limits, seat belts, brakes, avoiding collisions.” All of it.

I see a lot of people getting on this family for starting the $50k GoFundMe page and I can’t hop on that train. I’ve seen some completely outlandish shit on GoFundMe; trips to Vegas, money for a jet, bachelorette party in Greece. I feel like “My Son Got Ejected onto a Freeway Sign Even After I Sacrificed a Lamb to Protect Him” is good enough for me. Don’t be so proud. Have a heart.