Trndez

What it is

Trndez is a purification feast kept by two Armenian churches. In the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church it comes forty days after the Nativity, and it is close in spirit to Candlemas in the Western churches. Armenians also call it Tyarnndarach. The two churches keep it on different dates: one on 2 February, the other on the 13th, when the eve of the 14th is the time of celebration. In Armenia the day is a public holiday. The name Trndez grew out of an older word, Derendez, which described a bundle of straw placed before a house.

Origins and history

The feast is older than its Christian form. According to the sources, Trndez began as a pagan rite tied to the worship of sun and fire in Armenia before the country became Christian. It honoured Vahagn, known in Armenia as the god of war, courage, the sun and fire. People held that fire drives off the cold of winter and helps the land give a good harvest, so the rite belongs to the coming of spring and to fertility. The church later took the custom into its calendar as a purification feast, forty days after the Nativity, and it has been kept that way since.

How it is kept

Bonfires are the centre of the night. Families gather, and in many places the fire is lit in the evening. Newly married and engaged couples jump over the flames for luck, prosperity and children. Others jump too. Trays of festive food are shared near the fire. Some people keep the ash and use it as a folk remedy, rubbing it on the skin for pain or into the eyelids, in the belief that this helps the eyes. Today the feast is marked both in church and around the fire.

Food and drink

Two sweets belong to the night. The first is aghandz, a snack of toasted wheat and hemp, often mixed with sesame seeds, peas, raisins and other dried fruit, which gives it a sweet taste. Newly married or engaged couples eat it after they have jumped the fire. The second is pokhind, made from baked and ground grains and stirred with honey or fruit syrup. Large trays of festive food are set out near the flames, and everyone shares from them. Both dishes are simple and tied to this one celebration.

How Trndez is kept

Families come together in the evening and a bonfire is lit. Newly married and engaged couples jump over the flames, and others follow them. The jumping is done for luck, prosperity and fertility. Trays of festive food are passed around near the fire, including the wheat and hemp snack aghandz and the honeyed grain dish pokhind. Some people gather the ash afterwards, believing it has healing power. In church, the day is kept as a purification feast.

When and where

Trndez falls forty days after Christmas, which places it in February. The Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church keep it on different dates: one on 2 February, the other on the 13th, when the eve of the 14th is the time of celebration. It is a fixed feast, so the date does not move with Easter.

Trndez belongs to Armenia, where it is a public holiday, and the tradition is also recorded for Russia. Both the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church keep the feast. Bonfires are lit outdoors after dark, and families and neighbours gather around them to jump the flames.

What Trndez means

Fire carries the meaning of the night. It stands for warmth and light at the end of winter, and for the fertility of fields and families. Jumping the flames is a wish for good fortune, prosperity and children, and couples, especially newlyweds, take part. The ashes are thought to hold a healing power of their own. The feast joins an older, pre-Christian regard for the sun with the church's blessing, and the two are held together rather than set apart.

On the table

Flavours: Sesame

Questions people ask about Trndez

See also

OvooA stone cairn on a peak or pass, circled by travellers and honoured in sky worshipPresentation of Jesus at the TempleA February feast of candles and welcome, kept forty days after ChristmasTraditional tattooingThe ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesApril Fools' DayAn annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of April

Good reading and sources

• Trndez on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.