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The Greater Worcester chorale celebrates Armenian Christmas

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The Greater Worcester Armenian Chorale will present a special concert Jan. 8 in celebration of Armenian Christmas (which falls on Jan. 6), telegram.com reports.

The program features traditional Christmas music in Armenian and English.

Mezzo-soprano Gohar Manjelikian is guest soloist. Born in Armenia and now living in Cranston, Rhode “How Great Thou Art,” an arrangement of sacred Armenian songs, is her first CD.

The concert will take place on January 8 at Soorp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Apostolic Church.

Pope’s Christmas Message Urges Peace, Comforts Victims Of Terrorism

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Pope Francis has urged peace in the Middle East and offered comfort to those who lost loved ones to terrorism.

Delivering his traditional Christmas address on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on December 25, the pope called for guns to fall silent in Syria, saying “far too much blood has been spilled” in the nearly six-year conflict.

Citing those suffering in the Syrian war — especially during the “most awful battles” in Aleppo — he pressed the international community for a peaceful solution.

Pope Francis also urged Israelis and Palestinians to abandon hate and revenge.

In the speech that comes less than a week after a deadly terrorist attack in Berlin, the pope said he hoped for “peace to those who have lost a person dear to them as a result of brutal acts of terrorism.” The December 19 truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market left twelve people dead and injured dozens of others.

The pontiff also made reference to those who “continue to suffer from the consequences of the conflict in eastern Ukraine,” where a cease-fire has been officially in place since December 24 although both sides have accused each other of violations. Francis said that “a common resolve is urgently needed to bring relief to the population and to implement the commitments that have been made.”

The pope also called for an end to “fundamentalist terrorism” in Nigeria that he said “exploits even children,” a reference to child suicide-bombers.

Speaking in more general terms, Francis urged everyone to help the less fortunate, including migrants, refugees, and those swept up by social and economic upheavals.

There was a heavy police presence around St. Peter’s Square, where some 40,000 gathered for the pope’s annual message.

The entrance to the square has been protected by concrete barriers since the Berlin attack.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters

BREAKING NEWS: Berlin Christmas market Truck massacre suspect Anis Amri ‘shot DEAD by police’

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Friday, December 23, 2016 5:16 AM EST
Anis Amri, the chief suspect in the deadly terrorist attack on a Christmas market in Berlin earlier this week, was killed by the police in a shootout outside Milan early Friday morning, Italian officials said.
Law enforcement authorities across Europe have been hunting since Wednesday for Mr. Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian who moved to Italy in 2011 and then relocated to Germany in 2015.

Christmas markets a deeply rooted tradition in Germany

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Christmas in Europe? Germany’s holiday markets quickly come to mind. After the attack on a market in Berlin, we look at the centuries-old history and meaning of Christmas markets for Germany.

When locals and tourists come to sip mulled wine and purchase hand-made Christmas presents at Germany’s holiday markets, they are participating in a tradition that has been around for centuries – and has even become more beloved lately. Some 85 million people visited German Christmas markets in 2012, up from 50 million in 2000, according to the most recent statistics.

Even before Christmas markets began, winter markets were held in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. At that time they usually took place over just several days, rather than weeks; the markets were an opportunity for residents to come together, trade food and handicrafts, and stock up for the coming winter months.

While the markets didn’t initially have a strong Christmas focus, people started using them to purchase baskets, toys, wood carvings and baked goods for Christmas.

During the Middle Ages, German-speaking Europe was made up of numerous principalities – the nation of Germany wasn’t created until 1871. The markets differed slightly from region to region, and some of that local flair has been preserved among the over 1,400 markets in Germany today.

Germany’s oldest Christmas market

The city of Dresden boasts what is most likely Germany’s oldest official Christmas market. According to the official website of the “Striezelmarkt,” as Dresden’s market is known, the first event was approved by Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, to take place in 1434. It lasted just one day.

Grilled meats play an important role in today’s Christmas markets, as apparently they did in 1434, too. The first Striezelmarkt was a meat market, where residents could purchase their Christmas dinner, which would end their Advent fast.

Now in its 582nd year, the Striezelmarkt is known for its Dresden Stollen festival, during which the world’s largest Stollen cake is baked every year. A 14-meter Christmas pyramid – a large version of a traditional holiday decoration from the nearby Erzgebirge region – graces the middle of the market and serves as an unmistakable landmark.

In response to Monday’s attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, however, authorities have erected a temporary cement wall around the market – to the chagrin of many locals. Closing Germany’s borders would eliminate the need for a wall, commented some users on Twitter. This user wrote: “‘We’re making cement mobile.’ Saxony responds to the attack in #Berlin by building a wall. Striezelmarkt in Dresden is secured with concrete.”

Germany’s most famous Christmas market

Among Germany’s oldest Christmas markets is the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg – arguably also the country’s most famous abroad. Michael Fraas from the Nuremberg finance bureau told DW that the first written reference dates back to 1628.

While the Christkindlesmarkt is named for the Christ Child, the figure is traditionally represented as a female angel rather than Baby Jesus. Every two years, the city chooses an adolescent to play the angel and open the market by reading a Christ Child poem in the Church of Our Lady.

Since Nuremberg was a center of the spice trade, “Lebkuchen” (gingerbread cookies) became particularly popular there. The Christkindlesmarkt has also become known for its “Zwetschgenmännla,” souvenirs that are edible figures intricately decorated with dried fruit.

While the market lost its significance in the 19th century, it was rejuvenated by the Nazis during the 1930s when Nuremberg was the site of the Nazis’ large propaganda rallies. While the Christkindlesmarkt was canceled during World War II, it reopened in 1948 and now hosts at least two million visitors a year. Faas told DW that Nuremberg saw a record number of visitors last year – 2.2 million – shortly after the terror attacks on November 13, 2015 in Paris.

“I will be going with my children to the Christmas market over the next few days and won’t worry,” he said.

Did Martin Luther boost the Christmas markets?

The Christ Child is not restricted to the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg. In many parts of Germany the Christ Child is said to bring the presents on Christmas Eve – a tradition that is attributed to Martin Luther. Some have even speculated that the church reformer contributed to the success of the Christmas markets by encouraging people to give gifts on Christmas Eve, rather than on St. Nicholas Day (December 6).

Source: dw.com

 

Breaking News: Germany 9 dead after truck crashes into Berlin Christmas market

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Local media reporting up to 50 people injured,

A truck plowed into a crowd near a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday evening, killing at least nine people and injuring many others, police said.

The market is  near the fashionable Kurfuerstendamm avenue in the west of Germany’s capital city.

It was not clear why the truck veered off the road into the market, but local media are reporting police have said initial investigations point to an attack.

A German newspaper has also reported that up to 50 people are injured.

Speaking to CBC News from Berlin, freelance journalist Nick Spicer said the truck drove into the crowd around 8 p.m. local time, when the market was crowded with people drinking mulled wine and eating sausages.

“If you wanted to hurt a large number of people with a truck, this is the kind of place you would go to,” Spicer said.

German school in Istanbul cancels Christmas celebrations.

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Twitter Ulf Poschardt @ulfposh

A German-funded school in Istanbul has told teachers they cannot even talk about Christmas in class. Berlin has expressed outrage as the school is financed with public funds.

Berlin expressed its dismay on Sunday that a German high school in Istanbul had canceled its Christmas celebrations.

“We do not understand the surprising decision of the leadership at Istanbul Lisesi,” said the foreign ministry. “It is a great pity that the good tradition of the intercultural exchange in the pre-Christmas period was suspended at a school with a long history of German-Turkish” friendship, the government said.

The elite high school was founded more than a century ago, employs around 35 German teachers and is co-financed by German public funds. Each December, the school has a small celebration for Christmas and teaches pupils about the holiday.

One week after the school’s choir was prevented from singing at the German consulate in Istanbul, they reportedly canceled the festivities.

https://twitter.com/ulfposh/status/810533166234615808

According to an email seen by German news agency DPA, the teachers cannot even mention Christmas inside their classroom.

“The topic of Christmas traditions and celebrations will not be discussed, taught or sung about, effective immediately, according to the notice by the Turkish management,” the head of school’s German department reportedly wrote.

No advent calendars

Responding to the protests from Berlin, the school management denied that they banned celebrating Christmas.

However, they said that German teacher have recently been “talking about Christmas and Christianity in a way that was not foreseen by the curriculum.”

Several German teachers confirmed to the “Spiegel” magazine that they were instructed to forgo Christmas songs and traditions. The school also wanted them to remove advent calendars from school premises, they said.

According to the magazine, the teachers requested anonymity as the staff is forbidden from talking to the media.

German newspaper “Die Welt” put its own spin on the situation, depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the fiendish green Grinch famous in Dr. Seuss’ children’s tale for stealing Christmas.

Syria: Qamishli bloody Christmas 5

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kamisliIn Qamishli in Syria’s border with Turkey, he has lost 16 attacks on Christian life in Christmas dinner at a restaurant.

Syria’s border with Turkey, lived in Qamishli an important part of Christians was attacked December 30 evening bombings. One of Qamishli the busiest restaurant in the target area bombing 16 people who lost his life, 35 people were seriously injured. The Christian population in the region as the target of the attack was carried out reviews.

In the Syriac Catholic Church held a funeral in Qamishli on December 31 to commemorate those who lost their lives. After the ceremony, including four Christian Armenians were buried in the same cemetery also found 16. January 3 Sunday, a memorial service was held for those who lost their lives in Istanbul.

He spoke on the subject Foundations Assembly Minority Foundations former Representative Laki Vingas, the event summed up in these words: “Attack of the Assyrians a friend I became aware of the occasion. He lives in many Syrian regions. The explosion occurred youth popular restaurant he frequented. Christians bear’s gone to the restaurant to celebrate Christmas in the 30s. “

K aybed the one who lives nearby, said Agosta said: “Unfortunately, my brother’s son was on that day that the restaurant and the explosion died. It has a large population of Assyrians. There are also many Chaldeans and Armenians. The dead were all Christian. So I think that the Christian population in Qamishli target of this attack. Restaurant abruptly dumped two bags, one of which exploded. If the explosion was said to find other bag 100 the number of dead. “

Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas

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f568cba43b9d1c_568cba43b9d55The Armenian Church celebrates the holy birth (Sourp Dznount) of Jesus Christ on January 6. In Armenian tradition, this feast day commemorates not only the birth of Christ, but also His baptism by John the Baptist, www.armenianchurch-ed.net reports. 

The latter is remembered through the “Blessing of Water” ceremony, which follows the Divine Liturgy on January 6.

On the eve of the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Jrakalouyts Divine Liturgy (the lighting of the lamps service) is celebrated in honor of the manifestation of Jesus as the Son of God (theophany). It is custom for the faithful to hold lit candles during this special service.

On the following day, the mystery of our Lord’s baptism in the River Jordan is remembered in the ceremony of the Jurorhnek, or the “Blessing of Water.”

In ancient times, this ceremony was celebrated by the riverside or sea shore, but, for various reasons, it was later confined to the interior of the churches. During the ceremony, the cross is dipped in water, recalling Christ’s immersion in the Jordan River. Blessed oil, or Holy Chrism (Muron), is poured into the water from a dove-shaped container, symbolizing the appearance at the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the voice of the Father proclaiming to all that Jesus is His Son.

The Holy Chrism is prepared in Holy Etchmiadzin and is blessed by the Catholicos assisted by the bishops. Muron contains olive oil, balsam and the essence of forty different flowers and herbs. At the end of the ceremony, members of the congregation are given the blessed water to drink, thereby sharing in the life giving act of Christ. As water is essential to the life of the body, drinking the blessed water is a reminder that participation in the acts of Christ is essential for eternal life.

Why January 6?

Even at the time of the Holy Apostles, the traditions in the Christian churches in the different parts of the world were not uniform. In fact, Christmas was probably not observed at all in the very early Church. Later, the mysteries of the birth and baptism of Jesus Christ began to be observed on January 6.

By the end of the 3rd century, Christmas in Rome was celebrated on December 25, which coincided with a major pagan feast. The Eastern churches, meanwhile, continued to observe Christmas on January 6. The Armenian Church has maintained that ancient tradition to this day, whereas the Greek-speaking Christian world switched to the Latin tradition at the end of the 4th century.

Armenian-American households may exchange Christmas gifts on December 25, since it is the custom in American society to do so. In some of our churches in the United States, it has become traditional to observe the feast of St. Stephen the Proto-Martyr on Christmas Eve (December 24), though that feast is movable and may not always fall on December 24.

If possible, the faithful should fast during the seven-day period preceding January 6, and should inform their children that they are fasting as a way of preparation for Christmas. On the evening of January 5, families should attend church and participate in the celebration of the Christmas Eve Divine Liturgy. They should do the same on the morning of January 6.

Bethlehem: Armenian Christmas in the Holy Land ‘you cannot imagine

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Photos by Shant Nalbandian

Photos by Shant Nalbandian

By Maayan Jaffe
JNS.org

Scouts with their colorful uniforms gather. More than 20 Armenian bishops and priests stand in Manger Square in Bethlehem to greet the Armenian Patriarch, His Beatitude Archbishop Nourhan Manougian. With the sounds of trumpets, bagpipes, and music, the voices of young choir singers and shouts of joy, the Armenian Christmas ceremony commences.

It’s 10 a.m. and the procession begins. By 10:30, Israeli police on horseback meet the group. By 2 p.m., the Patriarch will enter the Church of the Nativity and the first of three masses will begin in the Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus was born.

“You cannot imagine,” says Father Avedis Ipradjian during an interview with JNS.org in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. He describes hundreds of worshippers pouring into Bethlehem from Jaffa, Haifa, Ramle, and Jerusalem. They are greeted by Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, and several other important Christian, Muslim, and governmental dignitaries.

Special permits are required to allow for the mass pilgrimage of Israeli Armenian Christians to Bethlehem. Every year, families receive a sheet of paper to affix to their cars and they go unhindered. Today, members of the PA greet the procession. Before 1995, top Israeli officials took part in the ceremony.

“With all of the children there is such joy. The Armenian scouts play beautiful Christmas music,” says Ipradjian.

The ceremony takes more than 24 hours, only ending after a 7 a.m. final mass. Throughout the evening, unique Armenian Christmas hymns are sung and a special liturgy is followed from holy books used only on Christmas. The Patriarch blesses attendees and they eat and drink together between services.

“There are hundreds of people, but they will all be fed,” Ipradjian notes. “We don’t go to sleep. It is 29 to 30 hours of no sleep.”

It is a regal Christmas party and a meaningful mass, as one would expect of a classy religious celebration in the Holy Land. But there is something very different.

“We do it all alone,” says Ipradjian.

 

The Armenian Christmas in the Holy Land is not on Dec. 25, as one would expect. It is celebrated at a time different from Christmas celebrations all over the Western world. Armenian Christmas takes place in Israel from Jan. 18-19.

In the U.S., people are familiar with Christmas occurring from Dec. 24-25. That is the date of Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar, which was first instituted in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. Today, the Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar and is also known as the Western calendar or the Christian calendar.

There is another calendar that some Christians still adhere to and that is the old calendar, which is the Julian calendar. Many Orthodox Christians annually celebrate Christmas Day from Jan. 6-7, which marks Jesus’s birth according to the Julian calendar.  In Israel, Greek Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas from Jan. 6-7 and the epiphany (commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi) on Jan. 19.

Dr. Sergio La Porta, Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of Armenian Studies at California State University, Fresno, explains that the Julian calendar is 13 days off from the Gregorian. The Jan. 7 date on the Gregorian calendar corresponds with Dec. 25 on the Julian calendar, while Jan. 19 corresponds to Jan. 6 on the Julian calendar. Those such as the Greek Orthodox who observe Christmas on Jan. 7 are actually observing a Dec. 25 birth of Jesus. The Armenian Christians are celebrating a Jan. 6 birth of Jesus.

The Armenians in Israel celebrate the birth and the epiphany within the same two-day period, from the afternoon of Jan. 18 until midnight on Jan. 19.

“It is pretty amazing,” says La Porta. “I don’t think I have ever seen anything like it—anyone celebrate it like this—anywhere in the world.” La Porta lived in Israel and worked at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem during the early 2000s.

In Israel, the Armenians are under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. According to Ipradjian, there are around 8,000 Armenian Christians living in Israel. Around 4,000 of these individuals have roots in Israel from as early as the 4th or 5th century. The other 4,000 arrived in the last century, escaping the Armenian genocide in Turkey between 1915 and 1917 or coming as part of an intermarried family with the mass immigration of Jews to Israel from the former Soviet Union between 1992 and 1995, continuing until 2006.

In Jerusalem, amid the many significant churches—such as the Holy Sepulchre and St. Mary’s at the foot of the Mount of Olives—there are two large Armenian churches, with smaller ones mostly in northern Israel. The Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem is one of the most ornately decorated places of worship in Israel, according to La Porta. It is nestled within a walled compound in the ancient Armenian Quarter, which sits just inside the Jaffa Gate. The Cathedral of St. James is dedicated to two martyred saints of that name—St. James the Great (son of Zebedee), one of the first apostles to follow Jesus, and St. James the Lesser (the brother of Jesus), who became the first bishop of Jerusalem.

“The Armenian tradition believes that within St. James are buried the head of St. James the Great and the body of St James the Less,” La Porta says.

The Church of the Holy Archangels is another important Armenian Church in Jerusalem. It is built on a less grandiose scale than St. James and serves as a parish church. But according to La Porta, during recent excavations and restorations, workers came across inscriptions that are believed to date back as far as the 13th century.

On Christmas, all the Armenians come—members of all churches attend the ceremony in Bethlehem, and after the completion of the morning mass return home to complete festivities locally. At St. James, participants dine on pilaf and fish, celebrating by the light of hanging oil lamps.

“You cannot imagine,” Ipradjian says once again. “This is Christmas. It is everything that for Christians it should be.”

 

BEIRUT: Lebanon Christmas the Armenian way

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Justin Salhani| The Daily Star

378863_img650x420_img650x420_cropBEIRUT: Lebanon hasn’t boxed up its Christmas decorations just yet, as the celebrations are just beginning for some. A large percentage of Lebanon’s prominent Armenian community celebrates their version of the holy day Tuesday, Jan. 6.

The sixth is Epiphany for most Christians, but Armenians use the day to celebrate a culmination of the season’s events.

For them, the sixth is Christmas, celebrating the nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem, but it also symbolizes Epiphany, when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. Unlike the Orthodox and Protestants who follow the historic date of Armenian Christmas, the Armenian Catholics, however, follow the Catholic Church in Rome and celebrate on Dec. 25.

“They go with the [Catholic] pope and with Rome,” Zara Sirop Hagop said with a slight chuckle. Hagop is one of the local mukhtars in Beirut’s Burj Hammoud neighborhood.

378860_img650x420_img650x420_cropWhile large sections of the Lebanese-Armenian population have moved out of Burj Hammoud over the years and integrated into other areas, the neighborhood is still strongly connected to the community through the ubiquity of Armenian restaurants, businesses, cultural centers and churches.

Christmas decorations are still hung over main thoroughfares, with white lights dangling in the shape of snowflakes, illuminating the streets and spreading Christmas cheer. Shops are decorated for the holiday, with many storefronts painted with the English words “Merry Christmas.”

“Geographically it is known as an Armenian neighborhood,” Hagop said. “There are many Armenians but there are also Shiites and Lebanese Christians, as well as many foreigners moving into the area.”

The reasons Armenians celebrate on the sixth are historical and traditional. Until the fourth century, the Catholic Church also celebrated Jesus’ birthday Jan. 6. But as Christianity spread into Europe, the day was merged with a Roman pagan holiday celebrated Dec. 25.

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of Christ Dec. 25 and Epiphany Jan. 6. Armenians, however, decided to stick with the traditional, historical and “correct” day for celebrating Christmas, as expressed by one person interviewed by The Daily Star.

Tuesday is a national holiday in Lebanon, meaning shops will be closed across the country, but in Burj Hammoud most establishments – 90 percent according to the local mukhtar – will stay closed Wednesday as well, as Armenian Orthodox and Protestants partake in a two-day celebration.

Taking a break from preparing for the Armenian Orthodox St. Sarkis Church’s 4 p.m. Mass Monday, 19-year-old Phillipe Jinian told The Daily Star about some of the customs his community participates in for Christmas. People will gather and sing hymns for the neighborhood Monday evening.

Sitting behind his office desk, Hagop said that the midnight carols bring joy to the community and are paired with music from accordions, guitars and other instruments. Here, they deliver the story of Christmas in a musical manner.

“The people go to each building in the neighborhood and sing the story of Jesus Christ,” Hagop said.

The next day, families come together to celebrate the occasion with food and holiday spirit.

“We gather and eat together [on Christmas Day],” Jinian said, adding that it is customary to prepare fish. Other traditional Armenian Christmas dishes include rice, wheat soup and nevik – a dish made of green chard and chickpeas. Lebanese Armenians, however, are likely to include a number of fusion dishes that have culminated from their time living in and integrating into Lebanese society.

A second Mass is often attended by families on Armenian Christmas Day. Unlike most Christians in Lebanon, however, the Armenian community doesn’t stop the party after Christmas.

“We celebrate tomorrow but also the day after tomorrow,” Hagop said, with a wide smile on his face.

Armenian families take part in a tradition that is unique to their culture on Jan. 7. They visit cemeteries where their loved ones are buried. Here, they pray and take the time to remember and spend time with those who have died.

“In Armenia they go live and spend the whole day there,” Hagop said. “They eat in the cemetery.”

Hagop said that the celebration in Lebanon is not as extravagant as those in Armenia, where it is an act that the entire nation takes part in.

After the day at the cemetery, a Mass is planned for the various Armenian churches. There are four Armenian Orthodox churches in Burj Hammoud alone and even more outside. Priests from the various houses of worship gather with the community to hold a large Mass at Burj Hammoud’s Nursing Home.

Also unique to the Armenians, Christmas gifts are traditionally doled out on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31. In Armenia, Christmas Day is more of a religious holiday therefore the gifts are handed out beforehand.

Chef Raymond Blanc’s Galette des Rois

This remarkably simple dessert is only served once a year to mark Epiphany, celebrated on Jan. 6. It is the custom to hide two little figurines or fava beans in the almond cream. The ones who find them will become the King and Queen for the day and of course have all of their wishes realized.

INGREDIENTS

For the puff pastry

– 400 grams puff pastry, all butter, ready rolled

For the almond cream

– 75 grams butter, unsalted, at room temperature

– 75 grams icing sugar

– 75 grams Almond, powder

– 1 egg, free range/organic, whole

– 1 egg yolk, free range/organic

– 1 tablespoon dark rum or cognac

COOKING METHOD

Cutting out the circles of pastry

You will get two sheets of pastry – 35 / 22.5 cm in a pack, so cut a 20 cm for the base from one sheet and a 22 cm circle for the top out of the other sheet; refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

Making the almond cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients together and mix to a smooth texture; reserve in the fridge.

Making the galette

Spoon the almond cream into the center of the puff pastry reserved for the base. With a palette knife spread the cream into an even circle leaving a 2 cm gap from the edge. Brush the beaten egg yolk mixture around the 2 cm gap and carefully drape the top circle of pastry neatly on top, press gently to expel all the air and using your thumb seal the pastry all around the edge. Chill or deep freeze the galette for 1 hour to firm up the pastry and with a sharp knife, trim the edge of the galette to an even circle so that it rises evenly.

With the back of a knife crimp the outside edge of the pastry all around. Here you can use your artistic flair.

Scoring the galette & egg washing

Brush the galette with beaten egg yolk. With the side of a fork or back of a knife, start from the center of the galette and score a spiral right up to the edge of the pastry. Repeat this to achieve an attractive design (if you feel unsure you could just simply crisscross the top of the galette).

Cooking the Galette

Cook in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

– See more at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Life/Lubnan/2015/Jan-06/283150-christmas-the-armenian-way.ashx#sthash.pxOefaBT.dpuf