On December 17, 2017, following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, the courtyard of the Cathedral of Saints George in Tbilisi hosted the festival of ghapama. The Association of Armenian Women in Georgia “Shushanik” initiated the festival, with the financial support of the Diocesan Headquarters and under the auspices of the Hayartun Center.

Armenian cuisine is a significant part of the Armenian culture. The aim of the activities of the community structures is the revival of its forgotten pages. The festivals of Armenian national dishes, including harisa, sweet pastry –gata, dolma and ghapama, which have already turned into a tradition, are held for this purpose.

Majestic ghapama, stewed and fried pumpkins, different dishes, hot coffee and tea with honey and khalva, pumpkin conserves and jams, cooked by the members of the “Shushanik Association” and the Church-loving Women’s Association of the Cathedral of Saint George, parents of the 1st graders of the Armenian public school # 104, and Armenian women of Tbilisi, were laid on the tables in the courtyard of the church.

The personnel of the Embassy of the Republic of Armeniato Georgia also participated in the festival. It was nice to see that in attendance were the diplomats and the wife of the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Georgia, Mrs. Mary Sadoyan. On the occasion of the festival the delegation of Yerevan’s Shengavit administrative district, including Gayane Saroyan, specialist of the Department of Culture, Education and Sport, and Garnik Shirinyan, director of the Culture House #5 of the council of the district, had arrived from Yerevan.

The Chairman of the Association of Armenian Women in Georgia “Shushanik”, Susanna Khachatryan, gave opening remarks. She stressed the mission to popularize the Armenian national dishes and to pass down the associated with them traditions to new generation, fulfilled by this community structure and church-loving women’s associations. The speaker noted that Armenians had prepared this dish mostly for the New Year and Easter and it had been and obligatory dish of Armenian parties for centuries.

The Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan offered his blessings, he highlighted that the Armenian community of Tbilisi traditionally offers its modernized take on the Armenian national cuisine, reflected on the meaning of the festival and stressing the importance of similar events and in this context spoke about new initiatives and planned activities for the future. The Bishop highly appreciated the activities of the Armenian community of Tbilisi aimed at the preservation of the Armenian culture, as Armenian cuisine is a significant part of it.

In his remarks, diplomat of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to Georgia, Harutyun Hayrapetyan, highlighting the holding of similar events, emphasized the willingness of the embassy to support festivals organized in the future.

Afterwards, the soloist of the Culture House #5 of Yerevan’s Shengavit administrative district, 13 year old Rita Hovhannisyan performed patriotic and ethnographic songs; everyone was in a great mood.

The Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia and the clergy blessed the traditional dishes. The festival was accompanied by “Ghapama” song performance, while the attendees, including many tourists, Georgian citizens with a different ethnic background and guests enjoyed ghapama and tea.