01 02 2009 - Mousa Dagh - S Sarkis celebration

The tradition of St. Sarkis' Day goes back to hundreds of years when the king of Istanbul asks the neighboring Armenians to help him against an attack. General Sarkis, a courageous Armenian leader, gathers 39 brave fighters and goes for the rescue mission. The Armenian fighters zhelped the Turks win the fierce battle which made the Turkish king deeply jealous of Gen. Sarkis and the brave Armenian fighters. So, he planned to kill them. He invited them for a fiest after the battle where he brought 40 charming dancers to lure them and kill them. However, the lady accompanying Gen. Sarkis couldn't accomplish her mission out of love and disclosed the trick to him. They escaped while the others died. They hid themselves in a cave near Kabousieh region in Moussadagh. Inside the cave there was an alter where they knelt and prayed. Since that day, the hill is called St. Sarkis' Hill and the cave St. Sarkis' Cave. St. Sarkis has been a source of inspiration for the Moussadaghians for his bravery and courage. There's a special cake made on St. Sarkis' Day and it's called "Koumbou". Before baking this cake, the housewife would divide it into pieces according to the number of the family members. In each piece she would put a small item symbolizing the different assets of the family. The next day they would cut the cake and everyone would anxiously dig up the small item hidden in his/her cake. Interestingly, the object symbolizing money was considered as bad luck. When it would be discovered in someone's piece, the rest of the family would shout "throw it in the sea" to the one having it in his/her cake. Oddly enough, it is not known why this tradition is related to St. Sarkis

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Sourp Sarkis is an Armenian religious tradition that has been celebrated for many years. It is a unique holiday that requires a lot of self sacrifice. Sourp Sarkis is also a time of festivity in many Armenian houses especially in those homes that include a family member with the name Sarkis or Mardig.

Sarkis the strong (zoravar) lived during the fourth century. By Rome's ruler, Gostantianos Sarkis would be the General of Gabatovgio , that was his birthplace. Sarkis who was a loyal Christian takes his son and decides to go to Armenia. But his presence in the Armenian castle may have turned into a reason to cause a war between the Armenian and the Greeks. To avoid a potential war they go to Persia, where King Shabouh the second (310-379) happily admitted him and made him the general of the Persian-Roman borders. He had many victories. Shabouh the second learned about the spread of Christianity and invited Sarkis the strong and his son to his palace. Sarkis accepted the invitation and decided to show his true beliefs.

Sarkis the strong didn't pay homage to the Persian gods and the palace officials killed his son and sent Sarkis to a dungeon far away from town, with a plan to cut off his head .The King's wish was done. Fourteen Christian soldiers under Sarkis' army decided to go and honorably bury Sarkis the strong, those soldiers were later killed. Other Christian soldiers tried to find Sarkis' body and they tried to take it to Asorick. Because of all the Sarkis, his son Mardiros, and all the fourteen soldiers were made to Saints. In the Fifth Century Mesrop Mashdoths tried to take his body to Armenia. The Armenian society have ever since named churches after Sarkis and Mardiros.

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S. Sarkis Gata

A common way to mark the occasion from a culinary point of view is to prepare a festive meal to be shared with family and friends. A touch of fun is added to the occasion by cutting and dividing the freshly baked gata to discover who gets the coin that was placed in it before baking, which is viewed as a symbol of good luck and prosperity for the year ahead. Here is a recipe for gata, which you may enjoy with or without the symbolical coin. Anoush!

Recept

*GATA Dough:* 4 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar 2 cups milk 1 packet dried yeast 1 cup butter pinch of salt 1 egg (for brushing the gata)

*Filling or Koritz:* 1/2 cup butter 1 cup flour 1 coin for each gata (wrapped in foil) If desired, add: 1/4 cup chopped nuts, 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon to taste

*GATA Dough:* Soften yeast in one cup of milk, melt the sugar in the other cup of milk, then combine the two. Add melted butter, savingtwo tablespoons to use for brushing the dough. Gradually add the flour and salt to the liquid and when all of it is absorbed, knead well. It should be a soft dough. Cover and let it rise (takes two to three hours). When dough has doubled in size, divide it in to six portions. Take one portion at a time and roll out to thickness of 1/4" or a bit less. Brush the entire open dough with melted butter, then fold the dough to a square 5"x5".

*Koritz:* Melt the butter and blend in the cup of flour, on very low flame, keep stirring until the flour and butter are well blended and the colour of the koritz is pink. If you are going to add the other ingredients, do it after you take the mixture off the heat.

Divide the Koritz into six portions as well and place one portion in the centre of this square, now hide the coin in the Koritz and bring over opposite corners of the square to cover the Koritz. Then roll out the dough to the size of a small pie, brush with eggs, and design the gata with a fork or some other gadget. Let this rise again for 15 minutes, then bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) until browned (about 1/2 hour).

Annette Melikian