Apostolic Armenians Share Spirit of Christmas Today Too : Religion: In this tradition, Dec. 25 is fine for exchanging gifts. But they believe that Jan. 6 marks the birth and baptism of Christ. Celebrants attend Mass and then enjoy traditional holiday eve feast.

After days of preparing yalanchi, or stuffed grape leaves and other delicacies for the big feast, Dorothy Washburn will celebrate Christmas today along with thousands of other Armenian Americans in Orange County.

For her and other members of the Apostolic Churches, Jan. 6 is the day on which they observe together the birth and baptism of Christ. While they open gifts on Dec. 25, Jan. 6 is treated as a religious holiday.

“We still keep the same tradition that has been celebrated for centuries,” said Father Moushegh Tashjian of St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Costa Mesa. “I say to my congregation that it is lucky that we get to celebrate Christmas twice.”

On Thursday night, the congregations of Orange County’s two Armenian Apostolic Churches attended Mass and returned home for their traditional Christmas Eve feast, which sometimes lasts as long as five hours.

“It’s a good thing to keep the tradition going,” said Haig Tashjian, 65, of Laguna Niguel. “It’s basically all about tradition . . . It’s a cultural thing, because never until recently has Armenia had independence as a country. (The holiday) has kept people together all over the world.”

In Santa Ana, an estimated 100 people attended evening Mass at the Holy Forty Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church, said Rev. Mousghegh Mardirossian.

“Armenian Christmas is not only Christmas as the birth of our Lord. It is called theophany, which is the revelation of God. Originally all Christians celebrated Christmas on Jan. 6,” Mardirossian said. “In the Armenian church, we also celebrate his baptism.”

At St. Mary’s Church, only about 50 of the 400 congregants attended Christmas Eve Mass. Tashjian said that in recent years the turn out has been small when Jan. 6 falls on a weekday.

“We live in a society where everyone is so busy with their work,” he said. “If (Mass) happened in the Old Country, everyone would go. There is a national holiday there, whereas here it’s Jan. 6 and no one even realizes it.”

But for Washburn, 60, of Huntington Beach and her family, Jan. 6 is an important holiday, the quieter and the more significant of the two Christmases she observes.

“The spiritual part of Armenian Christmas in America is a big part of it because of all of the hullabaloo” on Dec. 25, Washburn said. “In our family, we do most of our gift exchanging Dec. 25 and today is a more relaxing evening. We have dinner together and there is none of the hustle and bustle. It’s more of a spiritual day.”

Washburn’s daughter, Mary Derkrikorian, 36, of Huntington Beach, said that continuing the custom of Armenian Christmas is important to her.

“Armenians have a very old tradition and it is very special,” she said. “I teach Sunday school and I think it is important to teach children about their heritage and their nationality. It gives them a sense of self worth.”

Her sister, Tina Washburn, 22, of Huntington Beach, said the tradition also helps bind the community.

“Armenians are spread all over. That’s the thing that brings them together: the church,” she said.

On Thursday night, the family, like many of the other 10,000 Armenian Americans in Orange County, celebrated Christmas Eve with a feast. The typical Armenian dinner begins with mezza, appetizers like hummus, a garbanzo bean or chickpea spread; turshi, pickled cabbages and carrots, feta cheese and olives. While they are served, adults sip raki, an imported whiskey.

The main course may include yalanchi , grape leaves stuffed with onions, rice, cinnamon and nutmeg; and lamb, rice pilaf, eggplant, green beans, sweet breads and yogurt.

After dinner comes dessert, which may include kadayis, a pastry with chopped nuts and cinnamon , and jellied fruit candy topped with powdered sugar.

Christmas Day Mass will be at 10 this morning at the Holy Forty Martyrs Church in Santa Ana and at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church in Costa Mesa.

Some Orange County churches will offer special Epiphany services tonight. y. Also called the Twelfth Night of Christmas, which marks an end to the Christmas holiday, Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men.