THE GARDEN OF PEACE AND PRAYER – FEATURING A TRADITIONAL KHACHKAR
Not to be confused with The Peace Garden the small park situated opposite Christ Church Cathedral and was the location of a late medieval Tholsel building which served variously as a meeting place for the City Council, a courthouse and as an exchange for the city’s merchants.
The Khachkar is part of the Armenian Christian identity and they are generally carved from volcanic stone. The one which now stands in the grounds of the cathedral was designed by Aram Hakhumvan, who lives in Ireland and carved in Armenia by Arta Hambardzumvan. It features a Celtic Cross with an Armenian Cross standing out of it and the rest of the stone has many Irish and Armenian details including shamrocks and grapes.
Easter is one of the most celebrated of all holidays in Ireland. The Easter starts with Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent, and culminating in Easter Sunday celebrations and a public holiday the day afterward.
When I worked in California I once commented that “Easter is early this year”and that confused everyone in the office and one person said “when do they tell you when Easter is due”. They were really surprised when I explained ,i not so many words, that Easter and its related holidays are moveable feasts, not falling on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars which follow only the cycle of the Sun; its date is calculated based on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. I was really surprised as all but two had, at times, made a big deal about being Christian.
Most Christians refer to the week before Easter as “Holy Week”, which contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper, as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. In Western Christianity, Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the 50th day, Pentecost Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, the Paschal season begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the 40th day, the Feast of the Ascension.
Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day of prayer and fasting. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent, the six weeks of penitence before Easter. Ash Wednesday is traditionally observed by Western Christians. It is observed by Catholics in the Roman Rite, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Moravians, Nazarenes, and Independent Catholics, as well as by many from the Reformed faith (inclusive of the Congregationalist, Continental Reformed, and Presbyterian traditions) and United Protestants.
As it is the first day of Lent, many Christians begin Ash Wednesday by marking a Lenten calendar, praying a Lenten daily devotional, and making a Lenten sacrifice that they will not partake of until the arrival of Eastertide.
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