YEREVAN, JULY, ARMENPRESS. An international festival will be held at the medieval monastery of Geghard and old pagan temple of Garni for the second year aimed to make the Armenian Vardavar an international festival. Vardavar will be presented to the world as a Christian holiday, then, rituals and traditions dating back to the pagan times will be performed. The president of Youth Clubs Federation (FYCA), director of “Vardavar international festival” Atom Mkhitaryan told this during the meeting held at the press hall of “Armenpress”.

“Vardavar is among the holidays that have Christian, Pagan and national foundations. It is also a youth holiday related to love, Astghik Goddess. In different provinces of Armenia Vardavar is celebrated in different days, there are provinces where Vardavar is celebrated with the same grandeur as the New Year. And at last, this holiday is celebrated in summer when tourists visit Armenia from different countries. Taking all this into account, since last year we decided to make Vardavar an international holiday choosing the pagan temple of Garni as the place for the festival and the monastery of Geghard”, said Mkhitaryan adding that the festival will have an educational importance and will start with pilgrimage.