Vaհe H Apelian
Not only April 24, 2025, the day we commemorate the Armenian Genocide, is behind us. The month of April is behind us as well. We have now formally stepped into the post April 24, 2025 phase of our Armenian lives. The Armenians in the Diaspora and the Armenians, as citizens of the Republic of Armenia, lead different post April 24 lives. The latter live and make their living in Armenia. Obviously, the Diaspora Armenians do not.
It is a fact of life that round figures illicit more intense feelings in us. This year we marked the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. It seemed to me that the Armenian Genocide commemoration this year was more intense than it was last year. In making this generalization, I bear in mind that next year we will commemorate a no less memorable date, the 111th anniversary of the genocide as the Republic of Armenia will be in the closing phases of its decisive June 2026 election.
Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide is also a barometer of some sort. If I read the barometer correctly, this year’s - April 24, 2025 – commemoration broke apart another Armenian myth, that the commemorating the Genocide martyrs unites us. Genocide commemoration is as much a political tool as anything else. April 24 is an official holiday in Armenia with pay. Many visit the Genocide Memorial and place flower around the eternal flame while the government officials, the PM, the President and the Speaker of National Assembly place wreath in an official ceremony. But this year a larger than usual torchlight Genocide commemorative procession also took place at night, on April 23, accompanied by the burning of the Turkish and Azeri flags. It was not a mere genocide commemoration. It was rather a political statement by the opposition having torch bearers upholding the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims but not with the flower bearers doing the same on the Genocide Memorial Day.
The two Massachusetts April 24, 2025 proclamations I have in mind for this blog, are by the governor of the state and by the mayor of the City of Worcester. Arguably no other U.S. state is more intimately associated with the healing of the Armenian Genocide’s mortal wound than the State of Massachusetts and no other U.S. city can rival to that of Worcester MA when it comes to Armenian American history.
Massachusetts governor Maura Healey proclamation had come about thanks to the efforts of an Armenian high school student. Those interested my read the link below.
The governor had designated her April 24, 2025 proclamation as AREMANIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, and had urged “all the residents of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of this event and participate fittingly in its observance”
Worcester’s popular mayor Joseph M Petty had designated his April 24 2025 proclamation as GENOCIDE AWARENESS, AND PREVENTION MONTH, and had urged “all citizens to work to promote human dignity and. Confront hate whenever and wherever it occurs.”. It is all behind us now, as the month of April behind us.
I remain under the impression that while we regard the Armenian Genocide, as a historical great crime – Medz Yeghern - and call for its recognition, restitution, and reparation, but the greater society in the Diaspora, such as in the U.S., apparently defines us more by the genocide than anything else. While we hold onto the notion that we overcame the genocide to continue and cherish our millennia old culture and history when two of us get together. But, apparently we are being perceived differently, that the Genocide is our culture. There may be a reason for it. Let us face in the Diaspora, save a few select pockets, the Armenian language is for all practical purposes lost and with it our literary culture. There remains the observation of the genocide that more than anything else gets us together in the month of April but apparently, how we observe it, also divides us as well.
It is fair that I note that apparentlyI am not the only person that is left with that impression. I quote the following post Martin made in the Armenianweekly in response to the linked article.
“Martin says: (April 17, 2025 at 5:41 pm)
Why April? Why must we be defined by the genocide?
October is Armenian Cultural Month, a time for Armenians worldwide to celebrate their rich heritage, including the creation of the Armenian alphabet and the accomplishments of the Holy Translators, through cultural events, lectures, and sacred celebrations.
The designation of October as Armenian Cultural Month stems from an encyclical by Archbishop Karekin Hovsepian in 1942, emphasizing the importance of Armenian language, literature, and culture.
The month commemorates the Feast of the Holy Translators, celebrated on the Saturday before the 5th Sunday after Khatchveratz (the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross), and focuses on the creation of the Armenian alphabet and the accomplishments of the Holy Translators.
The Holy Translators, including Mesrob Mashdots (founder of the Armenian alphabet) and Catholicos Sahag, are central to the month’s significance, along with other notable figures like Yeghishe, Movses of Khoren, David the Invincible, Gregory of Nareg, and Nerses Shnorhali.
The month serves as a reminder of the enduring cultural heritage of the Armenian people and their contributions to literature, language, and the arts.”
Link: How Armenian-American Heritage Month was proclaimed in Massachusetts:
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