Tearndaraj or Trndez is one the most beloved holidays of the Armenian nation. The Christian meaning of the holiday is the invitation to come and meet Lord. According to the ancestral law, the mother with her 40-day-old child comes to the temple; the priest presents the child to God, and purifies the mother. And according to the national tradition, the main ritual of Tearndaraj was lighting a bonfire and celebrating the day around that bonfire. In the past, the harvest productivity of the year was defined with the direction of the smoke of the bonfire.
The day was celebrated in Ejmiatsin with the preservation of the whole national ritual.
According to the meaning of the day, the blessing ceremony of a 40-day-old baby and newlyweds was held, the fire of Tearndaraj was lit and the national ritual of the holiday was presented with a round dance, giving the people roasted grains of wheat and singing ditties.
The newlyweds and the 40-day-old child also received gifts in the form of gold from the Municipality.
On the occasion of the day the Historical and Ethnographic Museum of Ejmiatsin held an open-air exhibition of the exhibits of the ethnographic hall of the museum. It has also organized a photo exhibition of the Armenian traditional costumes.
Children attending kindergartens under the subordination of the Municipality also get acquainted with the meaning of the holiday, church and national rituals. Children and teachers of Ejmiatsin kindergartens organized beautiful events, keeping all the symbolic elements of the day.