YEREVAN. - It’s the first time Maxime Belliard has celebrated New Year in Armenia. Maxim, who arrived from France for a voluntary job, hasn’t yet decided what to do on New Year. According to him, this holiday should be celebrated only with one’s family.

Maxime worked on December 25 for the first time in his life. He celebrated Christmas with his family via Skype. The young man hasn’t yet planned anything for New Year, since it’s very cold. Besides, according to him, New Year and Christmas without one’s family isn’t a holiday (he doesn’t mean to offend Armenians). On December 25 last year he was again in Yerevan and then celebrated the holiday with his friends, but there was no Christmas atmosphere, he sayd. So, this year Maxime has planned to stay home in front of Skype.

One can spend the Christmas Eve with friends, but Christmas is to be celebrated only with one’s family, he said.

Armenian traditions have come as a surprise also to Felicity Lopez. The girl from New York has left for the U.S. to celebrate the holidays with her family.  But she celebrated 2015 in Armenia and prepared traditional Latin-American dish for her host family.   

According to Felicity, then she stayed in a village. There was nothing extraordinary for New Year: they just watched the fireworks, danced a little and tasted wine. She was first surprised by the amount of the food prepared, since there were only six of them in the family. But in the morning she realized where the dog was buried: throughout the entire week guests visited them and proposed toasts. As a woman, Felicity was sorry to see these women prepare for New Year and then clean the house the entire week. It was indeed odd that all women carry the burden of New Year fuss on their shoulders.

Felicity grew up in a family where everyone does the work and enjoys the holidays together.