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“Krisdos haryav ee merelotz!”
“Orhnyal eh harootiunun Krisdosee!”
The theme of Hye Camp 2006 is Easter in the Armenian Church, and today we celebrated the traditional Armenian Easter Eve Service of the Light (Jurakalooytz).
Preparations for this evening’s glorious feast began yesterday during our Armenian Culture class. Fr. Aren Jebejian and Yn. Patty Dagley spent time with each class discussing the context of the Armenian Quarter within the physical geography of Jerusalem, and narrated a movie taken during the Service of the Light in the Holy Sepulcher Sanctuary in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Then, this morning, as each age group attended their arts and crafts class, they worked on dyeing eggs for our Easter celebration tomorrow. Maestro Khoren also added his personal touch, teaching sharagans from the Badarak during the Armenian Culture classes.
After dinner all of the Hye Camp Olympic teams gathered and competed in a camp-wide scavenger hunt. As each team completed their hunt for clues outside the Fr. Haroutiun Chapel, they were under the impression they had reached their destination. They would soon find out that the final step of the activity would take them inside of the chapel, where they would witness a reenactment of the Service of the Light.
The chapel was completely dark, with only clergy with candles helping the campers find their seats. Fr. Yeprem Kelegian spoke about being in the dark and related to the campers the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and how the light of Christianity had seemingly gone dark to the many believers of Jesus. At that point, symbolizing the deliverance of the light from the tomb of Christ, Fr. Tavit Boyajian stepped forward with a bunch of lit candles (which were actually used during the service this past year in Jerusalem) and passed the flame to Fr. Yeprem, who then passed the flame to senior staff members who then rushed to get the flame up to the chapel balcony, where Fr. Aren awaited the word that Christ had risen from the dead.
Fr. Aren blessed the campers and staff, proclaiming the resurrection of Christ, and Fr. Tavit continued with an impassioned cry of “KRISDOS HARYAV EE MERELOTZ!!!” to which the congregation would reply “ORHNYAL EH HAROOTIUNUN KRISDOSEE!!!” It was a very powerful atmosphere, unforgettable in the minds of everyone in attendance.
On the athletic front this afternoon, campers tried to hit home runs farther than Fr. Aren in the 4th annual “Hayr Soorp Home Run Derby”. Boy and girl winners from each age group got great prizes.
In the first competition of Hye Camp Olympics the Purple Team, “Team Purple Hyes” led by Maria Palaian, took first place in the scavenger hunt. Maria’s team was edged out of first place by just a couple of points during the 2005 Hye Camp Olympics and she is extra motivated to lead her team to victory this year. Tomorrow will be Team Purple Hyes next opportunity to extend their points lead when we have a camp wide Capture the Flag competition.
Tomorrow, the Hye Camp family will participate in a home blessing ceremony, followed by an egg breaking competition and a big feast of Shish Kebabs. There is also promise of a break in the heat wave that has been hanging over the camp. Excitement is in the air and we’re all looking forward to our third day of Hye Camp 2006.
