AMAA Christmas Joy Programs Spread the Good News of Christmas Throughout Armenia and Artsakh

Christmas is a time of self-purification and transformation. A time when Christians reflect on the life they have lived, evaluate it in the light of Christ’s birth, and decide to live in accordance with that light.

Each year, as we celebrate the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) in collaboration with the Evangelical Churches of Armenia (ECA), spreads the Good News of Christmas to thousands of children throughout Armenia and Artsakh.

This year, during the first weeks of January, AMAA and ECA, together organized 95 Christmas Joy Programs in 24 towns and villages throughout Armenia and Artsakh, with over 12,000 children participating. The programs included theatrical performances, cartoon characters, songs, dances, recitations, and games which concluded with a visit from Santa and Snow White distributing Christmas gifts to each child.

Although Artsakh is under siege this year, the local AMAA Team and the Church were still able to convey the message of divine hope to the children and their families by distributing gifts in Stepanakert, the Capital City of Artsakh, and in different villages of the Republic.

The highlight of the Christmas Joy Programs was the AMAA’s and ECA’s “Hayasa” theater troupe’s presentation in Yerevan for the children of the city and nearby regions on January 12 and 13.

The Play was based on the story “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Script writer and stage director Nune Abrahamyan, along with experienced actors Karen Mirijanyan, Anahit Kirakosyan, Ara Gevorgyan, and many young actors, brought the well-known story to life.

The main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, was played by Karen Mirijanyan. The old, hard-hearted, and miserly man is visited on Christmas Eve by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Remembering the past, appreciating the present, and seeing the inevitable future of life he has lived, Scrooge reconsiders his lifestyle, accepts the reforming miracle of Christmas, and overnight cleanses and transforms himself.

More than 2,000 children attended and heard the Good News of Christ’s birth during the six performances. They returned home with gifts and the conviction that the greatest gift is the Baby Jesus Himself, and Christmas is the starting point for a better life.