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St. Sarkis Day will be celebrated in Armenia on February 4 this year. The day has been designated a youth holiday by Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

Historically, St. Sarkis was a Christian commander in the 4-th century, who was killed along with his son Martiros by a Persian king for refusal to change his faith.

St. Sarkis is venerated as the patron of youth and love in Armenia. The feast is celebrated 63 days before Easter, on a Saturday falling sometime between January 18 and February 23.

Marking St. Sarkis Day, unmarried Armenian women eat a piece of salty bread, ideally after fasting all day, in the hope of dreaming about their future husband. Tradition says the man who brings them water in the dream will be the man they marry.

These types of marriage traditions are prevalent in other cultures in different forms. Assyrians, for example, celebrate a variation of St. Sargis, where the dreams of unmarried women are believed to be prophetic.

Popular and widely anticipated in Armenia and Middle Eastern countries, where life was austere and people looked for reasons to celebrate, the tradition is being kept alive in communities throughout Southern California and the United States.