YARP hello from Elise !
I laughed in delight as cold water splashed on my back. It was Vardavar (Vart-a-var), also known as Jrotsi (Jr-o-tse), in Armenia. Vardavar is an Armenian holiday when people throw water on each other. Vardavar history dates back before Christianity, during the Pagan times. It is believed that the goddess Astghik threw rosewater on everyone to spread love to everyone in Armenia. Another theory is that when Noah’s ark landed in Armenia, Noah ordered his sons to throw water on each other as a commemoration of the flood.
My cousins Suren and Arpi were staying over, and we were celebrating Vardavar in Bjni, a small village in Armenia. I shot my water gun at Isabelle and Arpi, for I was on a team with Suren. Isabelle happily shrieked as cold water hit her in the back. My bare feet splashed on the wet pavement, throwing up small waves as I ran. I took my gun and shot over the wall that separated our property from the neighbor’s. Satisfaction surged threw me as I heard the gleeful screams on the other side. All of a sudden cold water hit me in my back as Isabelle shot at me. “Oh no you don’t!” I yelled, shooting at her. We were deep in a battle with each other when water rained down on both of us from above. I looked up, not a cloud in the sky. I heard giggling from the other side of the wall. “Everyone, attack! The neighbors are attacking us!” I screamed. We all ran inside to get some bowls, as we threw water over the wall. More water sprayed from their side, as I realized their weapon. “They have a hose!” I shrieked. Our team had a hose too, just we weren’t allowed to use it until my uncle Artak came. Immediately we shot our guns and threw water to the other side. We were so deep in our battle that we didn’t notice a car pull into our driveway. “Artak!” I yelled. My uncle was finally here! I ran barefoot into the house, rushing to hug him. To my surprise, my baby cousin Areg was here too! Even better! “Areg!” I said, as I ran to kiss him.
Soon Artak was engaged in the battle between neighbors, which soon became a war. Now, both teams had hoses and water guns. “Artak?” Came a voice from behind the wall. “Spartak!” Artak yelled, “You better watch out!” He turned the hose on and water started gushing out, of course, cold. Screams sparked up from the other side as my uncle sprayed the hose. We were so deep in battle that we didn’t notice one of the warriors from the other team snuck up with a bucket. Soon we were all drenched in water as the warrior scampered off. “How dare you!” Suren shrieked, his hair dripping with water droplets. “Guys, watch this!” I yelled. I ran with my bucket to their property, and dumped the water onto them. Now the war was also engaged through the path connecting our yards. My cousins and Isabelle came for backup, with my little sister Helen not far behind. Water shot through the air as the war raged on and on, until finally the neighbor’s had used every little drop of energy. “We need to rest! Plus, someone turned our water off!” One of their warriors shouted, declaring our victory.
The day was coming to an end, finishing with wet clothes and drenched children. If you come to Armenia in the summer, July 23 especially, I recommend wearing a swimsuit under your clothing, because it’s going to get wet!