Guides
Dzmer Pap, Ded Moroz and Santa: New Year in Armenia
Families who have moved to Armenia are often surprised that Santa comes here on New Year’s night rather than at Christmas. Here is how the holiday works, and what to call the people who bring the gifts.
New Year, not Christmas, is the night of gifts
In Armenia the main family celebration is New Year. On the evening of 31 December the family gathers around a festive table by the decorated tree, and that is when the children wait for Santa and their presents.
Christmas comes later: the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates it on 6 January, together with the Theophany, so it is above all a church holiday rather than the night of presents. That is why our home visits and video calls on 31 December are priced by the hour: on that evening, everyone is waiting for Santa.
What Santa is called in Armenia
In Armenian he is Ձմեռ Պապ (Dzmer Pap), literally “Winter Grandfather”, and children often call him affectionately Ձմեռ Պապիկ (Dzmer Papik). In Western Armenian, spoken by much of the diaspora, he is Կաղանդ Պապ (Kaghand Pap), after Կաղանդ, the old Armenian name for the New Year.
Russian-speaking families call him Дед Мороз (Ded Moroz), Grandfather Frost, and English-speaking families call him Santa Claus. It is the same visitor under three names.
Who the Snow Maiden is
The Snow Maiden — Ձյունանուշ (Dzyunanush) in Armenian, Снегурочка (Snegurochka) in Russian — comes from the Russian tradition, where she is Grandfather Frost’s granddaughter and helper. She has no place in the Western Santa Claus story, but in Armenia she is a familiar figure.
If you would like her to come too, choose the Exclusive package: Santa and the Snow Maiden come together, for up to 30 minutes. In the Standard and VIP packages, Santa comes on his own.
One holiday, three languages
Families in Yerevan speak Armenian, Russian or English, and at home often several at once. Santa should speak the language the child understands best, so we work in all three: you choose the language when you book, and Santa speaks it from his very first word.