Twas the night Before Christmas - Armenian Style:

Twas the night before Gakhant, when all through the doon
Not a gentani was stirring, not even our shoon.
The Koolbas were hung by the vararan with care,
Just after Medz Mayrig had washed them in the sink with hands bare.

The bzdeegs were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Anoushabour danced in their heads.
And Mayrig in her kisheranots, and I in my Peejama,
Couldn’t wait till the morning so we could eat some fresh baklava.

When out on the lawn there arose such an amoog,
I sprang from the angokhin to see if it was a karnoog.
On the way to the badoohan I stubbed my poor dodig,
Tore open the badoohan and yelped like a shoonig.

The loosyn on the breast of the new-fallen tsooyn
Showed the bruise on my dodig in a sev and jermag kooyn.
When the tsav settled down and I stopped squirming like tsoogs,
I looked right outside and saw 8 tiny Eshoogs.

With a little old mart, Could it be? Haba?,
I knew in a moment it must be Gakhant Baba.
More rapid than Trchoons those gentanees came,
And he bora’ed, and ganche’ed, and called them by name!

"Now Garo! now, Arman! now, Jirayr and Levon!
On, Vartan! On, Haig! on Norayr and Dziran!
To the top of the danig! to the top of the doon!
Yalla Hayde Beh! Hayde Beh! Hayde Beh amenoon!"

As vardeegs that are hung outside to dry fly,
When they meet with the hov, and fly to the sky.
So up to the Danik the Eshoogs they flew,
With the Gark full of Toys, and Gakhant Baba too.

And then, in a vargyan, I heard on the Danik
The prancing and pawing of each little Eshoog.
As I drew midkis mech, and was turning around,
Down the Vararan Gakhant Baba came with a bound.

His Shabig and Pantolon were all colored Garmeer,
But his clothes were all sep-sev thanks to the ashes…oh dear.
A bundle of Khakhaligs he had flung right onto his back,
He looked like THE ARMENIAN VENDOR, standing there just opening his pack.

His Achks-how they twinkled! his Yeres how merry!
His Aydigs were like Vart’iks, his Keet like a cherry!
His droll little shoortoonks were Garmeer in Kooyn,
And the Morook of his chin was as jermag as the tsooyn.

A piece of fresh soojookh he held tight with his teeth,
And the smell of that soojookh went straight to your keet.
He had a broad khntoom eres, and a medz round Stamoks,
That shook when he laughed, and knocked off his aknots!

He was keroog but jarbig, a right jolly old mart,
And I laughed when I saw him, with all of my heart!
A wink of his Achk and a twitch in his Kit,
Soon gave me to know  he didn’t mind it one bit.

He spoke not a par, and worked real Shood,
And filled all the koolbas, he packed them real good.
And laying his mahd aside of his keet,
He shot up the vararan, and landed on his feet!

He sprang to his Gark, to his Eshoogs borats ganchets,
And away they all flew meg eshi ureneh satgets.
But I heard him exclaim after saying Kisherpari,
"Shnorhavor Soorp Dznoonoont, Yev Pari Nor Dari!"

Now for something fun:
 
12 Days of Armenian Christmas

12 Church Bazaars
11 Loaves of Choreg
10 Losh Kebabs
9 Tavloo Tournaments
8 Dandigins Dancing
7 Kef Bands Playing
6 Shish Kebabs
5 Gifts from ArmenianVendor (.com)
4 Soujoukh Omlettes
3 Tel Banirs
2 Hummus Spreads
1 A Pomegranate on a Pomegranate Tree

2013 Season Ending Doubleheader!

What an AMAZING WEEKEND!
Armenianvendor.com had it's last live event of 2013 and we went out with a BANG doing a doubleheader between Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge MA and Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church in Whitinsville, MA! We want to personally thank them (and all the rest of the organizations that allowed us to vend at their events) for all their kindness and hospitality and for of course, inviting us to be vendors at their event!
We started ArmenianVendor.com just 8 years ago with nothing other than photographs we took when we visited Armenia in 2005 and some jewelry..... 8 years later, thanks to an AMAZING outpouring of support from our customers, followers, friends, and family, we've grown immensely and continue to do so. So many of you have stepped forward, admitting to us that you have come to events just because you heard about it through us, and/or wanted to come and shop with us! You have no idea how grateful we are to hear those words! We also could not have been able to do this without people stepping forward and offering to help us. Not just at our events with helping to set up, clean up, and sell, but also by helping us promote ArmenianVendor.com to all their family and friends and letting the "Armenian Network" do it's thing. Lets not forget the friends and family that have helped us obtain unique quality items from Armenia directly to present and sell at our events!
ArmenianVendor.com was created to fill the gap for people everywhere around the world who wanted to obtain Armenian items without having to search stores globally for each individual product they wanted to buy. So many of us don't have nor ever had an Armenian store nearby to shop in either. We wanted to create an easy method for people to be able to obtain a piece of Armenia without actually having to go to Armenia. Essentially, we wanted to bring Armenia to your front door!
As 2013 comes to a close and 2014 is arriving, we hope and pray that more of you will step forward, not just to help us grow as we are but to help mold us into the store you want us to be. Please contact us any time with questions, suggestions, and ideas on how we might be able to help each other. After all, ArmenianVendor.com is as much for you as it is for us.

Don't forget, there's also still plenty of time to do your Christmas shopping with us online! We'll do our best as always to get your items to you and your loved ones by the date you request from us! Whether it be for American Christmas, New Years, Armenian Christmas, or otherwise, you can count on us to do our very best for each and every one of you!

All of us at ArmenianVendor.com want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!
May you all enjoy the upcoming festivities with health, laughter, and the comfort of friends and family around you!

Sincerely,
Baykar Dervishian
CEO/Founder www.ArmenianVendor.com

Dont Forget To Visit
WWW.ArmenianVendor.com
For Gift Ideas, Concert & Fair Events, and more....

ASK US HOW ARMENIANVENDOR CAN HELP YOUR GROUP/CHURCH/ORGANIZATION WITH YOUR FUNDRAISING NEEDS
Check out our commercial at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvzPXPLCd4s

Please go to https://www.facebook.com/ArmenianVendorProducts and "like" us there. We want to reach 1000 likes by year end. Can you help us spread the word and make it happen? We've been here 8 years thanks to your support! Now we need your help to grow. Thank you all for shopping with us at ArmenianVendor.com!

Armenian Events - What could make them better?

This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend. This means people will be getting together for BBQ's, Drinks, Music, Swimming in Pools, Dancing, and any other forms of fun they can have with friends and family.
This also means the start of the Armenian Picnic Season followed by the Armenian Bazaars.

We've been running ArmenianVendor.com for 7+ years now and have vended at countless functions from Maine to NJ to Upstate NY and everywhere else in between. Everywhere we go we get asked the same question by our hosts: "What do you think we could do to make our event more fun, more attractive, bigger, and better?"

We've seen many forms of entertainment for the families over the years at these events including pony rides and games for kids, Tavloo tournaments for adults, live bands for dancing, and so on. I would love to throw the question out to you all. What would attract YOU to come to an Armenian event?

We grew up in NJ. To get to an Armenian event meant driving 45 minutes and spending the day with family and friends. Also, you'd be lucky to get 4-5 events per year to attend. Once we moved to Boston, our drive was cut much shorter and there were events every weekend we could attend. Adding ArmenianVendor to the events has definitely given people something more to do when they come to the event. We've had people telling us they attend the event knowing we'd be there. So maybe that's one answer.....having more Armenian Vendors at the events......but again I throw the question out to all of you. What would make YOU attend an Armenian event and WHY?

2013 ArmenianVendor Update!!!

We cant believe 2013 is already approaching Memorial Day Weekend!

We've already tucked away two events that we attended....
* Armenian Sister's Academy had their bazaar back in March 23, 2013 right before Palm Sunday. It was a great way to start the season off. Many delicious aromas filled the air with all the Armenian pastry and BBQ'in that went on that day. There were TONS of events for children to participate in and truly everyone from the kids to the grandparents had a fantastic time at this wonderfully organized Armenian event.
* St Stephen's Armenian School Bazaar took place on May 3rd and had many different Armenian vendors, a variety of children's activities, along with tons of great food and so many people that they sold out of just about everything very fast!

We have many more events already lined up that we'll be attending starting at the Armenian Memorial Church the Friday and Saturday after Memorial Day Weekend. The entire list of events for this summer that we've been invited to vend at so far can be seen here: http://www.armenianvendor.com/default.php

ArmenianVendor.com has been busy revamping it's website as well and has added many new, updated, easy to use features to it's website.
* We have a guestbook for you to sign which you can access here: http://pub49.bravenet.com/guestbook/4173133484/
* We now have a photo gallery which you can access from the main page and see our setups at all the different events we've attended in the last few years.

We have two very exciting upcoming additions to the website including:
* An affiliate program which will help us work with other companies online to bring traffic to each other's sites and also to pay commissions to the hosts for sales made by those who were guided to our site and vice versa.
* Ecards where you can send Armenian cards online to your loved ones

ArmenianVendor.com also has many new products we'll be selling shortly. The biggest news being, the TRI-COLORED ARMENIAN JERSEY'S for adults are back!!!! We'll have those including more tshirts for kids, tricolor caps, tricolor pens,  and many more items all straight from Armenia very shortly! Check back in our store page to find out when they will be in stock. If you see it on our site, it means we have it!

Please check out our facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=lf#!/pages/wwwArmenianVendorcom/214385373867 and "like" us if you're so moved :)

If you want to make some extra money and be a part of the ArmenianVendor team, please contact Baykar via email at baykar@armenianvendor.com. Sales experience a definite plus!!!

(Including special Wholesale pricing on "My 1st & 2nd Book of Armenian Words")!

If there are any products on our website that you can not find, I assure you we are feverishly updating new items on our website every day.

Just let us know which items you are looking for. If we don't have it, and if it's out there, we'll do our best to find it for you!

If there are any events in your area where we could set up a table and help the hosting group with fundraising, please let us know. We're always willing to help out fundraising events and meeting new Armenians in new locations.

We also do provide wholesale prices on many of our products for bulk purchases that are bought in advance. We help out churches, bookstores, gift shops etc all across the country. Just let us know what you need and we'll do our best to help you with your fundraising needs!!!

Also, if you would like to help ArmenianVendor out in any way, please email us and let us know! We always appreciate and pay for the help!

We're now into our seventh year with the business and sixth year with the website and our success has depended and always relies on your support and help in spreading the word. 

Thanks as always!

Sincerely,
Baykar Dervishian
CEO/Founder www.ArmenianVendor.com

Dont Forget To Visit
WWW.ArmenianVendor.com
For Gift Ideas, Concert & Fair Events, and more....
ASK US ABOUT SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE WATERTOWN KERMESSE JULY 20, 21, 22, 2012
ASK US HOW ARMENIANVENDOR CAN HELP YOUR GROUP/CHURCH/ORGANIZATION WITH YOUR FUNDRAISING NEEDS
Check out our commercial at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvzPXPLCd4s

ArmenianVendor.com Today

We started this venture back in October of 2005 after my maiden voyage to Armenia.
We came back with photographs I had taken from Armenia and some jewelry we obtained from Vernisage (Armenia’s open air summer flea market).
7 short years later, we have a website (that went live in December of 2007), and we’ve traveled in person all over the Northeast USA including places like Maine, New Jersey, upstate New York, and most all of the places in between those locations. We’ve met and connected with diasporan Armenians from all over the world, and have sold to Armenian Churches and Bookstores all across the country. We now have the pleasure of having a global fan base thanks to our website and have sold our products and introduced our website to people all around the world.
Thanks to the support and help of Armenians everywhere, we’ve grown immensely in the last 7 years and plan on growing much larger in the years to come. We have recently upgraded and updated our website to be in touch with you using many of the social networking groups available to us today including, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Youtube. You can even find our store page on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/ArmenianVendorProducts  Please click on the link and “like” our page there to help show your support.
We’ve also added many new products, and will continue to add many new products all for your shopping pleasure.
We have a newly formed Guestbook and we have a Reviews section on our website. We’d love for you to visit and provide us your input. What would you like to see more of? What could we do to service you better? What ideas do you have that you think we should implement into our site? We want to hear from all of you if possible! We’ve helped out many organizations with their fundraising needs and want to help out many more in the years to come.
ArmenianVendor.com is here for many reasons. We’re here to help support the Armenian musicians and artisans from all around the world. We’re here to help support the churches that invite us to sell our products live at their events. We’re here to help support any Churches, groups or organizations with their fundraising needs by selling our products in bulk at wholesale prices. Most of all we’re here for all of you who cant go to Armenia to get all these wonderful gift ideas all in one location. ArmenianVendor.com… we bring Armenia to YOUR front door.

Sincerely,
Baykar Dervishian
CEO/Founder www.ArmenianVendor.com

Dont Forget To Visit
WWW.ArmenianVendor.com
For Gift Ideas, Concert & Fair Events, and more....

ASK US HOW ARMENIANVENDOR CAN HELP YOUR GROUP/CHURCH/ORGANIZATION WITH YOUR FUNDRAISING NEEDS
Check out our commercial at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvzPXPLCd4s

ArmenianVendor.com's History

As far back as I can remember, I and every other first generation Armenian-American in northern New Jersey within a 45 mile radius that I knew, went to the same Armenian school. We studied all about a country we couldn’t visit, a history that read like a novel of legends, and a language that nobody other than our parents, and their friends, spoke with to us, and to each other.
Armenia was a place under Soviet rule and as far as we knew there was no way in or out of the country. There was no way for us to meet people from Armenia, or experience for ourselves all that Armenia had to offer. I remember clipping and saving any articles shown in the New York Times or elsewhere about Armenia or Armenians, and trying in vain to teach my American classmates about a place I had never seen or experienced for myself in person.
In 1991, the Soviet Union had broken up, Armenia was in a war with neighboring Azerbaijan, and Turkey closed it’s boarder to Armenia. During this time, the internet had just started forming its own legs and spreading to the colleges. I remember being in school with no Armenians in my vicinity for miles around, and getting on Armenian chat lines to meet Armenians from all around the world and joining email lists about Armenia just to get any kind of current information I could about our newly independent country.
In 1994, the war with Azerbaijan came to a halt, and Armenia started its post war healing process. Since then, I graduated college with an Engineering degree, moved to Framingham, Massachusetts for work, and found myself an Armenian girl from Armenia, and got married. Through all this time I had heard many interesting stories from friends, and wondrous tales from my wife, who was born and raised in Armenia during those Soviet times. Any time someone gave me a picture of Armenia or a souvenir from the country, I cherished it as I did the newspaper clippings about Armenia I had saved as a child. I grew more and more restless and wanted to visit and experience the country first hand. In August of 2005, my wish finally came true. I made my maiden voyage to Armenia and for the first time, saw, heard, and smelled for myself, the country with all its history, traditions and culture that I had only heard and read about my whole life.
When I came back to the US, I had brought back about 500 pictures and many hours of video I had taken on my trip, and tons of souvenirs I had bought during my travels. I picked out 10 of my favorite pictures, blew them up, framed them, and showed them to family and friends along with some of the jewelry we had brought back from the country. Then it hit me. Before I had gone to Armenia, I had cherished those pictures and souvenirs that were given to me from friends who had visited the country before me. After I came back they served as great keepsakes and reminders of all the places we had gone to see. I started to wonder if other Armenians would also be interested in the souvenirs and pictures I had brought back for all the same reasons. My wife and I started to participate in a few local Armenian bazaars and set up tables with our pictures and jewelry. Since then years have passed. We have sold literally hundreds of pictures, and have grown our stock of souvenirs from Armenia to include all that you see on this website today and more. As this website grows, our hope is that our variety of items will grow as well. Of course the best way to experience all that a country and its people have to offer is to actually take the trip there and experience it first hand. In the meantime however, for those that can't go to Armenia right now for whatever reason, we wanted a chance to bring Armenia to them, and that is indeed what this website is all about. To show you all that modern day Armenia, and Armenians from all around the world, have to offer, all in one very accessible location… www.ArmenianVendor.com