Listed here are a few suggestions to consider as Christmas presents. Hopefully you will avoid giving Godiva Chocolates, now owned by Turkey-based Yildiz Holding, which owns Ulker Group, said to be the largest consumer goods manufacturer in the Turkish food industry. Godiva’s signature package, the Gold Ballotin, makes for an impressive hostess gift, but until Turkey admits to its guilt in the Armenian Genocide, please avoid buying or accepting Godiva Chocolates. There are other fine chocolatiers who do not have blood on their hands.
The same goes for Coca Cola, whose Board chairman and CEO is Muhtar Kent. I remain stymied as to why Coca Cola products continue to be available at Armenian events. Have you forgotten the martyrdom of a million a half Armenians and the power the Turks wield in the United States government, preventing passage of the genocide resolution among other abuses?
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Rev. Dr. Vahan Tootikian, minister emeritus of the Armenian Congregational Church and a respected clergyman, has his 32nd book to his credit, titled Challenges and Responses. The number of books he has written is an indication of the popular niche his inspirational writings enjoy. Each book is different in its approach to making life and man’s purpose on earth understandable.
When Rev. Dr. Tootikian takes pen to hand you can be assured the end result will be enriching and enlightening, helping us to understand our place in this world. His books lead the reader to be a better human being through the grace of God. Life is filled with challenges and how you consider them—as stumbling blocks or stepping stones—will determine your character.
A particularly interesting chapter is on the author’s fellow Armenians, the Kessabtsis. He says, “We are the offspring of an ancient, industrious and creative people.”
The book is available through the Armenian Heritage Committee, 3922 Yorba Linda, Royal Oak, MI 48073
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Retired engineer-turned-author George Mouradian’s book offering this time is Guideline ro Your Magical Marriage. It is dedicated to his beloved Marguerite, to whom he has been wed to for 59 blissful years. It is his hope the book will be helpful to young adults contemplating marriage. Mouradian wrote his latest tome after researching many books by experts and conducting interviews with divorced as well as happily married couples. This book addresses marriage pitfalls and how to cope with them. It includes planning for marriage, communication between couples, compatibility, health, stress, finances, and raising children. It is available through www.PublishAmerica.com.
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Still hot and going strong is Mitch Kehetian’s Giants of the Earth, now in its third printing and available on Polish and Russian web pages. His memoir is an emotional yet endearing account of his search for his Aunt Parancim who, until his fateful meeting in Moscow with an old Armenian woman, was thought to have perished during the genocide. Kehetian discovered Parancim had survived, married a Turk, but died in 1947. He traveled to historic Armenia and witnessed barren villages empty of its Armenian population, leaving him silently embittered by the continued denial of the genocide.
Kehetian found and met Parancim’s son in Kutluja. In his book he writes, “I have only two first cousins in the world and now to find out they are half-Turk, the race I hold responsible for the rape and genocide of the Armenian people.” Together with his cousin Huseyin, they climbed the mountain to the burial place of Parancim. Her burial site was covered with fallen stones Huseyin had gathered from the Kehetian homestead in Khoops. Order Giants at www.PublishAmerica.com.
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The Repatriate: Love, Basketball, and the KGB by Tom Mooradian is a thriller memoir of a star high school scholar athlete who makes the mistake of going to Soviet Armenia to further his education. Upon his arrival, he discovers food shortages, crude living conditions, people whisked away never to be seen again, and the ever-present terror of the KGB’s watchful eye. No longer in possession of his American citizenship, his survival was owed to championing the Armenian basketball team. Read about his 13 years in Soviet Armenia and his eventual freedom. Repatriate is available by contacting Tom Mooradian, P.O. Box 14, Spruce, MI 48762-0014.
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If you really want to impress your friends, give them a gift from Harvest Song, a specialty food company that imports fresh, natural food products direct from Armenia. I was dazzled by their website showcasing their delicious, colorful jars of fruit preserves, such as tea rose, wild strawberry, quince, and gold winners, sour cherry, and apricot. They gleamed like a king’s treasure chest leaving me with no choice but to place an order (received within days). Gift baskets, too, are available. They also have a specialty item that was recently featured in the New York Times. They are fresh baby walnuts steeped in sugar syrup “from the sunny skies, rich, fertile soil, and natural spring waters of Mt. Ararat,” said to be the perfect accompaniment to cheeses, pate, or roast duck.
The company is another brainchild of James Tufenkian and Sylvia Tirakian, who say they want the world to have a taste of Armenia. Contact them by visiting harvestsongventures.com or calling (516) 773-7356/46.
Betty Apigian-Kessel
Latest posts by Betty Apigian-Kessel (see all)
- Meet the Legendary Margaret Lafian of Detroit - October 3, 2017
- The Lament of the Armenian Lady Farmer: How Green Is My ‘Bardez’ - September 22, 2017
- A Purposeful Visit to Great Lakes National Cemetery (Part II) - August 8, 2017
For music, try Armenian Leon Redbone who has an impressive international cult following, particularly in Canada and France. sung in English, the quintessential jazz/blues guy. get him on amazon.
Another good Armenian oriented gift option for Christmas is the English & Armenian herb & spice names magnet from Narinj: http://www.narinj.com/