This coming Wednesday, March 11th marks the half-way point of our Lenten season - the 24th day of Lent, occurring on the Wednesday of the fourth week to be precise.
Here’s a re-cap of the meaning or significance of Mid
Lent, also known as Michink:
- Michink falls on a Wednesday.
- It is not a feast day.
- The same Wednesday Lenten services are performed on this day.
- Michink is celebrated during the middle of lent to encourage people to persevere until the end of lent.
- During this celebration, women would insert a coin into a pastry (gata or pagharch) and whoever receives the slice (of pastry) with the coin in it would receive good luck.
- A special sandwich, Michink Koutap, is also prepared on this day.
Another source concurs that, Michink Koutap is a kind of sandwich filled with boiled green beans, broad beans, and other vegetables, but adds that the dough is prepared with olive
oil, and small lumps of egg-sized dough may be flattened, enclosed around the
filling, then baked. Before sealing the dough, a colorful bead or a coin would be hidden in one of
the sandwiches, thus identifying the year's lucky person.
Here are a few additional Mid-Lent recipes you might like to prepare:
Among Western Armenians, the most characteristic dish for Michink is Topig, for which you also have a recipe.
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