r/armenian • u/BrunoAntony1951 • 22d ago

Im 41 and found out that my grandfather was Armenian.

So my mom had a DNA done and found out she was half Armenian. This is a fact that my Papa did not share and so no one knew. He was a very private man who never talked about himself. Looking back i guess always just he was really really tan but as a kid I just never thought about it. Long story short I wanted to learn more about Armenian culture and wanted a few suggestions on where to start.

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u/South-Distribution54 22d ago

The first step is to figure out where your grandfather is from (for instance, my family is from East Turkey and Syria, and we think some from Iran but aren't 100% sure). Armenians come from the Armenian Highlands, which is mainly in modern-day Eastern Turkey, but also goes into northern Syria, Iran, Iraq, and, of course, the Republic of Armenia. Armenians are an ethnicity, not a nationality and we have a very long history. Welcome to the family and good luck.

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u/SweetWittyWild41 21d ago

Being tan has nothing to do with him being armenian or what not

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u/ummmyeahi 22d ago

Welcome to the fam!!!!

If there are any armenian festivals or events in your area, definitely go to one. You can start a conversation with one of the attending Armenians, they will welcome you to the family with open arms.

Also, if you don’t have any armenian population where you live, which is highly unlikely because we are everywhere, there are armenian meetup groups online, professional societies, maybe some restaurants. Also try to find where your grandpas family originated from. That would be an interesting exploration.

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u/Zoravor 22d ago

Congrats! I guess the easiest thing to do would be to go to a church and just have some coffee with the priest. He’s probably aware of any Armenian cultural events going on. You just missed Vardavar unfortunately. If you’re into history there an Armenian history podcast called Mer Herosner you can check out.