Many in Armenia might remember Soviet-era queues stretching to half-empty food stores typical particularly to the days leading to the New Year holidays. They remember, too, Armenian housewives’ burden at least a week before the feast.

Layer on layer, 40 thin sheets, nuts, cinnamon, cardamom, and lastly sweet honey…

The pastries and pakhlava baked by Ruzan Harutyunyan, a resident of one of Yerevan’s suburban districts, are famous among the locals.

Pakhlava soaked with honey which Ruzan serves to special guests is the only type of pastry that she has baked in the last several years. Times have changed habits.

“In the past I used to bake about 10 types of pastry, calmly and with patience. Preparations began 10 days in advance,” she says. “However, now when everything changes, and you can find what you want at any shop, why should I suffer for days? Although time is also required to prepare pakhlava, I still try to bake it as a New Year symbol, but in any case I try to ease our life.”

Psychologist Nelly Haroyan says that in the past few years people have tried to “ease their lives” in every way. The candidate of psychological sciences and lecturer at the Yerevan State University says that the influence of other countries, especially of the Western culture, is obvious here. It is especially so with each New Year.

“Many try to celebrate the New Year in an easier way, in a western style,” Haroyan tells ArmeniaNow. “More gifts, decorations, festive mood… In the past years there was no such great tendency towards giving presents to each other, but it has become more typical in recent years. Besides hospitalities and plentiful tables that were accentuated, people concentrate on emotions and ritual. Besides, women instead of spending time in the kitchen try to spare some time for themselves.”

The hectically busy schedules of Yerevan beauty parlors around the holiday season proves the psychologist’s statement. Some salons have appointments a month in advance.

“We have a terribly busy schedule of work,” says hairstylist Tatev Manukyan. “We had no such tendencies years ago. What mattered for many women was the variety of meals on the New Year table that they could surprise their guests with. And now good looks are also a priority for many.”

Yerevan resident Nane Shahnazaryan managed to complete all New Year shopping, including presents for family members, several days before the holiday. She says she is happy because she will have to visit the beauty shop, arrange the presents under the Christmas tree and then make sure there is a good mood for her family members.

“I wonder why our mothers and grandmothers toiled so much and I am sure there are some people now who traditionally continue to labor over dozens of salads, dishes, pastries, most of which they eventually will have to chuck away,” says 27-year-old Shahnazaryan, an economist by profession. “If you can buy splendid pastries from shops and instead allocate time for decorating home or going to a hairdresser’s, isn’t it better to have good looks and make fun with your family rather than be tired?”

However, Susanna, 61, says that the New Year is a family holiday and housewives must not be lazy and must prepare everything with their own hands.

“The family gathers together, you have many expectations from the coming year and you try to do your best,” says housewife Susanna. “And what should a woman do? She must cook, herself, bake pastries with her own hands. It does not matter whether she will get tired or not. It’s OK if she gets a little tired. I get tired as well, but I make New Year preparations with great pleasure. There is only one New Year’s day a year and you should do everything for it to be spent in a very warm atmosphere.”

Sociologist Aharon Adibekyan tells ArmeniaNow that the New Year has always been a favorite festival for all, and Armenians are not an exception.

“At present, the New Year festival has more significance,” says Adibekyan. “In the past, people would often gather for birthday parties, and now many are busy or have no opportunity, and for many the New Year is a good opportunity to see their relatives and friends. It is really a popular holiday. True, the New Year is a festival of banal feasts for Armenians, however it is also undergoing some change.”

Ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan also mentions “certain changes” in the approaches to celebrating the festival.

“Nowadays shops offer such a wide range of convenience foods that with a little [financial] possibility housewives can avail themselves of all this,” the well-known ethnographer says.

Kharatyan says changes in celebrating the New Year happen for different reasons.

“There is some influence from abroad and this influence is mainly becoming available due to media,” Kharatyan says. “Media present how the New Year is celebrated in other countries, how tables are laid, what dishes are prepared, what gifts are exchanged, and all this positively impacts our culture as well.”