ماتاغ

thumb|200px|Matagh of a rooster at the entrance of a monastery church (Alaverdi, Armenia|Alaverdi, [[Armenia, 2009), with inset of bloody steps.]] In Armenian Christian tradition, matagh ( mataġ) is a lamb or a rooster slated for slaughter as thanksgiving to God, a practice which has continued from Armenia's past. In many regions of Armenia today, this practice is very much alive in the regular slaughter of chosen animals in front of churches. Matagh is done often to ask God for either forgiveness, health, or to give him something in return. People generally gather at the house where the Matag