Araden • ارادن

Araden means Land of Eden in Aramaic. It is a Christian village of mostly Chaldean Catholics, but there are also Assyrians here. Before the 18th century, it was mostly Eastern Orthodox. One of the oldest churches in Christianity, the church of Sultana Mahdokh, is in Araden.

Today, there are more than 150 homes in the village, but the number is decreasing. Also, there are three main families: Rayes family, the chieftains of the village, Qasha and Sana. Qasha means a priest, Sana is close to an Arabic word (someone with a craft, craftsman or a laboror worker) and Rayes is another Arabic word than other languages.

There is a large community of people from Araden in Metro Detroit (Warren, Sterling Heights, and Troy), Michigan. Every year the Aradnayeh community gather on January 12th, when there is a celebration for the Saint Sultana Mahdokht, called Shera. This is a big event in the Chaldean/Assyrian community of Michigan, as the attendance is overwhelming. Also every year on 15th of June, Aradnayeh get together in Shelby Township, for a large celebration at Stony Creek Metropark.