Which of the Orthodox celebrates Christmas on January 7. When to celebrate Christmas. Festive table for Christmas
Recently, many "responsible" persons have come forward with proposals to "postpone" the celebration of the Nativity of Christ to December 25th. There is only one argument - "we will do it as in civilized countries." And what, in fact, is this paradox?
In fact, it is this argument that shows the complete absence of any knowledge of the history of the issue. The only thing they can "shine" with is only accusations against the Bolsheviks, who in 1918 switched to the Gregorian calendar, and Christmas "turned out" on January 7th in a new style.
Our people have already become convinced of the complete inconsistency of these "responsible" persons, but ambiguities remain. And now we will solve this "overwhelming" riddle.
So, we formulate the question: why, in fact, all of Europe celebrates Christmas on December 25, and we - on January 7?
In order to answer this question, you need to understand the differences between the Julian, Gregorian and New Julian calendars. To do this, consider some episodes of church history:
Date of birth of Christ
Each mother remembers both the day and the hour of the birth of each of her children. Naturally, the Mother of God told the apostles about this day - this is December 25. The Lord Jesus Christ was born when the Julian calendar was on earth, developed by a group of Alexandrian astronomers and introduced by Julius Caesar from January 1, 45 BC.
If we talk about written sources, then December 25 as the day of “the birth of Christ in Bethlehem of Judea” is first mentioned by a Roman chronograph of 354, based on a calendar dating back to 336.
How to properly celebrate the Nativity of Christ. What not to do. Christian traditions and customs. Signs for Christmas. How to wish Merry Christmas.
On the night of January 6-7, the entire Orthodox world celebrates the Nativity of Christ - one of the most important Christian holidays.
It is a holiday symbolizing renewal. After all, it was the birth of Christ that proclaimed a new, bright era for humanity. It is no accident that even a new chronology was established - from the Nativity of Christ.
The birth in the flesh of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary is one of the miracles shown by the Lord to mankind. Therefore, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, everyone expects a miracle and pray that the next year will be better and happier than the one that is leaving.
This bright holiday in Orthodoxy is one of the Lord's twelve feasts and is preceded by a 40-day Christmas fast.
The celebration of Christmas begins on January 6 with the appearance of the first star in the firmament. As you know, after the birth of Jesus, the shepherds were the first people who came to bow to him, informed of this event by the appearance of an angel. According to the Evangelist Matthew, a wonderful star appeared in heaven, which led the Magi to the baby Jesus.
When to celebrate Christmas - January 6th or 7th?
The day before Christmas, January 6 - Christmas Eve. On this day, until the "evening star", that is, until dusk, according to the Charter of the Church, they did not eat at all, they could only drink water or tea. It is difficult in our time to observe such a strict fast. Try, especially if you did not fast during the Christmas fast, make a small sacrifice to the Lord - abstain from meat and dairy products, from fish (even at least one thing, including sweets) in the morning that day. Interestingly, there was a historical joke when Count Suvorov did not eat anything during a dinner with Catherine II before Christmas. To her question, why, the courtiers explained that it was impossible to reach the first star. The Empress called the servants and presented the order - "the star to Count Suvorov."
In fact, in the Ustav and the proverb “one cannot reach the first star” does not mean the appearance of heavenly stars, but the singing of the words of the troparion in the church, a prayer in honor of the feast of the Nativity of Christ, where the word star is mentioned.
“Thy Christmas, Christ our God, has shone to the world like the light of reason: in it the servants (the Magi) learned to worship Thee, the Sun of Truth, and know Thee, Who goes from the height of the East, to the stars. Lord, glory to Thee. "
That is why on Christmas Eve it is advised to fast until the evening Christmas service, visit the temple, and then break the fast at the festive table.
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It is not as difficult as it seems: after all, many spend December 31 this way, forcedly fasting: the wife, in her chores around the kitchen, does not have time to eat, and the family, looking into the refrigerator, hears from their mother: “Don't touch it, it's for New Year!” But fasting on Christmas Eve on the eve of Christmas has a deep meaning, a spiritual purpose that is different from simply “creating a festive mood”. In anticipation of Christmas, you should pay more attention to meaningful preparation for the holiday, rather than dinner. Prepare, for example, for Confession and Communion with prayer and remembrance of sins, Confess the day before, because on the night of January 6-7 and even on the morning of January 7, churches are crowded. It will be difficult to confess, but communion is a double holiday, double grace.
If you do not plan to receive Communion, read the Gospel aloud, with the whole family, or tell the children about the worship of the Magi, about the singing of Angels and the joy of the shepherds looking at the Child Christ - the King of Peace, meekly lying in the manger. Writer Ivan Shmelev wrote about the traditions of preparing for Christmas and festive pre-revolutionary customs in his amazing novel "The Lord's Summer", created on behalf of a child. You can also read the Christmas chapters from it yourself on Christmas Eve.
Everything about the Nativity of Christ
Christmas Eve is called Christmas Eve. In Russian, the name comes from the word "sokivo". It denotes soaked grains of wheat - a prototype of the well-known kutya. Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Eve on January 6th.
On the eve of Christmas, the All-Night Vigil with Great Compline is served, at which the prophecies about Christmas are sung and read.
Matins begins at about midnight, which is celebrated according to the order of the great feasts. On it, fragments of the Gospel about Christmas are read and the canon "Christ is born ..." is sung - one of the most beautiful canons in Orthodox worship. Further, the festive Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
All-night vigil is a liturgical sequence, which consists of Vespers and Matins, which received these names according to the time of the service. Before the holidays, morning and evening services are combined into the so-called "all-night vigil," that is, a prayer that continues all night. This prayer happens only twice a year - at Christmas and Easter. Before Christmas, in an all-night vigil, they serve not Vespers, but Great Compline: it is celebrated after Vespers served on Christmas Eve, hence the name.
What to cook for Christmas:
It is customary to put 12 dishes on the Christmas table, and Kutia decorates the table. On January 6, fasting ends and Christmas Eve begins.
Each housewife prefers her own recipe for cooking Kutia. There are a great many recipes. The simplest: take cereal and soak it overnight, then boil it until tender and add all sorts of sweets. So, for example, you can take rice, honey and marmalade, as well as millet poppy and honey, some even cook kutya from pearl barley and millet groats. You can add marmalade or candied fruits to Kutya.
Also on the Christmas table, it is customary to serve Uzvar - dried fruit compote.
On the very day of Christmas, believers celebrate and feast - "break the fast", it is already allowed to eat not only lenten food, but also "modest" food.
A variety of pork dishes are traditional on the Christmas table: jellied meat, fried pig, stuffed pork head, roast. Baked poultry and fish, fried and baked meat in large pieces are also served on the Christmas table, since the device of the Russian oven made it possible to successfully cook large-sized dishes. Finely chopped meat and offal were cooked in pots along with traditional porridge. Various pies are also stuffed with meat: rolls, cheesecakes, koloboks, pies, chicken pies, pies, etc. Prepare casseroles and pancakes. In addition to meat fillings, a variety of vegetable, fruit, mushroom, fish, curd and mixed fillings are prepared.
The folk traditions of celebrating Christmastide from Christmas to Epiphany are rooted in the Slavic customs of celebrating the winter solstice. Obligatory attributes of the holiday were dressing up (dressing up using skins, masks and horns), carols (visits to houses by a group of fellow villagers who performed “favorable” sentences and songs addressed to the owners of the house, for which they received refreshments), carols or carols, youth games and fortune-telling.
Christmastide began on Christmas Eve with a dinner with Christmas booze and porridge, pie with pretzels; even before the holiday, figurines of animals from wheat dough were baked, which they used to decorate tables, hut windows and which were sent as gifts to relatives and friends. 
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When the family gathered at the table, the elders recalled the year - everything good and bad in the past year, informs Rosregistr.ru. At the end of the meal, the children carried part of the remaining kutya to grandparents, as well as the poor, so that they too could celebrate Christmas. In some localities, food and tablecloths were not removed from the table until morning, believing that the souls of deceased parents would come to the table to also eat.
Then the mummers, dressed in sheepskin coats with wool up and animal masks, in order to be unrecognizable, arranged dances in houses and on the streets, acted out scenes and whole performances. At the end of the 17th century, a nativity scene entered Russia from Poland: in a special nativity scene, with the help of puppets, scenes about the birth of Jesus Christ and other subjects were played out.
Echoes of pagan beliefs were also manifested in the fact that it was customary to guess on Christmastide. In some villages, straw was burned on Christmastide - according to legend, deceased ancestors at these moments came to warm themselves by the fire. The Church, disapproving of witchcraft superstitions and pagan rituals, assimilated "harmless" customs, and they organically entered the life of the people.
For Christmas, the owners made sure to clean the house, wash in the bathhouse, lay a clean tablecloth, store new clothes, which they put on at the beginning of the day, and invite lonely people to Christmas dinner. But in some places superstitions associated with the holiday were also widespread: they did not drink plain water at breakfast, since it was believed that a person who drank water on Christmas morning would be thirsty for the whole summer.
DON'T DOES AT CHRISTMAS:
On fear of all sorts of troubles on Christmas, it was impossible to bend, weave or sew anything. The legs of the dining table were tied to each other with a rope so that the cattle would not run away from the herd. The remnants of the evening meal were carried outside the fence - "so that the wolves do not harm the peasant cattle."
A popular proverb says: Whoever slaughters the cattle on Christmas will die in three years.
On Christmas Eve, on Christmas Eve, you cannot lend anything that is associated with fire, for example, a flint, matches, a lighter, a bucket of coal or wood, etc., otherwise you will be in misfortune.
Never sew, wash your hair, do your laundry or lend on the three-day holy holidays (Christmas, Easter and Trinity), otherwise you will make yourself tears and poverty.
On the eve of Christmas, bread, salt and money are not borrowed from the house, otherwise all good will go past your hands. Do not cut hair or spin wool. Do not wash or boil laundry. Believers have to finish all the dirty work by this day on Maundy Thursday, and whoever “pulls” the dirt on Christmas Eve will sit in it for the whole year.
You cannot sit at the Christmas table in mourning, that is, in black clothes - you will bring trouble.
If on this bright day a dog calls in your yard, then there will be trouble. To get rid of it, you need to immediately go up to the dog, untie it and say: “As the rope doesn’t hold you, so the trouble would not hold on to my house!”.
Do not buy ropes on January 8, on the second day of Christmas, so that there will never be anyone hanged or strangled in your family. Do not cook or eat jelly that day, so as not to invite the deceased into the house.
On the ninth of January, the third day of Christmas, never chop wood before sunset.
Things to do for Christmas:
According to popular belief, for your loved ones to be happy and healthy for a whole year, on the feast of Christmas on January 7, ask the oldest family member to treat all relatives with milk. When offering milk to someone, he must say every time: “The Lord was born, the people were baptized. Be cheerful and healthy. Amen".
On the eve of Christmas, in the old days, they took out and left food for people in need or distributed refreshments - it was believed that in this way all the deceased ancestors, who did not have time to eat before their death, satisfied their hunger. The food after the festive feast was not removed from the table, so that the souls of dead relatives would also have a bite of festive food, and for this they will pray for you.
In a family where there is no peace and harmony, on Christmas night they put a bucket out in the cold, and in the morning they put it on the fire and say: “The ice will melt, the water will boil, but [such and such] will have a heartache for me.” This water is given to the husband to wash or in the form of tea / soup, and the husband's linen is also washed in it. Holy Christmas water always helps a woman's trouble.
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Ask God before Christmas for what you really need. Ask seventy-seven times and it will be given to you. Whoever asks God for something on Christmas at three o'clock in the morning will be given it.
If you look out for a flying star in the sky on Christmas night and make a wish, then it will definitely come true.
On January 7, in frosty weather, jump out into the street light and, as soon as goosebumps appear on your body, say: "There are a lot of pimples on my skin, so that I have so much money too."
Signs for Christmas:
♦ If a drunk person is the first to come to your house, the whole coming year will be in noise and quarrels. If a woman crosses your threshold first, then this is gossip and failure. If a man or a boy - to well-being. If an old man or an old woman - to a long life. If a bird knocks on your window - to amazing news. If a beggar or beggar comes to you - to loss and need. If several people appear at once - to a rich life.
♦ If a man comes to your house on Christmas morning, wear plain clothes that day, if a woman - a colored dress, so that the whole year will pass safely.
♦ When the family sits down at the table around Christmas and when the first star appears, they begin to sup, then an unmarried girl or an unmarried guy from this family, having taken the first non-lean piece in her mouth, should hold it on her tongue and not swallow it until she goes out on the street accidentally will not hear any name from people passing by. It was believed that the groom or the bride would have the same name. People say that this omen has come true more than once.
♦ Cucumbers will be strong and crunchy if you pickle them on the day of the week that was Christmas this year. For this purpose, a good housewife keeps the salt taken on Maundy Thursday in a secluded place.
♦ It is a good, kind omen if during a Christmas feast a domestic cat sits under the table - this means that this year none of those sitting at the table will die.
♦ If two people come to your house on Christmas morning, there will be no death, divorce and separation in your house during the year.
♦ If someone spills or breaks something in your house that day, then the whole year will be turbulent for your family.
♦ If a person who goes to church at Christmas stumbles, then in twelve years, day after day, he will fall ill. To prevent this from happening, you need to immediately say: "Not to the devil, but to God I am going, He will save me."
♦ Be sure to visit your godfathers and parents on January 9th.
♦ A child who takes his first steps on January 10 on his own will be healthy, beautiful and live a long life.
♦ If a sick person sneezes loudly on the third day of Christmas, they will soon recover and live a long time to come. If a person who is seriously ill starts talking about pancakes or horses on this day, then he will soon leave for another world.
♦ On January 10th, do not put on the dough or dough.
♦ On January 11, do not give your husband a towel, otherwise he will open his hands.
♦ After someone knocks on your door or rings the bell on January 11, do not open it immediately. Wait until they knock or call a second time, otherwise you will invite illness into the house.
♦ If Christmas falls on a Monday, many men will die that year. If Christmas coincides with Tuesday, an even number of guests are called to the table so as not to invite poverty into the house. If the Nativity of Christ falls on a Saturday, then this year many old people will die before they reach the next Christmas.
Nativity- a holiday that is celebrated by all Christians, but at different times. The holiday is dedicated to the gospel tradition of the birth Jesus christ virgin Mary in the city of Bethlehem. Catholics, Protestants, as well as some Orthodox churches celebrate the holiday in a European way - December 25... The eve of the holiday - December 24- it Christmas eve.
Thus, the New Year in Western countries is celebrated after Christmas.
However, there are churches that adhere to the so-called old style - the Julian calendar (Orthodox churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church - ROC, Athonite monasteries, as well as some Catholic and Protestant communities). For them Nativity comes later - Jan. 7, respectively, Christmas Eve and the end of the Orthodox Nativity Fast falls on January 6 evening... Thus, a stormy New Year's Eve for believers (including in Russia) falls on the strict time of fasting. However, there is also a tradition after Christmas to celebrate the so-called Old New Year but this unofficial holiday is completely secular.
So, December 24-25 comes western christmas, which is sometimes called Catholic for simplicity, and 6-7 the holiday is celebrated Orthodox, including in Russia, where it is a day off.
Why is Christmas celebrated twice
Dad Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582, which replaced the previous one - the Julian one, introduced even Julius Caesar, and in which leap years were not taken into account, due to which the backlog accumulated. Gradually, most countries switched to the Gregorian calendar with some adjustments, the transition process was completed only in the XX century.
The Russian Empire came to the 1917 revolution with the old calendar, and the Soviet government immediately corrected it. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in our country by decree of January 26, 1918. The ROC did not recognize the transition and remained faithful to the "old style", although in 1923 a significant part of the Orthodox churches adopted the so-called New Julian calendar, which currently coincides with the Gregorian one. Thus, most Orthodox confessions also began to celebrate Christmas on December 24-25 (for example, attempts to introduce the celebration of Orthodox Christmas together with Europe are being made in Ukraine).
Only the Russian, Jerusalem, Georgian and Serbian Orthodox churches, as well as the monasteries of Athos, remain faithful to the old style today. In Russia, it is customary to celebrate Christmas in accordance with the church calendar, that is, January 6-7.
How Christmas is celebrated in Europe and in Russia
The decision to celebrate the Nativity of Christ on December 24-25 was made in Europe in the 5th century, at the Third Ecumenical Council. In Russia, Christmas began to be celebrated after the adoption of Christianity, from about the 10th century.
Note: Christmas falls on a time, also at this time the Jewish holiday is celebrated, when it is customary to light the fires (this tradition exists in Christianity as well).
In anticipation of, which in the Western tradition is considered the most important and certainly the most beloved church holiday, Christmas markets begin to work throughout Europe, this is a time of joy and entertainment. Among the attributes of the holiday are candles, vertices, garlands, Christmas trees, as well as nativity scenes: compositions representing the events of Christmas, as interpreted by the Gospel.
At Christmas, it is customary to sing carols (this tradition exists in Russia as well) - to walk the streets and houses with festive chants, receiving treats and money as a reward.
For Catholics, the pre-Christmas time is called Advent, it does not imply strict restrictions on food, but provides for prayers, charity and spiritual cleansing.
In Russia, there is a time of strict restrictions on food for pre-holiday cleansing: dairy and meat, as well as eggs are prohibited. In addition, in Russia, fasting provided for the prohibition of all entertainment, up to the onset of Christmas.
Gifts for Catholic Christmas are known to bring Santa Claus, whose prototype is St Nicholas, who, according to legend, generously endowed the poor and children. In Russia, its analogue is Father Frost, from which in Soviet times they tried to expel religious content.
Christmas divination
In Russia, Christmas Eve before Christmas was considered one of the most suitable times for various fortune-telling, although the church not only does not approve of this custom, but also explicitly prohibits it. Mostly at this time, girls are wondering about marriage and a happy life.
Federal news agency reminiscent of Christmas girlish fortune-telling. Fortune-telling on objects - what you blindly pull out of the bag is waiting (a ring - to marriage, a coin - to wealth, a handkerchief - to tears, and so on). Fortune telling on mirrors - you need to try to see the image of the betrothed in the mirror by candlelight at night. On the shoe - a girl dreaming of marriage, threw a boot from the door: where the sock would be turned, the betrothed would come from there. FAN will tell you more about Christmas and Yuletide fortune-telling on the eve of Orthodox Christmas.
"Nativity scene in the temple" (photo by Maria Kornilova)
In Russia, the Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar, and therefore Christmas this year is celebrated on the night of Monday 6 January 2020 to Tuesday 7 January 2020. The evening before Christmas is called Christmas Eve, begins at the same time as the first star rises and marks the end of the Christmas fast 2019-2020.
Christmas is one of the most beloved holidays in our country, which is celebrated not only as an Orthodox celebration, but also as a social event.
Although Christmas is not officially included in the list of public holidays, this day has a special status - the holiday is a public holiday. The law on the transfer of days off does not apply to this holiday, however, in Russia, Christmas is included in the traditional New Year holidays from January 1 to January 10 (9).
Christmas is a holiday with a long history, but it was not always celebrated at the time we are accustomed to. Until 1918, Russia celebrated together with most of the countries of Europe on December 25, a week before the New Year. With the transition to modern chronology, the holiday began to be celebrated in January. Due to the fact that the Gregorian calendar in our country was adopted much later than in other countries, a gap of 14 days was formed in the celebration.
history of the holiday
In the Orthodox tradition, Christmas is one of the twelve holidays, literally topping this list. Although in Catholicism, this holiday is considered the most important in the religious calendar.
Nativity of Christ is a holiday in memory of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the coming Savior of all mankind. The story of the biblical event is detailed in the Gospel.
It began with the decree of Caesar to conduct a population census. Joseph, the husband of Mary, the future Mother of Christ, was from Bethlehem, and went home with his wife. Arrived in the city, he could not find a place to sleep, and was forced to hide from the night cold in a stable where the sheep were housed.
Here the immaculate Virgin Mary gave birth to a Son, and Joseph put the newborn baby in a manger on fresh straw. The shepherds were the first to greet the new Tsar, followed by the Magi. The Magi or Eastern sages set off in search of the Savior, following the star, today called Bethlehem. The star lit up exactly nine months before Christmas, at the moment of the Immaculate Conception, when the Angel brought the good news to the Virgin Mary - today this holiday is called the Annunciation.
History of Christmas in Russia
In Russia, the holiday of Christmas became an official celebration with the baptism of Prince Vladimir at the end of the 10th century and was celebrated on December 25. Starting from the day of Christmas and up to Maslenitsa, it was customary to conclude labor and financial contracts for a year. At the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, a nativity scene entered Russia from Poland: at Christmas, in a special nativity scene, with the help of puppets, scenes were played out about the birth of Jesus Christ in a cave where he was sheltered from Tsar Herod. Later, other subjects appeared. This tradition lasted until the October Revolution of 1917. By the end of the 19th century, a decorated Christmas tree became an indispensable attribute of Christmas both in the city and in the village, and from the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian analogue of Western Santa Claus, Father Frost, began to wear gifts.
In the 1920s, religious holidays were eradicated by the atheist state. The Christmas tree and related celebrations have gradually lost their meaning. However, in the annual Russian calendars up to 1929, church dates, including Christmas, were marked in different years either as holidays or as days of rest, that is, they were non-working days. Christmas days in the calendars of 1919-1923 are marked on January 7 and 8 (due to the country's transition to the Gregorian calendar in 1918), and 1924-1929 - on December 25 and 26.
Since 1929, it was forbidden to celebrate the Nativity of Christ in Soviet Russia. With this prohibition, the Christmas tree was also canceled, which became known as the "priest's" custom. According to the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated 09.24.1929 "On working hours and rest time in enterprises and institutions that are switching to a continuous production week": "On New Year's Day and on all religious holidays (former special days of rest), work is done on a general basis.".
In 1935, as a result of an unexpected turn in government policy, Christmas traditions were adopted as part of the secular New Year celebration on January 1. Since then, the "Christmas tree" in modern Russia has been steadily perceived as a "New Year". Gifts, visits to Santa Claus have also become part of New Year's traditions and have lost the original Christmas associations. In 1937, at the New Year's Eve in the Moscow House of Unions, the Snow Maiden, a Russian fairy-tale character no longer associated with the Christmas holiday, first appeared as a companion and granddaughter of Santa Claus. The holiday of Christmas itself was celebrated on January 7, in accordance with the Orthodox calendar.
The tradition of officially celebrating Christmas at the state level was revived in 1991: in December 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted a resolution declaring the Orthodox Christmas holiday a non-working day. Already on January 7, 1991 it was inoperative. However, in some republics of the RSFSR, for example, the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, this decree was ignored, and state institutions worked that day. Nowadays, Christmas is part of a general “New Years Eve” that starts on New Year's Eve (or the day before) and continues until Christmas.
Christmas traditions
Waiting for the holiday. Photo of Tagaeva Ekaterina The very holiday of the Nativity of Christ begins with anticipation. And the main thing in this expectation is the fast, which lasts from November 28 to January 6. Fasting prepares the spirit and body for the perception of the very event of the Nativity of Christ, for participation in it. The Church understands how important it is to wait for the holiday. Just as the wise men, the Eastern sages, went to Bethlehem and expected to see the born Christ, prepared for this meeting, brought him gifts, so we, while fasting, complete the spiritual path and bring our spiritual gifts to the Lord. This is the expectation of the holiday. And there is also an approaching holiday. The approximation lies in the fact that on the eve of January 6th, Christmas Eve is celebrated, a very strict fasting day, when sychivo is prepared - a dish of wheat and honey. On this day, they do not eat until the first star appears in the sky in remembrance of the Star of Bethlehem, which showed the Magi the way to the birthplace of the Savior. Christmas Eve is in preparation - people are preparing for confession and Communion, in order to receive communion either on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, or on Christmas Eve itself, and prepare a Christmas meal. This is how our attitude is to meet the born Christ, to collect the whole person. And with real preparation, both spirit and body participate in the celebration.
Photo by Natalia Vakina Realizing how important it is for us, people, the outer side of events, the Church prepares us for the holiday and special Christmas traditions. An evergreen Christmas tree is placed in homes - a symbol of eternal life, which Christ has given us.
The star with which we crown our trees reminds of the Star of Bethlehem that was lit when Jesus was born, the star that led the Magi to the Infant God, showed them the way.
On Christmas Eve, on Christmas Eve, it is customary to put a burning candle on the windows. There is also a deep meaning here. A candle is a symbol of the human soul that burns before God. Burns and illuminates the way for others. A lighted candle in the window before Christmas shows that we are waiting for Christ in this house. Because the most important purpose of the feast of the Nativity of Christ is for our hearts to become those Bethlehem manger in which Christ was born. And the meaning of our celebration is in the birth of Christ in our heart.
And, finally, when we give gifts for Christmas, we become like the wise men - the Eastern sages who brought their gifts to the Infant God: gold, incense and myrrh. These gifts from the Magi were also deeply symbolic: gold, like the Tsar, incense, like God and myrrh, a fragrant ointment used at burial, like a mortal man.
One of the main signs of the holiday is the Christmas tree. It is she, the fluffy green beauty, who stands in every house, every apartment. Not only children, but also adults dress it up with pleasure - glossy sides of balls, soft rustling of tinsel, sparkling lights of garlands ... The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree was brought to Russia by Alexandra Fedorovna, the wife of Nicholas I. The first Christmas tree appeared in the empire at the end of 1817, on the eve of Christmas - the Grand Duchess ordered to install a Christmas tree in the private chambers for her children. By the way, even the most New Year's song about a Christmas tree - remember, “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” - was written just in time for Christmas.
Festive table for Christmas
Celebrating Christmas in Russia begins on January 6th with the rising of the first star, when the whole family sits down at the table with a festive dinner. But on this evening, you can only consume lean dishes, of which there should be exactly twelve on the table, including juicy.
But the next morning, when it will be the 7th and real Christmas comes, you can eat everything that was banned throughout the entire period of the Nativity Fast. In particular, meat dishes such as:
- aspic
- homemade baked sausage
- roast
- boiled pork
- pate
- cabbage rolls with meat
- blood sausage
Especially popular were sweet yeast pastries (pies), in the preparation of which a secret was hidden. They put a coin in one of the pies and whoever finds it will have money all year round. Therefore, none of the family members seemed to be from the opportunity to taste sweets.
Traditionally, on the eve of the holiday, hay was laid under the tablecloth as a reminder that the Savior of the world was born not in the royal chambers, but in an inn in a stable in a sheep's manger.
Folk traditions of celebration
In some localities, the ancient custom of caroling is still preserved to our time, when mummers on the night of Christmas carry kutya to their homes, asking the owners to taste it, or simply sing praises to Christ or carols, wishes, and in return they usually receive all kinds of food (in the past), money or candy (now). The most famous literary work that describes this Slavic rite is "The Night before Christmas" by N. V. Gogol. The law in force in the Russian Empire forbade "on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and during the Christmas time to start, according to old idolatrous legends, games and, dressing up in idol clothes, dance and sing seductive songs on the streets."
Christmas is the beginning of Christmas time, the days of the glorification of Christ. Christmastide continues until the day of Epiphany (January 19). For unchurched people, this period was considered the most effective for performing a variety of fortune-telling. At this time, hunting for animals and birds was completely prohibited. A widespread Christmas custom in the villages was building in the courtyard and then burning a straw stack. At the same time, all the relatives stood around in awe-inspiring silence until the straw was completely consumed. According to legend, deceased ancestors at these moments come to warm themselves by the fire lit by their descendants, and can contribute to fertility.
In the past, among Russian farmers it was considered a bad omen if on Christmas day a woman was the first to enter the house from among strangers; it was believed that in this house the female half of the family would be sick all year. By Christmas, the owners always cleaned the hut, washed in the bathhouse, laid a clean tablecloth, saved up new clothes, which they put on at the beginning of the day, since they believed that the future harvest depended on this. At breakfast, they were not allowed to drink plain water, as it was believed that a person who drank water on Christmas morning would be thirsty for the whole summer. Fearing all sorts of troubles and misfortunes, they did not bend anything, did not weave, did not sew on Christmas. The legs of the dining table were tied to each other with a rope so that the cattle would not run away from the herd. In the afternoon, after the morning divine service, the priests went around the houses of the parishioners and performed the "glorification" of God (christianized).
It was customary to invite familiar lonely people, lonely travelers to Christmas dinner. The remnants of the evening meal were carried outside the fence so that the wolves, "having tasted and learned human kindness," would not harm the peasant cattle.
Traditional Russian dishes
The main and obligatory on the Christmas table in old Russia were a variety of pork dishes: fried pig, stuffed pork head, fried meat in chunks, veal or pork jelly, jellied fish. Many other meat dishes were also served on the Christmas table: a goose with apples, a hare in sour cream, game, lamb, whole fish, etc. oven, which made it possible to successfully cook large-sized products.
Finely chopped meat and offal were cooked in pots along with traditional semi-liquid porridge. An indispensable dish at Christmas, as well as on other holidays, was pies: closed and open, cheesecakes, rolls, pies, koloboks, kulebyaki, chicken pies, boats, saichki, pies, shangi. Cooked casseroles, pancakes. There were many fillings, for every taste (herbal, vegetable, fruit, mushroom, meat, fish, curd, mixed).
Preparing for Christmas. Photos of Lekos Arina The sweet food served on the Russian Christmas table was not varied. These are berries, fruits, candy, gingerbread, brushwood, cookies, honey. They drank broths (compotes and sweet soups, sbiten), jelly, and from the beginning of the 18th century - Chinese tea.
Modern traditions of celebration
Secular
Unlike Western European countries and the United States, Christmas in modern Russia is mainly a religious holiday and has no established generally accepted secular traditions, for the vast majority it is a day off, which everyone can use at their discretion. The traditions of celebrating Christmas that previously existed in Russia and the USSR, after the exclusion of the holiday from the official calendar in 1929, were transferred to the celebration of the New Year, which remained after the restoration of Christmas as a public holiday in 1991.
Religious
On Christmas Eve (on the night of January 6-7), the festive Liturgy is broadcast on federal TV channels (after the restoration of the temple - from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior). Some Orthodox believers at this time stand services directly in the church.
Patriarchal service on the feast of the Nativity of Christ. Great Vespers at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior Photo of priest Igor Palkin
Christmas is considered the second most important holiday in the Orthodox Church after Easter. The holiday is preceded by the many-day Christmas, or Philip Lent, which lasts from November 28 to January 6.
What you need to do on Christmas Eve to properly celebrate Christmas
On this day, the Orthodox attend divine services in the Temples, then the hostesses clean up the apartments and cook. Divine services, communion and confession are indispensable "attributes", shall we say, of a holiday for the Orthodox. The clergy say that if a person has not been in the Temple and has not defended the prescribed services, then there is practically no sense in strict fasting and "12 dishes".
When laying the table, strive to decorate it beautifully - in the center there must certainly be a composition of fir branches and candles, place a few straws under the tablecloth - they symbolize the manger where the Savior was after birth.
https://sgastronomy.ru/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/3sochivo_altkrupa.ru_-1024Ч683.jpg 1. There should be 12 lean dishes on the table(according to the number of apostles) - one of them is sympathetic.
2. All 12 dishes must be tasted, you cannot leave at least one intact. You should start and end your meal with so much juice - you need to eat at least three spoons so that prosperity flourishes in your house for the next year, and your family is healthy and happy.
3. Before Christmas, the table is not cleaned, like all food. standing on it.
4. All household members must wear new clothes..
5. The decorated Christmas tree should be crowned by the Star of Bethlehem, announcing the birth of the Savior.
6. You can not swear, quarrel with loved ones, be offended, greedy and be away from your loved ones- according to legend, if you meet Christmas alone, you will "wander" the whole year.
What can and cannot be done on Christmas?
At Christmas, it is imperative to go to church and endure the entire morning service. One should greet this day with the words: “Christ was born” - “Glorify him”!
On this day, you need to sing, walk and have fun, glorifying the Savior of the world Jesus Christ. But before you go out to celebrate outside your home, the first step is to sit down at the table with your family.
In the flesh, until the beginning of the twentieth century, it was not customary in Russia to celebrate the New Year in the form in which we celebrate it now. The main winter celebration was considered the Nativity of Christ - a holiday that came along with the Orthodox religion and was dedicated to the birth of the Savior. Russian Christmas is somewhat different from European in its traditions and date of celebration. Why is Russian Christmas celebrated on January 7, and European Christmas on December 25?
history of the holiday
In ancient Rome, it was customary to honor the god Saturn on the first day of the year. This was due to the solar cycle - the longest night of the year was left behind, and the day began to grow. The Romans believed that this was the merit of Saturn and praised him. This holiday fell on December 25 according to the Julian calendar.
With the advent of Christianity, many popular pagan holidays were adapted to the new religion so as not to displease the people. Saturnalia was no exception. With the light hand of the new clergy, at the beginning of the tenth century in Rome, this holiday was renamed Christmas. At the same time, a lot of pagan remains in the ritual part of the holiday. Which, in fact, helped to maintain the cheerful atmosphere that people liked so much.
The fact is that the Bible does not indicate the exact date when Christ was born, but a comparison of certain facts gives the priests reason to believe that this could well have happened on the first day of the year. But the celebration stuck, because the priests were able to draw parallels between the sun, which was honored by the pagans, and the solar image of Christ the Savior, whom the New Testament calls "the Sun of righteousness."
Since Christianity quickly spread across the continent, by 1100 the birth of Christ was celebrated as the main holiday in all of Europe.
In the Orthodox world, Christmas has also become one of the main public holidays. It is believed that they began to celebrate it in the tenth century after the Kiev prince Vladimir baptized Russia. As in Europe, this holiday was celebrated on December 25th.
So why is Christmas celebrated on January 7th? 
It's all about the calendar. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII translated Rome into a more accurate calendar. In subsequent years, most of the world's countries switched to the same time frame as the Romans.
But the Russian patriarch Jeremiah II decided that Russia would go its own way and did not need a new calendar. Thus, at the time of the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, the difference in dates between Russia and Rome was ten days, and by the twentieth century it had grown to fourteen.
The Bolsheviks, having come to power, introduced the Gregorian calendar, but the ROC remained adamant in its convictions. Therefore, Orthodox Christmas is celebrated two weeks later than Catholic - January 7th.
Russian Christmas traditions 
Lent still lasted on Christmas Eve, so no feasts were organized on that day. But with the onset of Christmastide, mass festivities began.
The main tradition of celebrating Russian Christmas is the glorification of Jesus. It took place not only during church services. It was customary for young people to gather in companies and go from house to house, singing songs glorifying God's son. In addition, songs were sung in which they wished the owners of the house well, health, prosperity and other benefits. It was customary to encourage young people for singing songs with abundant treats. It was not customary to refuse treats to the Slavs, so the performers of the songs went with big bags to collect "thanks".
Since the sixteenth century, the tradition has come from Poland to arrange a nativity scene at Christmas. It was most often a puppet show, and later an acting theater, which invariably depicted the plot of the birth of Christ. According to tradition, icons of the Mother of God and the baby were "played", but the magi and other characters were dolls or people.
The tradition of decorating spruce came to Russia from Germany. This custom was introduced in 1699 by Peter the Great. True, his decree contained an order to decorate houses with branches of conifers. Spruce in Russia began to dress up directly from the middle of the nineteenth century. During the war with Germany in 1916, the ROC banned decorating Christmas trees, since it was an enemy tradition. The Bolsheviks did not lift this ban until 1935, when the custom of decorating a Christmas tree returned as New Year's.
Christmas table 
With the end of Lent, the hunting season began, and livestock could be slaughtered. Therefore, the Christmas table in Russia was traditionally full of meat dishes. Its indispensable attribute was homemade sausages, aspic, lamb side with porridge, baked pig, chicken or stuffed goose. Many closed pies stuffed with meat, hornbeams or cabbage were also prepared. Pancakes were baked.
But this is directly for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, the fast was still going on, so only dietary meals could be found on the table. It was believed that meatless dishes should be 12 months in a year in order to live in goodness for the next year.
The indispensable attributes of Christmas Eve are the brew and kutia ... A broth is a drink made from dried fruits. Kutia is a lean porridge made from wheat, honey and poppy seeds. Sometimes nuts or raisins are added to kutya. But the first three components are unchanged because they carry a symbolic meaning. Wheat symbolizes life. Honey - well-being and satiety. Poppy - prosperity and wealth. It is believed that the tastier the kutia, the more successful the year will be for the family.
In addition to kutya and boiled food, the menu on Christmas Eve could include boiled peas, cabbage rolls, cabbage, lean pies, pancakes, lean borscht, fried or salted fish, dumplings with cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms or fruits, and porridge.
There were also special rituals in the decoration of the table. So a prerequisite for serving was to lay some straw under the tablecloth. This symbolized the manger in which Mary put God's son after birth. Under the table, however, it was necessary to hide some kind of iron thing. It was believed that all guests of the feast were obliged to touch it so that the year would pass in health.
An even number of people were supposed to sit at the table. If this did not work out, then another device had to be put on the table.
Presents
We used to exchange gifts right at the table. It was customary to do this after all the guests had tasted the main course.
Gave home utensils, sweets or small souvenirs for Christmas. Expensive presents were out of place on this day.
With the onset of Christmas, Christmastide begins - a period when you need to offer praise to the Lord and celebrate the birth of the Savior. They last until Epiphany. On Christmastide it is customary to visit, walk and have fun. In pagan times, this time was considered the best for fortune-telling and predictions, but the Orthodox Church does not approve of these actions.
Regardless of whether you want to celebrate Christmas according to all the canons or not, we wish you to meet this holiday in a warm family circle.
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Once the chairman of the Writers' Union, Alexander Fadeev, was informed that some old woman had come, asked her to be received, said that she was writing poetry. Fadeev ordered to let her in. Entering the office, the visitor sat down, put the knapsack in her hands on her knees, and said: “It's hard life, Alexander Alexandrovich, help me somehow.” Fadeev, not knowing what to do, said:
Do you really write poetry?
- I wrote, printed once.
- Well, well, - he said to end this meeting, - read me one of your poems.
She looked at him gratefully and began to read in a weak voice:
The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree.
She grew up in the forest.
Slender in winter and summer,
The green one was ...
So you wrote that? - exclaimed amazed Fadeev. By his order, the visitor was immediately registered with the Writers' Union and provided her with all kinds of assistance.
Raisa Adamovna Kudasheva (that was the name of the old woman) lived a long life (1878-1964). Born Princess Gidroyc (Lithuanian princely family), in her youth she served as a governess for Prince Kudashev, and later married him. She worked as a teacher, and in Soviet times - a librarian. In her youth, she was published mainly in children's magazines.
Kudasheva treated fame with amazing indifference and for many years hid under various initials and pseudonyms. She explained it this way: “I didn’t want to be famous, but I couldn’t not write either.” In 1899, the magazine "Russian Thought" published Kudasheva's story "Leri", which remained her only work for adults. The story tells about the adolescence and youth of a girl from a noble family, her first great love for a brilliant officer. In total, Raisa Kudasheva published about 200 songs and stories, fairy tales and books of poetry.
In 1903, she wrote the Christmas poem "Yolka":
Shaggy branches bend
Down to the heads of children;
The rich beads shine
Overflow of lights;
Ball after ball is hiding
And star by star
Light threads roll
Like golden rain ...
Play, have fun
The kids are here
And you, spruce-beauty,
They sing their song.
Everything rings, grows,
Children's choir voices,
And, sparkling, sways
Christmas trees lush dress. ***
A Christmas tree was born in the forest, it grew in the forest,
In winter and summer she was slender, she was green!
A blizzard sang her songs: "Sleep, tree ... buy-bye!"
Frost wrapped up in snow: look, don't freeze!
The little gray coward bunny was jumping under the Christmas tree,
Sometimes the wolf himself, the angry wolf, ran at a trot.
More fun and friendlier
Sing, kids!
The tree will bow quickly
Your twigs.
The nuts shine in them
Gilded ...
Who is not happy for you here,
Green spruce? ***
Chu! Snow in the forest often creaks under the runner,
The fur-legged horse is in a hurry, running.
The horse is carrying the woods, and there is a peasant in the woods.
He cut down our tree to the very spine ...
And here you are, smartly dressed, you came to us for a holiday,
And she brought a lot, a lot of joy to the kids.
More fun and friendlier
Sing, kids!
The tree will bow quickly
Your twigs.
Choose yourself
What will you like ...
Ay, thank you
Spruce is a beauty!
These verses are signed "A.E." were published in the Christmas issue of Malyutka magazine. As you can see, they represented something like a script for a Christmas game. Children are encouraged to sing "more cheerful and friendly" in order to earn gifts and treats hanging on the tree. But the "voices of the children's choir" based on her poems were heard only a few years later.
In 1905, Kudashev's Yolka caught the eye of the agronomist and passionate music lover Leonid Karlovich Beckman (1872-1939). He was a Baltic German, a hereditary nobleman with outstanding musical abilities. In the student choir of the university, he sang the part of the future outstanding singer Sobinov, when for some reason he could not perform. Shortly before the events described, in February 1903, L. Beckman married Elena Shcherbina, the adopted daughter of E.N. Shcherbina (director of the Slavyansky Bazar Hotel), a talented pianist who graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal four years earlier, later Honored Artist of Russia, professor of the Moscow Conservatory. Her professional skill was such that for the sake of a joke she could lie with her stomach on the lid of the instrument and play upside down.
L. Beckman with his family
The song was born on October 17, 1905 - the day the tsar signed the historical manifesto that transformed the state foundations of the Russian Empire.
According to the recollections of Elena Bekman-Shcherbina, it was like this: “On October 17, 1905, my eldest daughter Vera was two years old, and in the morning I gave her a living doll - my sister Olya, who was born at half past midnight, that is, also on October 17. Vera was delighted. While I was still in bed, Leonid somehow sat down at the piano, put Verik on his knees and composed a song for her based on a poem from the children's magazine "Baby" - "A Christmas tree was born in the forest, she grew up in the forest ..." Vera, who had excellent hearing , quickly learned it, and I, in order not to forget the song, wrote it down. Subsequently, we both began to compose other songs for children. This is how the collection "Verochkin's Songs" appeared, which survived four editions in a short period of time, and then - "The Singing Olenka".
Later, music critics found that Beckman's music was not entirely original. The melody "Yolki" echoes the song "Nu tändas tusen juleljus" (1898) by the Swedish poet and composer Emmy Köhler:
And with a German student song of the early 19th century "Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus":
Nevertheless, Rachmaninov, Taneev, Scriabin spoke approvingly of Yolka. After that, the new song began to gain more and more widespread recognition, although Kudasheva did not even know about it for many years.
In 1933, when the New Year was officially celebrated in the USSR for the first time, designed to supplant the Christmas holidays, the song of Kudasheva-Beckman sounded under every tree again. Kudasheva's text turned out to be ideologically sterile, and therefore acceptable - this Christmas song never mentions Christmas!
Why do men prefer blondes or the evolution of the ideal of female beauty?
8 chose
Christmas is celebrated in Russia today, while in many other countries it was already successfully celebrated two weeks ago. And in what other countries is Christmas celebrated on January 7? We will learn about this from our trip.
It is generally accepted that December 25 is Catholic Christmas, and January 7 is Orthodox. But this is not entirely true, in many Orthodox countries this holiday is celebrated on December 25, for example, in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. The date depends on which calendar the church uses. If the church has not switched to the Gregorian calendar from the Julian calendar, it celebrates Christmas on December 25 "old style". In modern chronology, this corresponds to January 7th. This situation has developed in the Serbian, Jerusalem, Georgian and Russian churches as well as on Mount Athos.
Serbia
Let's take a look at Christmas in Serbia. Orthodox Serbs celebrate this holiday in accordance with ancient traditions.
On Christmas Eve, January 6th, they procure or buy a Christmas bouquet called a badnyak. It consists of oak twigs with yellow leaves preserved from autumn and a bunch of straw. After the services, the parishioners make fires near the churches, and each burns his own badnyak. They remember the Bethlehem shepherds who lit a fire to warm the newborn Jesus in the cave.... It is believed that problems, diseases and sorrows disappear along with the oak brushwood in the fire. A the more sparkles a Christmas bouquet gives, the more happiness awaits its owner in the new year.
For Christmas dinner, men cook a pig on a skewer, while women bake pies. Special Christmas rolls are made from leavened dough. For men, they are made in the form of balls, for women - in the form of braids.
Israel
Of course, it would be interesting to celebrate the Nativity of Christ, so to speak, in the immediate vicinity of the place of events, in the Holy Land. However, it is easier and safer to visit Israel virtually.
Although the Jerusalem Church celebrates Christmas on January 7, the regulation obliges to celebrate it with all Christians. So the festivities begin in Bethlehem in mid-December. There you can visit the Basilica of the Nativity of Christ and the dark cave - the birthplace of Jesus. A solemn service is held there at Christmas midnight.
Georgia
In Georgian churches, as in Russia, a solemn service is held on the night of January 6-7. After him all over the country there are grandiose festive processions with "Alilo" chants.
The main goal of the procession is charity. Participants, like the Biblical Magi, carry gifts with them. After the procession, these gifts will be given to orphanages.
