Christmas: how to celebrate, Christmas table and folk traditions. One holiday, but two dates: why do Catholics and Orthodox celebrate Christmas on different days? Dos and Don'ts at Christmas

Christmas in 2021 is celebrated on January 7th. This is a public holiday, an official day off. It is customary to celebrate it in the family circle. In the Orthodox calendar, Christmas is one of the 12 main holidays of the annual liturgical circle.

The content of the article

history of the holiday

In the Christian church in the II-IV centuries, Christmas was celebrated on January 6. The holiday was called Epiphany and was associated with the Baptism of the Lord. In the 4th century, the celebration of Christmas was postponed to 25 December. After the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1918, the Orthodox Church began to celebrate it on January 7th.

During the Soviet period, the celebration of Christmas was prohibited. Customs spread only in a narrow circle of people. They were kept by the patriarchs and partly by the inhabitants of the countryside. Many adherents of religious practices were persecuted. The traditions of the Nativity of Christ began to revive only in the 90s of the twentieth century.

Christmas traditions and rituals

The Christmas period begins with the Great Forty Day Fast, which lasts from November 28 to January 6. At this time, it is customary to refrain from eating meat, read prayers and show mercy.

Christmas celebrations begin on the evening of January 6th. After the ascent of the first star in the sky, which symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem, people sit down at the solemn table. After the meal, believers go to churches for services: an all-night vigil and a Christmas liturgy. Services led by key clergymen are broadcast on national television.

In some regions, on the evening of January 6, godchildren wear a supper to their godparents - kutya. For this, the godparents give them sweets, money, toys.

In the countryside, the tradition of caroling on Christmas Eve has been preserved. Boys and girls dress up in folk costumes, walk around the courtyards and sing carols - ritual songs that glorify Christ, the owner of the house and contain wishes for fertility and health. The owners generously endow them with money and sweets. The main attribute of carols is a star. It is made of colored paper and ribbons; the image of the Mother of God is placed in the center.

Christmas dinner

On the evening of January 6, on Christmas Eve, the hostesses put 12 lenten dishes on the festive table, which symbolize the 12 apostles. The main dish is kutia, which is made from whole grains of rice or wheat. Honey, nuts, raisins, dried apricots, poppy seeds are added to it. Traditional Christmas dishes - baked fish, vegetable salads, stews, pickles, cabbage rolls with mushrooms, pies with vegetable and sweet fillings, rastyagai, pies, pies. The main drink on the festive table is an uzvar or compote of dried fruits and rose hips.

People who have been fasting for forty days start breaking their fast on the morning of January 7th. An abundance of meat dishes appears on the tables: baked goose or chicken, homemade sausages, cutlets, aspic. Wine is poured to the guests.

Christmas decorations

Christmas is preceded by the New Year, so already at the beginning of December, Christmas trees are set up in houses and on city squares and bright illumination flashes. On the eve of the holiday, churches are decorated with decorative compositions that reproduce the scene of the birth of Jesus Christ. Their main characters are: the baby in the manger, Joseph, Mary, the wise men, animals from the barn.

In some regions, hostesses pay special attention to the design of the festive table. They cover it with a new tablecloth. A bunch of hay is placed under it, which personifies the manger. At the corners of the table are coins and cloves of garlic, which symbolize health and well-being. In some houses, it is common to put an ax under the table. During dinner, all family members put their feet on it in order to have a healthy mind and body next year.

Divination for Christmas

The night of January 6-7 is the beginning of Christmas divination, which continues until January 19 (Epiphany). At this time, people are trying to predict their future, to find out if their wish will come true. Among unmarried girls, fortune-telling about the betrothed-mummer is common. The most popular predictions are from mirrors and a molten candle.

Dos and Don'ts at Christmas

At Christmas, women are not allowed to wash, sew, knit or clean the house. On January 7, you cannot quarrel, otherwise the whole year will pass in disagreements. Hunting is not permitted on this day. On this holiday, you cannot talk about bad things.

Signs and beliefs for Christmas

• If the weather is warm on January 7, the spring will be late and cold.
• If there are many stars in the sky on Christmas night, then the year will be fruitful.
• There should be 12 dishes on the Christmas table. Leave a clean plate and cutlery for deceased relatives at dinner.
• If the first guest in the house on the day of the coming Christmas is a woman, then next year the family will face misfortune.
• Finding something for Christmas - to prosperity and material well-being in the coming year, to lose - to losses.

Congratulations

Merry Christmas,
A bright holiday of Christ.
Let happiness enter your home,
Will become the lifeblood.

I wish the soul
Never impoverished.
Star of bethlehem
Illuminated your way!

Today is a bright holiday - the day of the Nativity of Christ,
The good news, like a bird, flew into the heavens.
I wish you pure happiness
Live an open soul and believe in miracles.

Let the star shine beautifully of your fate
And may your thoughts always be pure.
May the Nativity of Christ protect you
Let the heart be warmed by the fire of holy love.

What date is Christmas in 2022, 2023, 2024

2022	2023	2024
7 January Fri	7 January Sat	7 January Sun

A couple of years ago, on the eve of Christmas, French sociology students conducted a survey among their peers walking around Paris. The question was one: "What do we celebrate at Christmas?" The suggested answers might seem like a joke: it was "at Christmas celebrating the end of the Christmas sales" and "at Christmas they celebrate the arrival of" Père Noël "(" Father of Christmas ") with gifts", "Christmas is a celebration in honor of the installation of the Christmas tree" and " Christmas is like a rehearsal for the New Year "," Christmas is the beginning of the twelve-day winter holidays from December 25 to January 6 "and even" Christmas is a holiday associated with the release of a new Christmas comedy movie ". Only one answer mentioned God: "Christmas is the birthday of Christ."

Of course, the survey could be considered a student joke, if not for the frighteningly small number of respondents who remembered about Christ on this great holiday. Firmly believing that this is impossible among our youth, we nevertheless decided to briefly, concisely outline what the essence of the Christmas holiday is and how to properly spend it. Let's get started. Moreover, those who have long been falling under the +18 category can also read the text.

1. What do we celebrate on Christmas Day?

Incarnation. That is, the birth of God in the human race. Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Savior.

2. What is the difference between New Year and Christmas?

The two winter holidays and those standing next to each other in the calendar have completely different meanings. New Year is the beginning of a conditional period of time invented by people, the beginning of a new calendar year. By celebrating this day, we pay tribute to human institutions. This date is not so difficult to shift, which was done in 1918, when Lenin signed the "Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic." Celebrating the Nativity of Christ, we relive an event of a completely different significance - the birth of Jesus Christ. The coming of the Savior to our world is a turning point in the history of mankind.

But since the events underlying NG and RH are completely incomparable in significance, then the traditions that were entrenched in these holidays are also incomparable in their depth. The Soviet tradition of celebrating the New Year can be attributed only to the salad "Olivier", champagne, the permanent "Blue Light" and the Christmas tree that migrated here from Christmas. Orthodox Christmas traditions have deep roots and symbolism. About them later, first about the very birth of the Savior.

3. How did the birth of Jesus come about?

We remember that nine months before the birth of Christ, and, therefore, the Nativity of Christ, an event takes place called the "Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos", when the Archangel Gabriel brings the Good News to the Theotokos (hence the "Annunciation") that she will become the Mother of God : "Rejoice, Blessed One! The Lord is with You, blessed are You among women." Mary was embarrassed by these words, but the Angel continues: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace from God, you will give birth to a Son and call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the son of the Most High, and His Kingdom will have no end." The name Jesus means "Savior". Mary in bewilderment asks the Angel: "How will it be when I don't know my husband?" And the Angel answers: "The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You, and the one who is born will be called the Son of God." This is how the story of our salvation begins, the story of the coming of God into our world, the story of the Incarnation.

At that time, Judea was conquered by the Roman Empire and entered its eastern provinces. In order to streamline the taxation system, the sovereign emperor of the Roman Empire, Octavian Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD), decided to conduct a census of his eastern provinces. Moreover, the Jews must correspond according to their place of origin. Both the Elder Joseph, who became betrothed to Mary, who took care of her, and the Virgin Mary herself, were descendants of the famous biblical king David (died about 970 BC), who came from Bethlehem. The descendants of King David were deprived of the throne as early as the 6th century BC. e. and for a long time already lived the same way as the rest of the Jews, not being distinguished by anything among them. However, the prophets long before the Nativity of Christ announced that the Savior, the Messiah, would come from the dynasty of David, and that is why we focus on such an important fact. So, since the Virgin Mary and Joseph come from the family of King David, and their distant ancestor was a native of Bethlehem, the expecting child Mary, together with Joseph, had to make a long journey from the Galilean city of Nazareth, where they live, to Bethlehem - a city for them stranger. Census, how can you disobey the emperor's decree?

Due to the influx of people, there is no place for the Holy Family in Bethlehem hotels, and they stay outside the city, in a cave - here shepherds drive cattle in bad weather. In this cave at the Virgin Mary at night the Child is born - the Son of God, Christ the Savior of the world. Mary swaddles Her Son and puts him in the manger, where the livestock feed is usually placed. And animals with their breath warm the Divine Infant. As it is sung on these festive days in the temples, the manger became "the repository of the incompatible God." On the one hand, God, incompatible in His Greatness, but, at the same time, a helpless Infant. In this indissoluble unity of divine nature with human nature lies the secret of the Divine Incarnation. A mystery that we, people, are not given to know, but which we can feel - with our hearts.

4. How did the world know about the birth of the Savior, how did the world perceive it?

Bethlehem shepherds are the first to know about the birth of the Savior. On this night, they are grazing their flocks in the field, when suddenly the Angel of God appears before them: "Do not be afraid!" David's (ie, in Bethlehem) Savior! Here is a sign for you: you will find the Baby in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. "

But the shepherds were not the only ones who worshiped the Infant God. The Mother of God and Joseph, together with the Infant Jesus, still remained in Bethlehem, when the Magi - wise men and astrologers - came from the far east to Jerusalem. They, too, had long awaited the birth of the One who would become the Messiah - the Savior. In Jerusalem, strangely dressed newcomers from the East begin to ask: "Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star rise, and we came to worship Him!" Hearing this, the suspicious and cruel king of Judah Herod "was agitated, and with him all Jerusalem." From the connoisseurs of Scripture, the frightened Herod learns that the prophets foretold the birth of the King of the Jews, the Savior, in the lineage of David, in the city of Bethlehem. It does not even occur to the suspicious Herod that the kingdom of the newborn Ruler of Israel will be "not of this world," that we are talking not about the kingdom of earth, but about the kingdom of heaven. This is all too complicated for the cruel impostor Herod. And Herod, indeed, a monster - he ordered the execution of his wife and children only on the suspicion that they intend to deprive him of power.

So, having heard that a possible competitor had already been born, Herod summons the unaware Magi to himself, learns from them the time of the Messiah's birth and sends them to Bethlehem with an insidious task: "Go, carefully scout out about the Baby, and when you find it, notify me so that I too should go and worship Him. "

The Magi head to Bethlehem, and a new star shows them the way.

So, led by a star, the Magi go to Bethlehem. And the star stopped "over the place where the Child was. But when they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy, and entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary, His Mother, and, falling down, worshiped Him; and, opening their treasures, they brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. And, having received in a dream the revelation not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country in another way. and His Mother and flee to Egypt, and be there until I tell you, for Herod wants to seek the Child to destroy Him ... "

So, with homelessness and wandering, the life of Christ begins.

When the Savior was born, people reacted differently to this event. Some, like wise men, with a pure heart went to meet Him in order to rejoice. Others, like Herod, decided to destroy Him. There were also indifferent people who did not let the Mother of God into their house to spend the night. They didn't care, they were not capable of mercy, of compassion. With the tacit consent of such people, evil is committed. And those, and others, and still others are among us. And each of us every day faces a choice: with whom is he? Where is he? With Christ, or for Herod? Or maybe he just hid in his cozy little world and will not let someone else's misfortune and pain in there, and, therefore, will not let the Lord in either.

5. Traditions of celebrating the Nativity of Christ

First, 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. Just as the Magi 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 the day before, January 6, is the day of a very strict fast, when a sychivo is being prepared - a dish of wheat and honey. On this day, they do not eat "until the first star" in remembrance of the Star of Bethlehem, which showed the Magi the way to the birthplace of the Savior. Christmas Eve is being prepared - people are preparing for Confession and Communion, to receive Communion on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, preparing a Christmas meal.

Secondly, 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 crowned with our trees reminds of the Star of Bethlehem, which lit up when Jesus was born, the star that led the Magi to the Infant God, showed them the way.

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 lit candle in the window before Christmas shows that Christ is awaited in this house. Because 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 - Eastern sages who brought their gifts to the Infant God: gold, incense and myrrh. These gifts of 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.

6. What is the meaning of the Feast of Nativity of Christ?

The mystery of the Incarnation is inaccessible to the human mind. But this greatest, Divine mystery of incarnation is connected with two other secrets that are close to everyone's heart: the secret of birth and the secret of love.

Everyone is familiar with the joy that we experience when a person is born, each of us, at least once, has come into contact with the secret of love. That is why the events of the Nativity of Christ, for all their incomprehensibility, are close to everyone's heart, and the event series of this holiday is understandable even to the smallest children. The Savior is born in the human race, it is not some abstract God sent to us, who has no relationship and connection with people. God takes on human flesh. He, born of the Holy Spirit, accepts our entire psychophysical world. Because in order to save a person, it was necessary to know him to the end, it was necessary to go through the entire earthly path of a person - from birth, through suffering, to death. And God goes this way, and does it out of love for us.

7. Why is the Christmas holiday needed?

God comes into our world in the silence of the night of Bethlehem, and the very fact of His birth is already our approach to God, because, in the words of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh: "Every man, by the very fact that he is a man, is involved in the mystery of Christ." From now on, a person is not alone in this world. "Christ became Man so that all of us, all without a trace, including those who have lost all faith in themselves, know that God believes in us, believes in us in our fall, believes in us when we ourselves trusted each other in to a friend and in himself, he believes so that he is not afraid to become one of us. " "God became Man so that man could become God" - this is how the holy martyr of the 2nd century Irenaeus of Lyons formulated the great mystery of the Incarnation.

One of the most important holidays for Christians around the world is the Nativity of Christ. Orthodox Christians and Catholics celebrate it on different days and with different characteristics, but they all arose for a reason. Initially, many traditions were based on pagan rites so that the transition to a new faith was smooth. The most important attribute of Christmas and New Year is that the decorated Christmas tree came to Christianity from the ancient German holiday Yule, and the ancient Slavs sang traditional carols even in pagan times in honor of the god Kolyada.

The exact date of birth of the savior has not yet been determined, so the celebration was simply timed to the usual at that time celebrations in honor of the winter solstice. And so it happened that according to the Gregorian and Julian calendars, Catholics and Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on the night of December 24-25 and January 6-7, respectively.

Celebration traditions around the world

Each country celebrates this holiday in a special way, but absolutely all Catholics observe before this a four-week fast, called Advent.

In Great Britain, Christmas night is called "night of candles", decorating their homes with many lights and branches of evergreens. This is where the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe began. Traditional dishes include Christmas bread, baked pork head and pudding.

A Christmas dinner in Germany is not complete without fried goose with apples and prunes, and gingerbread and warming mulled wine are always served for dessert. The streets of the cities at this time are filled with processions of mummers in devils, and the squares host real medieval fairs.

In France, it is customary to celebrate Christmas with friends with the obligatory treat of Bouche de Noel, a chocolate cake in the shape of a log. Per Noel brings gifts for children, and Per Fuetar comes to those who misbehaved.

In the Czech Republic, Christmas gingerbread cookies are also popular, and the main treat of the table is fried carp with potato salad. The Czechs buy fish on Christmas Eve and are sure to release it into the water according to tradition, so you have to buy food in advance for dinner.

Iceland still retains a bit of paganism in its culture and at Christmas believes in the arrival of semi-trolls from the local forests, who treat children to sweets and other sweets every day starting December 12th.

Christian traditions of celebration

For Orthodox Christians, the celebration is preceded by a two-week fast, where in the last five days it is also necessary to regularly read special prayers. On Christmas Eve, the Orthodox need to abstain from food until the first star, and only then sit down at the table. This is the memory of the Star of Bethlehem. The traditional Christmas dinner dish is "sochivo" from which the name of Christmas Eve comes from, but we know this dish as kutya.

Christmas customs and traditions

Christmas Eve has always been prescribed magical features, which are vividly described in the works of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. At this time, it is customary to share food and help the poor, as well as to carry out a general cleaning of the entire home. The residents themselves wore their best outfits on this day.

The family holiday rarely met guests at the table, but in the event of their appearance, the treats and celebrations were at the highest level. Travelers could receive an invitation to the table, since it was believed that the Savior himself could be hiding under their guise. On Christmas Eve, it was impossible to invite and let a stranger into the house until lunchtime, and the remnants of the dinner were always taken out into the street for wild animals. Thus, they were appeased so that during the next year they would not harm the economy.

It was with the celebration of Christmas that Christmastide began, which lasts 12 days until Kolyada. At this time, there were wide festivities, which were accompanied by carols dressed in costumes of animals or characters of beliefs and myths. The mummers praise the Lord in their songs and attract wealth and prosperity to their homes, for which they receive a symbolic reward. Some groups of people form biblical nativity scenes with a star on a pole in front of them. Such ceremonies were especially popular earlier in the territories of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

Celebration hoax was also associated with traditional divination at this time. It was customary to visit relatives and actively engage in matchmaking, because this time was considered crucial. Young girls bewitched on future suitors, learning their names. Many rituals are still known to us, for example, on Christmastide it was necessary to throw boots over the fence and from the side where the sock pointed, one should wait for his betrothed. His name could be recognized by going out into the street at midnight and asking the first person he met what his name was. This is the name of the groom.

Festive feast

Only after the rising of the first star should one sit down at the table. The head of the family began the meal by lighting candles and saying a prayer. The menu usually consisted of 12 lenten dishes, the first to be tasted and obligatory on every table was kutya. It could be flavored with honey and seasoned with dried fruits or nuts. Uzvar, which is now commonly called compote, was necessarily cooked from dried fruits. On the table there were various cereals, dumplings, pancakes, vegetable dishes - mushroom borscht, boiled peas, skits and so on. A special place was given to fish dishes, which were allowed to be eaten on that day; meat and dairy treats were allowed only the next day, at the end of the fast. These were mainly pork dishes from the Slavs, including kutya with lard, homemade sausage and much more. Oddly enough, but there are no special preferences for holiday desserts in our culture, so modern menus are gradually replenished with foreign sweets, mainly gingerbread. Their aroma goes well with the scent of spruce, and their appearance can be in the form of any festive attributes. Basically, these are little men, Christmas trees or animals, decorated with multicolored sugar glaze.

How exactly to celebrate Christmas is up to everyone independently, but if you wish, you can have time to implement all the traditions, especially considering the length of the Christmas weekend.

) Glory to You, Lord! And we also waited for the bright days of the Nativity of Christ: let us have fun now and rejoice. The Holy Church deliberately in order to exalt our joy in these days, instituted fasting before them - a certain constraint, so that when we enter them, we would feel as if we were going to freedom. For all that, she does not want us to indulge in the delight of only the senses and the pleasures of the flesh. But since ancient times, having called these days Christmas time, it requires that our most joy during them be holy, as they are holy. And in order not to forget who was having fun, she put into our lips a short song to the glory of the born Christ, which calms the flesh and lifts the spirit, showing him worthy days of these studies: "Christ is born - praise" 1 and so on. Glorify Christ, and glorify so that this glorification will delight the soul and heart, and thereby stifle the urge to any other work and occupation that promises some kind of joy. Praise Christ: this is not like making long songs of praise to Christ, no; but if, thinking or hearing about the Nativity of Christ the Savior, you involuntarily exclaim from the depths of your soul: Glory to Thee, Lord, that Christ was born! - that's enough; it will be a quiet song of the heart, which, however, will pass through heaven and enter God Himself. Reproduce a little more clearly what the Lord has accomplished for us - and you will see how natural such a proclamation is now for us. To make it easier for us, let's equate the following cases. The tsar promised freedom to the prisoner in prison and chained in chains ... The prisoner waits for a day or two, waits for months and years ... does not see fulfillment, but does not lose hope, believing the tsar's word. Finally, there were signs that soon, soon; his attention strains; he hears the noise of those approaching with a cheerful talk: behold the locks fall off and the deliverer enters ... Glory to Thee, Lord! the prisoner exclaims involuntarily. The end of my imprisonment has come, I will soon see the light of God!
Another case: the patient, covered with wounds and relaxed by all limbs, retested all the medicines and changed many doctors; his patience was exhausted, and he was ready to indulge in desperate grief. They say to him: there is also a most skillful doctor, he cures everyone, and it is from such diseases as yours; we asked him - he promised to come. The patient believes, arises to hope and waits for the promised ... An hour passes, another, more - anxiety again begins to sharpen his soul ... Already in the evening someone drove up ... walking ... the door opened, and the desired one enters ... Glory to Thee, Lord! the patient cries out.
Here's another case: a formidable cloud was hanging; darkness covered the face of the earth; thunder shakes the foundations of the mountains and lightning pierces the sky from end to end: this makes everyone in fear, as if the end of the world has come. When then the thunderstorm passes and the sky clears up; everyone, sighing freely, says: Glory to Thee, Lord!
Bring these incidents closer to yourself and you will see that they are our entire history. A terrible cloud of God's wrath was over us, - the Lord-Reconciliator came and scattered this cloud. We were covered with wounds of sins and passions - the Doctor of Souls came and healed us ... We were in the bonds of slavery - the Liberator came and released our bonds ... exclaim: Glory to Thee, Lord, that Christ was born!
I am not trying to instill such joy in you with my words: it is inaccessible to any word. The work accomplished by the born Lord concerns each of us. Those entering into communion with Him receive from Him freedom, medicine, peace, possess all this and taste the sweetness of that. For those who experience this in themselves, there is no need to say: “rejoice,” because they cannot but rejoice, and to those who do not experience, there is no need to say: “rejoice”; they cannot rejoice. Tied hand and foot, no matter how much you say to him: "Rejoice at deliverance" - he will not rejoice; covered with wounds of sins, where will the joy of healing come from? How can one who is frightened by the storm of God's wrath freely breathe? One can only say to such a person: “go to the midwife baby lying in the manger, and seek from Him deliverance from all the evils that hold you back, for this Baby is Christ the Savior of the world”.
I would like to see everyone rejoicing in this very joy and unwilling to know other joys, but "all that is from Israel ... - Israel" (). Empty, violent amusements will now begin, stirring up lusts: glittering, whirling, werewolfishness. To those who love all this, no matter how much you say: “tame”, they plug their ears and do not heed - and will always bring the bright days of the holiday to the point that they will force the merciful Lord to turn His eyes away from us and say: “All these festivals are abomination to Me!” (cf.) And indeed, many of our public amusements are truly a pagan abomination, that is, some are directly transferred to us from the pagan world, while others, although they appeared later, are saturated with the spirit of paganism. And as if on purpose they are invented in large quantities during the days of Christmas and Easter. Carried away by them, we give the prince of the world, his tormentor, God's adversary, a reason to speak to God: “What have You done to me with Your Christmas and Resurrection? Everyone is coming to me! " But let the words of the 50th psalm rush more often in the depths of our hearts: "Justified in Thy words and conquer, always judge Ty" () ...
We are carried away by enlightened Europe ... Yes, there for the first time were restored pagan abominations expelled from the world; from there they have already passed and are passing to us. Having breathed this hellish frenzy into ourselves, we spin like madmen, not remembering ourselves. But remember the twelfth year: why did the French come to us? God sent them to destroy the evil that we had taken over from them. Russia then repented, and God had mercy on her. And now, it seems, that lesson has already begun to be forgotten. If we come to our senses, of course, nothing will happen; and if we don’t come to our senses, who is the message, perhaps the Lord will again send us the same teachers of ours, to bring us to our senses and set us on the path of correction. This is the law of the righteousness of God: the more to heal from sin, the more who is attracted to it. These are not empty words, but a deed confirmed by the voice of the Church. Know, Orthodox Christians, that God cannot be mocked; and knowing this, rejoice and rejoice in these days with fear. Consecrate the bright holiday with holy days, activities and amusements, so that everyone, looking at us, will say: they have Christmastide, and not some violent games of wicked and debauched who do not know God.
The end, and glory to our God!

1 Irmos of the 1st canon of the 1st canon to the Nativity of Christ.

In addition to the Nativity of Christ, in Orthodoxy and Christianity in general there is another similar holiday - the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. In 2017, we have yet to celebrate this holiday.

This holiday is one of the twelve, that is, it is one of the 12 most important in Orthodoxy. This suggests that it is necessary to celebrate it every year, preparing for it emotionally.

Day of celebration of the Nativity of the Virgin in 2017

This is an intransient holiday, which is comparable in importance to the more familiar Christmas of Christ. This is an important day because the Virgin Mary sacrificed everything she had to fulfill prophecy and the most important spiritual mission imaginable. She gave birth to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and allowed what was written in the sacred books to come true.

The salvation of people from original sin and evil began long before the birth of the baby Christ. Salvation began at the moment of the birth of the Mother of God. As a little girl, her parents - Joachim and Anna - gave her to the service of God. This was the agreement between a husband and wife who had no children. They gave birth to a girl who, in turn, had to change the world. An angel of the Lord appeared to Anna and said that she would give birth to a daughter who would need to be named Mary.

The Nativity of the Virgin has been celebrated since the distant 4th century. In Russia, after the victory over paganism, this holiday immediately became one of the most important events of the year. Now the birth of the Virgin Mary is celebrated annually on September 21.

Traditions and rules of the holiday

Before such an important holiday, it is advisable to visit the church and confess your sins. Everyone who meets him with a pure soul will receive a special blessing. This day is a kind of analogue of Mother's Day, so people all over the world give flowers to mothers, do something good for them.

Festive services are held in all churches, which are filled with love, light and optimism. This holiday is the logical beginning of the entire New Christian and New Testament history. It all starts with the Mother of God, with her birth.

If you cannot get to the service on Thursday 21st, then read the best prayer of the Mother of God at home - "Virgin Mary, rejoice." The main thing is to be spiritually ready for good deeds. Tell your mother the most important words you don’t say every day.

September 21, 2017 is the first twelveth holiday after the new year, that is, the renewal of the church calendar. Do not allow yourself to live such important days as you do it all the time, because the holidays should teach us something, should contribute to our development and spiritual growth.

Present the icon of the Mother of God to someone who is dear to you. Make pleasant surprises for loved ones. Let your soul sing and shine with joy. Share this joy with everyone who meets on your life path. Good luck and remember to press the buttons and

08.09.2017 04:08

In the Orthodox world there is a special icon that is popular in all countries. Its name is "Quick to Hearken", ...

In the church calendar, a special place is occupied by the holidays associated with the earthly life of Jesus Christ, and the Presentation ...