Fine aroma of needles, iridescent flickering of Christmas treetinsel, a mountain of colorfully packaged gifts under the Christmas tree, fluffy snow outside the windows, frosted ornaments with intricate patterns. It is this picture that comes before the mind's eye at a single mention of the name of this holiday. Despite the rapid running of centuries, the bright holiday of the Nativity of Christ remains the most important. The most magical, truly family, holiday of miracles and good.

A bit of history

To overestimate the spiritual and cultural value of thisholiday is quite difficult. Take at least a tradition to celebrate Christmas with your family. Do you know that she came to us from the distant past? When our ancestors gathered at a Russian stove to see how the mistress of the house melted her in a special way. Twelve Christmas logs were poured into the oven, and the fire was carved by a cloak, which for 12 days lay under the images. Traditional lenten dishes were cooked on this fire, bread loaves were baked, and numerous members of the family gathered at the same table to break bread and spend time at a family holiday treat. Festive festivities and all sorts of costumed parties almost exactly repeat Christmas carols and processions of mummers, when young people went from house to house, sang traditional "carols" in exchange for treats and gifts. During the holidays, people in Russia did not forget about those who can not sit at the family table. And often the table was invited to a beggar knocked at the house. It was believed that Christ himself in the image of such a beggar condescends on this day on earth and knocks at the doors of houses. Hence the tradition has gone - to perform on this day selflessly good deeds, to help those who, by chance, are deprived of a festive treat, the warmth of a family home and shelter.

Christmas in our day

In a modern high-rise building there is hardly anya real Russian stove. To build a fire in the apartment, if you do not have a fireplace, even from 12 Christmas logs - not the best idea. However, not all your neighbors will appreciate the carols. So how do you celebrate this holiday? We hope that several of the following ideas for holding this bright and kind holiday in all senses will help those who want to follow the traditions and spirit of Christmas.

I'm writing to you…

How long have you seen each otherrelatives who live in another city, or even a country? Or they were sent a letter, a real "living" letter in an envelope, and not a set of letters by e-mail. So why not remember the unfairly forgotten tradition of writing letters to each other? And do not make a list of those whom you would like to please, congratulate or once again talk about how they are dear to you. Buy or make your own cards. Find warm words of peace and write to family members. The holiday of a merry Christmas is an excellent occasion even to "warm" someone with your love, to become at least a while closer to reading the letter, to share your joy.

My family is my treasure

Remember the same, unforgettable and with nothingincomparable sense of a home that covered you in childhood, when the whole family gathered at a festive table? The bustle of modern life rarely provides an opportunity to stop and think about what is really valuable. Rather, it is priceless. Mom's hands, his father's "funny" jokes, salted cucumbers from his beloved aunt, non-stop joking quarrels of nephews and sister's stories about the colic of her newborn child. All that you imagine when you mention the word "family". Gather members of your family under one roof. Dress up a Christmas tree, make small ones ready, but believe me, they are very valuable gifts for your relatives. After all, who, if not you, knows the tastes and preferences of their relatives! Spend this holiday with your family, let them feel how much they all mean to you.

The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree

If you can not breed a real Christmasfire in your apartment, then it's best to go to where you will have the opportunity to put a hearth out of the Christmas logs and look at the flame of the living fire. In the nearest forest, beyond the city. Gather your friends, take off for a few days a dacha or a house, find the most beautiful Christmas tree and decorate it with your friends. And then, as in childhood, lead around the forest beauty dance. Of course, you need to find several texts of real carols in advance, then you will have the opportunity to feel like a hero of Gogol's "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka". If you find yourself not just in a country village, but in the nearest village or small village near your city, you will have the opportunity to look from outside or even participate in Christmas carols. Unlike the city, in villages and villages, the tradition of caroling this night is still alive.

Christmas in the Temple

Of course, the main tradition of celebratingis a solemn service in the temple. Yet Christmas is a religious holiday. And if you want to meet him in accordance with the church canons, your path lies in the nearest temple. The Christmas service looks very beautiful and solemn. The temple is decorated with spruce branches these days, the trembling lights of candles and the chandelier illuminate enlightened, humble faces on icons. And the very atmosphere of worship is permeated with light and pacification, condescending for everyone present at this moment under the arches of the temple. Numerous believers in a single impulse rejoice at the Nativity of Christ. And they pray for the well-being of their loved ones. From the choruses come the pure children's voices that perform the praises.

Do good

Probably the most important tradition of lightthe feast of the Nativity of Christ - to do good. Without expecting gratitude or recognition, to perform a miracle for the one who needs it most. For this, you do not need to have behind your angel wings or have a magic wand. It's so simple, "to work as a magician." Invite your friends and acquaintances to organize a performance for children from the nearest orphanage. Rehearse a fairy tale. Sew the costumes, make your own gifts, and best of all - buy sweets or bake cakes and pastries, and go to those who this day remained without family warmth. Who, perhaps, needs this miracle and who truly sincerely believes in it. Not because tradition requires it, but at the behest of the soul, give warmth to those who, from childhood, by chance do not know what the mother's hands are. The opportunity to see genuine joy, sincere and pure, in the eyes of children will be an invaluable gift for you, which is much more valuable than material goods. You can not just arrange for yourself a holiday for orphans, but also organize a kind of charity event. Involve the organization in which you work. Or organize the collection of funds and things for the needs of the orphanage, hung in his neighborhood ads.

Christmas fortune-telling

Habitation fortune telling is also one of the traditionsChristmas holidays. Gather with your friends and arrange a short excursion into the prospective future. Moreover, there are a lot of ways of guessing that have come down to us from the past:

• Fortune telling with a mirror. In reflecting the mirror, the girl needs to see the face of her betrothed.
• Guessing on wax. Melt the wax on a candle flame and merge it in a bowl with water. The wax figure will tell you about future events.
• Guessing with a shoe. Throw the slipper by the threshold; where his sock will point, from there an unmarried girl should expect matchmakers.

Of course, do not attach much importancefortune telling. Let them become for you a way to have fun with their friends, talk about their own, about the girl. After all, your future and the choice of the betrothed is only in your hands. A bright Christmas holiday gives a sense of peace and harmony in the soul, inspires faith in a better future. Enables us to believe in miracles and even create them ourselves. Smile to the world around you, to close and completely unfamiliar people. In return you will receive the same smile. This is the immutable law of the universe. Sharing your inner light and warmth, you will receive a hundredfold from your loved ones. Keep the pure light of Christmas in your soul, let it keep you all next year. Merry Christmas! We advise you to read:

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