The first Christians did not consider Christmas as the daybirth, and the day of man's death, so Christmas as a holiday, appeared much later. The main circumstance that contributed to the birth of the Christmas holiday was that no one knew the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ. And heretics, who made a significant contribution to the appearance of the holiday, the most important event in the life of Jesus was his baptism in the Jordan River, when the Holy Spirit descended upon him, after which the Savior became inaccessible to sin, like all ordinary mortals. Christians had to somehow resist the heretic holiday, so their version of the feast of Epiphany became known as the Epiphany. And according to the version of the Orthodox Church, Christ first appeared to people in the image of God, and did not become them on this day. So in the ancient Orthodox Church two festivals were united: Baptism and the Nativity of Christ. To specify the date of the Nativity of Christ it was necessary also because of pagans who worshiped the cult of the sun and for whom the day of the winter solstice was considered a holiday of the birth of nature, since its spring awakening began. And although Emperor Constantine I already proclaimed Christianity as the official religion (this happened in 325 AD), the Gentiles had about 90% of the total population. The main way to convert the pagans to Christianity was not the whip, but the carrot, that is, filling their holidays with a new meaning and that's why in the Catholic church the Nativity of Christ is still celebrated on December 25, earlier this day was a holiday of the sun. To the pagans, however, the version according to which both the sun enters the world, and the world through the appearance of Christ is filled with divine light, quite pleased.
Features of Russian Christmas
In Russia, major church holidays are celebratedwith no less scope than the Soviet, so Christmas and Easter are two holidays, competing with each other in the degree of solemnity. And every year Christians make a spiritual journey to the manger in which the infant Jesus lies. The way, just as many years ago the Bethlehem star indicates, followed by the shepherds and the wise men. The week from Christmas to Epiphany is called a sacred - and just before the holidays, the faithful observe a strict fast. On Christmas Eve, on Christmas Eve, before the rising of the evening star, when the song "Magi with the star travels" does not drink anything and does not eat, it's even a sin to sit down at the table. After the Evening Star appears in the sky, the Orthodox sit down at a table where kutya must be present. Kutia - is the main dish of this evening, cook it should be before sunrise, that is, on the eve of the night and always out of barley. If the kutya is successful, then the year will be successful, as the ancient belief, which each of us can check, says. In addition to kuti on the table should be present 12 lean dishes. These can be mushrooms, vinaigrettes, fish dishes and cabbage rolls, borscht beans, pies with lean fillings from poppies, apples, peas or cabbage. All the treats are put out in earthenware, and a bunch of hay is thrown under the table, which is the symbol of the crib where Jesus appeared. If your family has children, then by all rules - they are supposed to play under the table, and earlier the children were given an important task - to simulate the sounds of animals. So they sat under the table, grunting and crowing, so that all the available living creatures would not get sick the whole year, but multiply. A holiday that day was also for pets, who were treated to little by little from every dish, as a reward for the fact that they sheltered Jesus; Christians believed that this was the only night of the year when animals were speechless. Cutlery should be crossed, and before eating food, be sure to pray. The eight-pointed star, with whom, after the evening, went around the courtyards, singing church hymns and carols, symbolized the Evening Star, which indicated the way to the manger with Jesus.
Christmas Abroad
Western Europe and America on the eve of Christmas inliterally losing their head - this is their main holiday. For Europeans, this holiday is considered narrow and it should be celebrated with the family, so even foreign businessmen who settled in Russia are ready to leave their employees for a short time before they can get to the family Christmas table. The main difference between Catholics and Orthodox Christians is that Catholics eat food and sit down at the table before, rather than after the Christmas Mass. In the evening before Christmas or on Christmas Eve Catholics eat baked carp, but in general on the Christmas table you can almost always see dishes from the bird: baked turkeys, ducks or geese. In England, without a turkey under a gooseberry sauce, there is not a single festive Christmas table. But in Hungary, Austria and Yugoslavia, the Christmas menu is usually lean, like the Catholics of Lithuania - in these countries you can not eat a bird on Christmas Eve, so that happiness does not fly away. As soon as the Christmas dinner is over, folk festivities begin in Europe, which are called carols for us, and according to the Europeans - Christmas carols, many of which have gained worldwide fame. In Europe, an obligatory Christmas tradition is the tradition of lighting a fire in the hearth and making improvised nurseries, placing in them a doll of Jesus, and around the animal figurines. Puppet and theatrical productions with the participation of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, the Magi and Joseph, which are often found and just on the street - another feature of the Catholic Christmas. There are even contests for the best staging and the best Christmas nativity scene. The Munich Museum houses the most extensive collection of nurseries. And, the main difference between the Catholic Christmas and the Orthodox is the family nature. If they are accepted in the New Year to visit friends and relatives, then we have the opposite - the meeting of the new year is held in the family circle, and Christmas holidays are celebrated with friends. But by and large, the essence of both holidays is one and there are much more similarities in traditions than minor differences. We advise you to read:
