Christmas is one of the main Christian holidays. Orthodox celebrate the birth of the Savior on January 7th. In temples and monasteries, Vespers are celebrated, the royal hours and All-Night Vigils are served.
Each holiday has its own "code of conduct" that prescribes to act in a certain way and provides for prohibitions. So what not to do on Christmas Day?
In the church
When gathering for Vespers and other services, it is necessary to take care of external and internal well-being. Women refuse cosmetics, put on closed dresses or put on a jacket and a skirt. There must be a headscarf on the head. Men, on the contrary, come to the temple with their heads uncovered.
The main thing not to do at Christmas is to come to church angry, aggressive, with a sense of resentment towards your neighbor. The heart should be filled with joy at the birth of Christ. Confession and communion help to achieve this state of mind.
During the service it is forbidden to be distracted, too closely examine the icons and clergy. Needstand with your head down and listen to prayers.
It is considered a great sin to leave the service before it ends. All prayers and prostrations are made with thoughts of God.
At home
Preparation for Christmas begins with fasting, and on the eve of the holiday they go hungry. On the Holy Evening, eating begins only when the first star appears.
What can not be done on Christmas, except for refusing to eat before the set time? Put on old clothes, come to the party in black, do hard work. Food for the festive table is prepared in advance. Breaking the fast is allowed only on the 7th day after Vespers. Handicrafts and handicrafts are also excluded. It is not recommended to drink water for breakfast, otherwise thirst will torment you in summer, and the owner of the house should not leave the yard, so as not to “endure” family well-being.
On Christmas night it is strictly forbidden to guess. They try their luck, as a rule, during Christmas time, but such a pastime is not welcomed by the church.
Until January 14, housewives do not clean up, and after the old New Year, garbage is collected and burned in the yard.
On the eve of Christmas it was not allowed to wash in the bathhouse. And the point here is not only in the upcoming chores (chopping firewood, applying water), but also in the fact that water washes away sins, and on such an important holiday, a person was instructed to cleanse himself with the help of fasting and prayer.
We didn't hunt during the Christmas holidays. It was believed that at this time the souls of the dead were infused into the animals.
Ourthe forefathers clearly knew what not to do at Christmas. Signs are rooted in paganism, when a person considered himself a part of nature and sought to live in harmony with the outside world.
Toward others
Christmas is a family holiday, therefore it is celebrated in the circle of relatives. Guests, as a rule, are not invited, but those who come are received with honors.
Before the revolution, it was customary to pay visits on Holy Week, however, staying in someone else's house did not exceed 15-20 minutes. At this time, congratulations and wishes were pronounced. Long stay also refers to what you can not do at Christmas. With the invention of telephones, short visits were replaced by calls.
During Christmas, you should not forget about your neighbor. Earlier on Christmas it was customary to give alms, to treat the poor.
During the celebration of Christmas, they remembered not only the living, but also the dead. A candle was lit on the table and appliances for the ancestors were placed. Therefore, when the Nativity of Christ comes, what cannot be done on this day is to forget about our roots, about those who lived on earth before us and contributed to our birth.
All of the above is true not only on Christmas holidays, but Christmas is an additional reason to remember moral and family values, to think about how a Christian should behave.
Alone with myself
During church holidays, you should pay attention to your inner world. is no exception andNativity. What can not be done on January 7 is to accumulate hatred, envy, anger, despondency, other negative emotions and feelings in the soul. The soul must be open to God, so one should not allow thoughts of carnal pleasures, become lustful.
Traditionally holidays are celebrated at the table. But, although breaking the fast is allowed after the Advent, it is still not worth overeating.
Christianity and paganism
Some prohibitions are connected with the rejection of pagan traditions by the Christian religion. Back in the 19th century, it was declared at the state level how to properly celebrate Christmas. It was forbidden to engage in idolatry, to dress up in inappropriate attire, to arrange songs and dances. At the same time, Christianity did not completely eradicate paganism, but transformed it.
The Church allows during the Christmas holidays to show children's spontaneity and have fun from the heart, and even the monks sing carols today. Singing allows you to feel the atmosphere of the holiday, get rid of despondency and stress.
How to properly celebrate Christmas these days
According to church canons, it is prescribed to observe the Nativity Fast before the holiday. At this time, you can not eat meat and other products of animal origin (butter, eggs, milk, cottage cheese). In the monastery, they fast more strictly, and indulgences are allowed for the laity. On the eve of the holiday, they prepare sochivo - lean porridge with honey, dried fruits and nuts.
Christians attend all statutory services. Before the Vigil, you need to get enough sleep and drink some coffee. Before Communion, which is celebrated after the Vespers, they do not eat for about six hours.
You can confess after the service, but it is better to do it in advance, as it is difficult for priests to receive confession from a large number of people on a holiday.
Children are taken to Vespers only if they wish. Parents need to bring a small clean bed with them so that a tired child can nap.
That's about all the do's and don'ts for Christmas.
To feel the joy of a long All-Night Service helps to realize what exactly happened that day. And something really incredible happened: God descended to earth and appeared before people in human form. Jesus Christ gave each of us the hope of salvation.
