On the night of the sixth of January the Orthodox Christmas comes to the seventh. Russia is a multinational country, where about seventy percent of believers are Orthodox Christians. On this bright holiday, festive bells sound in all corners of the state, families gather at the festive table, and festive services are held in all churches. Every believing Orthodox person glorifies the birth of Jesus Christ on this day, remembering the New Testament traditions. Christmas is a very distinctive holiday in Russia.
Christmas in Russia, traditions and customs
Everyone knows the historical fact that at the very beginning of the twentieth century, the church in Russia refused to switch to the Gregorian calendar, leaving the Julian calendar. That is why the calendars of the Russian Orthodox Church are different from other Christian ones. The difference is exactly thirteen days. By the way, the very celebration of the Nativity of Christ in Russia is also very different from its counterparts in other Christian countries. So how is Christmas celebrated in Russia?
History of the holiday
Today, there are not so many countries where the same tradition is preserved - to celebrate Christmas not on the twenty-fifth of December, but, as the Julian calendar says, on the seventh of January.
Interestingly, today is Christmas - the most important holiday in Western countries. But only more and more obvious is the trend of turning this celebration from religious to secular. Abroad, this is now an analogue of the New Year, which, by the way, is celebrated in Europe by many more modestly. This is not the case with Russians at all, and there is a rational explanation for this.
How is Christmas celebrated in Russia? It is worth starting with a story about the Soviet period in the history of our country. Having come to power, the Bolshevik atheists ordered that all Orthodox holidays be removed from the existing calendars. Only a few traditions remain. A striking example is the Christmas tree, which was banned for a very long time, but by the middle of the century it was used only as a New Year's tree. And the Bethlehem star with seven rays on its top was transformed into a Soviet five-pointed one.
Christmas these days
How is Christmas celebrated in Russia nowadays? After the collapse of the Soviet state, no significant changes occurred. The New Year has remained the most favorite holiday of the majority.citizens of Russia, but Christmas is a celebration for a few, mostly believing Orthodox people. If you ask yourself the question: “Where to celebrate Christmas in Russia?”, then the answer is obvious: at home, in the family circle, because this is a purely family holiday.
Features
By the way, some problems with the celebration of Christmas are present not only in our country, after all, we must pay tribute to the state, the seventh day in January is an official day off since 1991. But the indigenous population of Egypt - the Copts, and there are more than ten million of them in the country, and they are also Christians, for a long time did not have the opportunity to celebrate this day at all. The logic of the authorities was simple: the majority of the inhabitants of Egypt are Muslims. Only in 2003 the situation changed, now in the homeland of the pharaohs, Christmas is a day off.
The situation is even more complicated in Latvia, because there are about forty percent of the Russian-speaking population, moreover, most of them are Orthodox or Old Believers. It is strange that government representatives in the year 2002 refused to make this date a day off.
Christmas is celebrated very symbolically in Russia, traditions and customs are very significant. For example, all believers traditionally have to observe a forty-day fast before the celebration. Let's figure out how Christmas is celebrated in Russia today. And you need to start from the very beginning.
Orthodox Christmas in Russia consistsof five pre-holiday days, as well as six post-holiday days. The sixth of January is usually called the eve of the holiday, or Christmas Eve. It was then that fasting became tougher, you can only eat bread and water.
How is Orthodox Christmas celebrated in Russia? Orthodox believers have been striving to go to churches since the evening. It is there that festive ceremonies are held, such as the Royal Hours, and prophetic songs, and church hymns. And all this is for the glory of the birth of the Savior.
In Russia today, about seventy percent of all believers consider themselves Orthodox. That is why on the night before Christmas, Christian churches are filled with believers. By the way, Protestants sometimes join their number.
This holiday does not look European just because Christmas is celebrated in Russia on the seventh of January. The Patriarch of Moscow himself conducts a divine service on this day, which is then broadcast on television and radio channels. A lot of media cultural figures, politicians, as well as the president of the country are participating in it.
Ceremonial side
When Christmas is celebrated in Russia, the most traditional dish is kutya - a porridge with honey and poppy seeds, it symbolizes faith and eternal life.
And it’s also customary to “carol” on Christmas - this is one of the Christmas traditions, when several boys and girls (kids) go to neighboring houses and sing “carols” for the owners, songs with good wishes for good luck, he alth in the future. For this, the owners treat them (with pies, sweets,other delicacies), give small money.
And how do young girls celebrate Christmas in Russia? Christmas continues until the nineteenth of January (this day is called "Epiphany"). Well, as usual, at this time, young ladies love to tell fortunes about the groom. There are many different ways of such fortune-telling, we will give only the most famous and popular ones.
Wax
You need to melt the wax in a special bowl, then pour the milk into the dish and put it on the doorstep of the house. Quickly pour the wax into the milk. A frozen figure should form from the wax, and it’s worth looking at it. The first thing it looks like to you is your destiny. For example, if it seemed to you that the wax figure resembles a cross, then this means that you or your loved one will have an illness. And if a flower seems to be, then this year you will have a wedding or just find a loved one. If a person is visible, then this is the appearance of a new friend. And if you see a beast, then, on the contrary, you will make yourself an enemy. If the wax formed stripes, then this is a long journey, and if it lay down like a star, then this is good luck.
Ring
Girls who want to know their fate need to lay out a ring on the floor, a slice of bread, and a hook (you can fish, you can also knit). All this must be covered with a towel, then each must wrap itself around itself five times, and then pull off the scarf and pull out who and what succeeded. Ringmeans marriage to a fashionista, bread means marriage to a rich person, and a hook means life with a poor man.
Shoe
This is the most famous type of divination. When Christmas is celebrated in Russia, the young lady must take off her shoe from her left foot and throw it from the gate, trying to notice in which direction she will lie with her toe. If the toe of the shoe looks towards the gate, then this year the girl will not be married yet. She will stay at her parents' house. And if the shoe looks in any other direction, then you need to prepare to wait for the matchmaking.
And these are just a few types of Christmas divination, in fact, the list can be much more extensive. The main thing is to treat predictions with humor and not take a not too positive forecast to heart.
In general, this holiday is very bright, joyful and cheerful. Carols, fortune-telling, delicious food after a long fast, the ringing of holiday bells over the city … Even though the New Year is celebrated on a larger scale, the atmosphere of a frosty Christmas morning for many people is fraught with a more sacred and significant meaning. In this day - the whole originality of Russian culture.
