On the night of January sixth, on the seventh, Orthodox Christmas begins. 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 together at the festive table, and festive services are held in all churches. Every believing Orthodox person glorifies on this day the birth of Jesus Christ, recalling 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 move to the Gregorian calendar, leaving the Julian calendar. That is why the calendars of the Russian Orthodox Church are different from other Christian ones. This difference is exactly thirteen days. By the way, the celebration of the Nativity of Christ in Russia is also very different from analogues in other Christian countries. So how do you celebrate Christmas in Russia?
history of the holiday
Today there are not so many countries where the same tradition has been preserved - to celebrate Christmas not on December twenty-fifth, but, as the Julian calendar tells us, on January 7th.
It is interesting that today Christmas is the most important holiday in the western states. But only more and more obvious is the tendency to transform this triumph from religious to secular. Abroad, this is now an analogue of the new year, which, by the way, is celebrated in Europe much more modestly. This is not the case with the Russians, and there is a rational explanation.
How is Christmas celebrated in Russia? It’s 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 current calendars. Only some traditions remained from them. A vivid example is the Christmas tree, which was banned for a very long time, but by the middle of the century they began to use it, only as a New Year's. And the Star of Bethlehem about seven rays at its top was transformed into the Soviet five-pointed.
Christmas these days
How is Christmas celebrated in Russia these days? After the collapse of the Soviet state, no significant changes occurred. The New Year has remained the most beloved holiday of the majority of Russian citizens, but Christmas is a celebration for a few, mostly Orthodox believers. If you ask yourself the question: “Where to celebrate Christmas in Russia?”, 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 in January is an official day off from one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one. But the indigenous population of Egypt is the Copts, and there are more than ten million of them in the country, and they are also Christians, for a long time they did not have the opportunity to celebrate this day. The logic of the authorities was simple: the majority of Egyptians are Muslims. Only in two thousand and three did the situation change, 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, the greater number of them are Orthodox or Old Believers. It is strange that state representatives in two thousand and two 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 must traditionally observe a forty-day fast before the celebration. Let's see how Christmas is celebrated in Russia today. And you need to start from the very beginning.
Orthodox Christmas in Russia consists of five pre-holiday days, as well as six holidays. The sixth of January is usually called the eve of the holiday, or Christmas Eve. It is then that the post is tightened, you can eat only bread and water.
How is Orthodox Christmas celebrated in Russia? Orthodox believers aspire to churches since the evening. It is there that festive ceremonies are held, such as the Royal Clock, 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 them.
This holiday does not look European in the first place, as Christmas is celebrated in Russia on January 7th. The Patriarch of Moscow himself conducts a worship service that day, which is then broadcast on television and radio channels. It involves a lot of media cultural figures, politicians, as well as the president of the country.
Ritual side
When Christmas is celebrated in Russia, the most traditional dish is kutya - this is porridge with the addition of honey and poppy, it symbolizes faith and eternal life.
And also it is customary to “carol” in 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 and good health in the future. For this, the hosts treat them (with pies, sweets, other goodies), give them small money.
And how do young girls celebrate Christmas in Russia? Christmas continues until January 19th (this day is called “Baptism”). Well, as usual, at this time young ladies like to tell fortunes to the groom. There are many different ways of such fortune telling, we give only the most famous and popular.
Wax
You need to melt the wax in a special bowl, then pour milk into the dish and put it on the doorstep of the house. Pour the wax sharply into the milk. A frozen figure should form from the wax, and it is worth looking at it. The first thing that she will look like to you, is your fate. For example, if it seemed to you that the wax figure resembles a cross, then this means that you or your loved one have illnesses. And if a flower appeared, 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 lead your own enemy. If the wax has formed stripes, then it is to a long road, and if it lay down as a star, then it is to luck.
Ring
Girls who want to know their fate need to put a ring, a loaf of bread on the floor, as well as a hook (fishing, knitting, etc.). All this must be covered with a towel, then each should wrap around itself five times, and then pull off the scarf and pull out to whom and what has been done. A ring means marriage with a fashionista, bread means marriage with a rich person, and a hook means life with the poor.
