Travels. Travel January 7 what holiday Christmas

In fact, it is this argument that shows the complete absence of any knowledge of the history of the issue. The only thing they can "show off" comes down to accusations against the Bolsheviks, who in 1918 switched to the Gregorian calendar, and Christmas "turned out" on January 7th according to the new style.

Our people have already become convinced of the complete failure of these "responsible" persons, but ambiguities remain. And now we will solve this "unbearable" riddle.

So let's formulate the question: why, in fact, the whole of Europe celebrates Christmas on December 25, and we - on January 7?

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to understand the differences between the Julian, Gregorian and New Julian calendars. To do this, consider some episodes of church history:

Date of Christmas

Every mother remembers the day and hour of the birth of each of her children. Naturally, the Mother of God told the apostles about this day - this is December 25th. The Lord Jesus Christ was born when there was a Julian calendar on earth, developed by a group of Alexandrian astronomers and introduced by Julius Caesar from January 1, 45 BC.

If we talk about written sources, then December 25 as the day of the “birth of Christ in Bethlehem of Judea” is first mentioned by the Roman chronograph of 354, based on a calendar dating back to 336.

First Ecumenical Council and the date of Easter

The most important holiday in Christianity is Easter, and at the first Ecumenical Council in 325, held in Nicaea, a calculation of the date of Easter was proposed. All Christians must celebrate Easter on the same day - on the first Sunday after the full moon from the day of the vernal equinox. Thus, the Passover of Christ does not take place on the same day or earlier than the Passover of the Jews.

After some time, the date of Easter ceased to correspond to the accepted calculation rule. The problem was that the day of the equinox was taken from the calendar, not from observations. An error in the Julian calendar moved the equinox back every 128 years by one day, and by 1582 the difference was ten days.

It turned out that the rule "The first Sunday after the full moon from the day of the vernal equinox" is violated. To get away from this problem and keep the wording of the rule, the Gregorian calendar was introduced, the task of which was to maintain the minimum difference between the natural (astronomical) spring equinox and the calendar, falling on March 21.

Introduction to the Gregorian calendar

So, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new, "Gregorian" calendar, which received the definition of "new style", and the old, Julian calendar, began to be called the "old style".

On the one hand, the problem was solved, but on the other hand, the error went into the very essence of Easter - in determining the date, in fact, of Easter. The Orthodox tradition, while maintaining the true calculation of the date of Easter, unlike the Catholic Church, did not switch to the Gregorian calendar, and all calculations of Orthodox events are based on the Julian calendar. Therefore, for example, the Nativity of Christ according to the calendar calculation is December 25, and it corresponds to the date January 7 according to the modern (Gregorian) calendar.

The difference between the new and the old style, every more than a hundred years, increases by 1 day and in the XXI century is 13 days, and in 2100 the difference will be 14 days, that is, December 25 (Julian calendar) will correspond to January 8 (Gregorian).

Orthodox traditions

While the new Gregorian calendar appeared in Europe, the Julian calendar continued to be used in the Russian Empire. When the Bolshevik government introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1918, the Church did not approve of this decision.

In 1923, at the initiative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a meeting of the Orthodox Churches was held, at which a decision was made to correct the Julian calendar: thus, the "New Julian" calendar appeared.

On the night of January 6-7, the feast of the Nativity of Christ is celebrated by the Ukrainian, Georgian, Russian, Jerusalem and Serbian Orthodox Churches, Athos monasteries living according to the old, Julian calendar, as well as many Catholics of the Eastern rite (in particular, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) and part of Russian Protestants.

All the other 11 Local Orthodox Churches of the world celebrate Christmas, like Catholics, on the night of December 24-25, since they do not use the "Catholic" Gregorian calendar, but the so-called "New Julian", which, for now, coincides with the Gregorian.

The discrepancy between the Gregorian and New Julian calendars in one day will accumulate by the year 2800. The discrepancy between the Julian calendar and the astronomical year of 1 day accumulates over 128 years, the Gregorian - over 3333 years, and the New Julian - over 40,000 years.

So, the Lord Jesus Christ was born when the Julian calendar was on earth, on December 25 of the “old style”. Orthodox do not celebrate any January 7th. When the secular calendar (Gregorian) according to the "new style" shows the date of January 7 in the liturgical books is the date of December 25, we celebrate it according to the Julian calendar.

Happy Christmas Day!

Note. ed. - And as for the constant mantras “let's do it,like in Europe”, I would like to recall a phrase from a very good film of the late 70s of the last century: “Mom, he is writing a dissertation!”. - "It would be better to take out the trash!"

When Christmas is celebrated in Russia on January 6 or 7, many Russians ask this question, especially on the eve of this big holiday. In order to understand on what date the date of the birth of Christ falls for the Orthodox, one must turn to the great Nativity fast.

The date of the Nativity of Christ does not change, it is the same every year. This day comes immediately after the end of the forty-day fast, which Christians began in November 2019.

When is Christmas celebrated in Russia in 2020

Christmas is one of the main holidays of Christianity. Every year this event is celebrated on the same day, immediately after the end of the forty-day Christmas fast.

Finding out when Christmas will be is not hard. It is necessary to count from the beginning of the post, and it begins on November 28, 40 days - this ends the post and immediately begins the celebration of the birth of Christ. This holiday falls every year on January 7th. That is why it is very easy to remember this date. You can peep the day of Christmas in Orthodox calendars, which are sold on every corner.

For many Russians, Christmas is a big holiday. That is why January 7, 2020 is a public holiday. During this period, Christmas fairs open all over Russia, folk festivals with dances and competitions are held.

Believers must attend church on this day in order to defend the service and pray to the Lord for salvation and health. After the house, they set the table, invite guests and cheerfully celebrate the birth of Christ.

What is celebrated in Russia on January 6, 2020

For Orthodox Christians, a great fast is coming to an end, which ends with Christmas. The Russians begin to prepare for this holiday on January 6 - this day is called Christmas Eve.

According to church rules, there is still fasting on Christmas Eve, you can eat only after the first star appears in the sky, which notifies the world of the birth of Christ. The same star showed the Magi the way to the newborn Savior.

On Christmas Eve, from morning to evening, it is customary to cook different dishes, thus preparing for the main holiday. In the old days, people went caroling on January 6 in the evening to relatives and friends. This tradition is still alive today. On January 7, Christmas songs are sung to celebrate the birth of Christ.

According to polls, 85% of Russians know about the Advent fast, but not everyone observes it. Many Russians have also heard of Christmas Eve, the day that comes before Christmas. However, the majority celebrates on January 7, many without going to church with their families.

In Russia, Christmas markets open on January 6, New Year's festivities continue, which smoothly turn into Christmas and will last until January 12, 2020. However, officially, all people go to work immediately after Christmas.

Why is Christmas celebrated on January 7th in Russia?

No one knows the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ. Even the Bible is silent about this. Despite this, Orthodox Christians celebrate this day every year on January 7th.

Christmas is the oldest Christian holiday. It appeared during the time of the disciples of Christ. Clement of Alexandria pointed to this holiday in his writings in the 2nd century. Despite the fact that the exact date of the birth of the Savior is unknown, it was nevertheless customary to celebrate this day on December 25 according to the old style, but when the calendar changed, Christmas fell on January 7. On this day, the birth of Christ, I celebrate four churches - Russian, Georgian, Serbian and Jerusalem. Also, Christmas on January 7 is celebrated by monasteries that live according to the Julian calendar.

The difference in the date of celebration on December 25 and January 7 speaks of different chronologies. There is the Gregorian calendar, which appeared in Europe in 1918, and the Julian calendar, according to which the Russian Orthodox Church lives. Due to different chronologies, the difference between the holidays is 13 days.

In the flesh, until the beginning of the twentieth century, it was not customary in Russia to celebrate the New Year in the form in which we celebrate it now. The main winter celebration was considered the Nativity of Christ - a holiday that came along with the Orthodox religion and dedicated to the birth of the Savior. Russian Christmas is somewhat different from European Christmas in its traditions and the date of celebration. Why is Russian Christmas celebrated on January 7, and European Christmas on December 25?

history of the holiday

In ancient Rome, it was customary to honor the god Saturn on the first day of the year. This was due to the solar cycle - the longest night of the year was left behind, and the day began to grow. The Romans believed that this was the merit of Saturn and praised him. This holiday fell on December 25 according to the Julian calendar.

With the advent of Christianity, many popular pagan holidays were adapted to the new religion so as not to cause discontent among the people. Saturnalia was no exception. With the light hand of the new clergy at the beginning of the tenth century in Rome, this holiday was renamed Christmas. At the same time, a lot of paganism remained in the ritual part of the holiday. Which, in fact, helped to maintain a cheerful atmosphere that people liked so much.

The fact is that the Bible does not indicate the exact date when Christ was born, but a comparison of certain facts gives the priests reason to believe that this could well have happened on the first day of the year. But the celebration stuck, because the priests were able to draw parallels between the sun, which was honored by the pagans, and the solar image of Christ the Savior, whom the New Testament calls the "Sun of Truth."

Since Christianity quickly spread across the continent, by 1100 the birth of Christ was celebrated as the main holiday in all of Europe.

In the Orthodox world, Christmas has also become one of the main public holidays. It is believed that they began to celebrate it in the tenth century after the Kyiv prince Vladimir baptized Russia. As in Europe, this holiday was celebrated on December 25th.

So why is Christmas celebrated on January 7th?

It's all about the calendar. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII changed Rome to a more accurate calendar. In subsequent years, most of the world's countries switched to the same time reference system as the Romans.

But the Russian Patriarch Jeremiah II decided that Russia would go its own way and would not need a new calendar. Thus, at the time of the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, the difference in dates between Russia and Rome was ten days, and by the twentieth century it had grown to fourteen.

The Bolsheviks, having come to power, introduced the Gregorian calendar, but the Russian Orthodox Church remained adamant in its convictions. Therefore, Orthodox Christmas is celebrated two weeks later than the Catholic one - on January 7th.

Russian Christmas traditions

Lent was still on Christmas Eve, so there were no feasts on that day. But with the onset of Christmas time, mass festivities began.

The main tradition of celebrating Russian Christmas is the glorification of Jesus. It took place not only during church services. It was customary for young people to gather in companies and go from house to house, singing songs glorifying God's son. In addition, songs were sung in which the owners of the house wished good, health, prosperity and other benefits. For the performance of songs, young people were encouraged to be rewarded with plentiful treats. It was not customary to refuse treats to the praisers, so the song performers went around with large bags to collect "thanks".

Since the sixteenth century, the tradition of arranging a nativity scene has come from Poland. It was most often a puppet theater, and later an acting theater, in which the plot of the birth of Christ was invariably depicted. According to traditions, the Mother of God and the baby were "played" by icons, but the Magi and other characters were dolls or people.

The tradition of decorating spruce came to Russia from Germany. This custom was introduced in 1699 by Peter the Great. True, his decree contained an order to decorate houses with branches of coniferous plants. Spruce trees in Russia have been directly dressed since the middle of the nineteenth century. During the war with Germany in 1916, the Russian Orthodox Church forbade decorating Christmas trees, because it was an enemy tradition. The Bolsheviks did not begin to lift this ban until 1935, when the custom of decorating the Christmas tree returned as New Year's.

Christmas table

With the end of Lent, the hunting season began, and it was possible to slaughter livestock. Therefore, the Christmas table in Russia was traditionally bursting with meat dishes. Its indispensable attribute was homemade sausages, aspic, lamb side with porridge, roasted pig, chicken or stuffed goose. A lot was prepared and closed pies stuffed with meat, hornbeam or cabbage. Pancakes were baked.

But it's right around Christmas. On Christmas Eve, fasting was still going on, so only dietary dishes could be found on the table. It was believed that there should be 12 fasting dishes as months in a year in order to live in goodness the whole next year.

The indispensable attributes of Christmas Eve are broth and kutya . Vzvar is a drink made from dried fruits. Kutya is a lean porridge made from wheat grains, honey and poppy seeds. Sometimes nuts or raisins are added to kutya. But the first three components are unchanged, because they carry a symbolic meaning. Wheat symbolizes life. Honey - well-being and satiety. Poppy - wealth and wealth. It is believed that the tastier the kutia, the more successful the year will be for the family.

In addition to kutya and zvara, the menu on Christmas Eve could include boiled peas, cabbage rolls, cabbage, lean pies, pancakes, lean borscht, fried or salted fish, dumplings with cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms or fruits, and porridge.

There were also special rituals in the design of the table. So a prerequisite for serving was to lay some straw under the tablecloth. This symbolized the manger in which Mary laid the son of God after birth. Under the table, it was necessary to hide some iron thing. It was believed that all the guests of the feast were obliged to touch it so that the year would pass in health.

An even number of people were supposed to sit at the table. If this did not work out, then it was necessary to put another device on the table.

Present

We used to exchange gifts right at the table. It was customary to do this after all the guests had tasted the main course.

They gave household utensils, sweets or small souvenirs for Christmas. Expensive gifts were out of place on this day.

With the advent of Christmas, Christmas time begins - a period when you need to praise the Lord and celebrate the birth of the Savior. They last until Baptism. It is customary to visit Christmas time, walk and have fun. In pagan times, this time was considered the best for divination and predictions, but the Orthodox Church does not approve of these actions.

Regardless of whether you want to celebrate Christmas according to all the canons or not, we wish you to celebrate this holiday in a warm family circle.

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Once, the chairman of the Union of Writers, Alexander Fadeev, was informed that some old woman had come, asking to receive her, saying that she was writing poetry. Fadeev ordered to let her in. Entering the office, the visitor sat down, put the knapsack she held in her hands on her knees, and said: “Life is hard, Alexander Alexandrovich, help somehow.” Fadeev, not knowing what to do, said:

Do you really write poetry?
- Wrote, printed once.
- Well, all right, - he said, to end this meeting, - read me something from your poems.

She looked at him gratefully and began to read in a weak voice:

The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree.
She grew up in the forest.
Slim in winter and summer
The green one was...

So did you write it? exclaimed the astonished Fadeev. By his order, the visitor was immediately registered with the Writers' Union and provided her with all kinds of assistance.

Raisa Adamovna Kudasheva (that was the name of the old woman) lived a long life (1878-1964). Born Princess Gidroits (Lithuanian princely family), in her youth she served as a governess to Prince Kudashev, later she married him. She worked as a teacher, and in Soviet times - as a librarian. In her youth, she published mainly in children's magazines.

Kudasheva treated fame with amazing indifference and for many years she hid under various initials and pseudonyms. She explained it this way: “I didn’t want to be famous, but I couldn’t help but write.” In 1899, Kudasheva's story "Leri" was published in the journal "Russian Thought", which remained her only work for adults. The story tells about the adolescence and youth of a girl from a noble family, her first great love for a brilliant officer. In total, Raisa Kudasheva published about 200 songs and stories, fairy tales and poetry books.

In 1903, she wrote the Christmas tree poem, "Yolka":

Hairy branches bend
Down to the heads of the children;
Rich beads shine
Overflow of lights;
Ball after ball hides
And star after star
Threads of light are rolling,
Like golden rain...
play, have fun
The kids are here
And you, spruce-beauty,
They sing their song.
Everything is ringing, growing,
Voices of children's choir,
And, sparkling, swaying
Spruce Christmas trees.***

A Christmas tree was born in the forest, it grew in the forest,
In winter and summer, slender, green was!
The blizzard sang songs to her: “Sleep, Christmas tree ... bye-bye!”
Frost wrapped in snow: look, do not freeze!
The cowardly gray bunny jumped under the Christmas tree,
Sometimes the wolf himself, the angry wolf, trotted.***

More cheerful and friendly
Sing, kids!
The tree will bow soon
Your branches.
Nuts shine in them
Gilded…
Who is not happy here
Spruce green?***

Chu! Snow in the forest often creaks under the snake,
The hairy horse is in a hurry, running.
The horse is carrying a firewood, and a peasant is in the firewood.
He cut down our Christmas tree to the very root ...
And here you are, dressed up, you came to us for a holiday,
And brought a lot of joy to the kids.***

More cheerful and friendly
Sing, kids!
The tree will bow soon
Your branches.
Choose for yourself
What will you like…
Ay thank you
El-beauty!

These verses signed "A.E." were published in the Christmas issue of Malyutka magazine. As you can see, they were something like a Christmas game scenario. Children are encouraged to sing "more cheerful and friendly" in order to earn gifts and goodies hanging on the Christmas tree. But the "voices of children's choir" based on her poems were heard only a few years later.

In 1905, Kudashev's "Yolka" caught the eye of the agronomist and passionate music lover Leonid Karlovich Beckman (1872-1939). He was a Baltic German, a hereditary nobleman, who had outstanding musical abilities. In the student choir of the university, he sang the part of the future outstanding singer Sobinov, when for some reason he could not perform. Shortly before the events described, in February 1903, L. Beckman married Elena Shcherbina, the adopted daughter of E.N. Shcherbina (director of the Slavianskiy Bazar Hotel), a talented pianist who graduated four years earlier with a gold medal from the Moscow Conservatory, later Honored Artist of Russia, professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Her professional skill was such that for the sake of a joke she could lie on her stomach on the lid of the instrument and play upside down.

L. Beckman with family

The birth of the song took place on October 17, 1905 - the day when the tsar signed the historical manifesto that transformed the state foundations of the Russian Empire.

According to the memoirs of Elena Beckman-Shcherbina, it was like this: “On October 17, 1905, my eldest daughter Verochka turned two years old, and in the morning I gave her a living doll - my sister Olya, who was born at half past one in the night, that is, also on October 17. Verochka was delighted. While I was still lying in bed, Leonid somehow sat down at the piano, put Verik on his knees and composed a song for her based on a poem from the children's magazine "Baby" - "A Christmas tree was born in the forest, it grew in the forest ..." Verochka, who had excellent hearing , quickly learned it, and I, in order not to forget the song, wrote it down. Subsequently, we both began to compose other songs for children. This is how the collection "Verochka's Songs" arose, which went through four editions in a short time, then - "Olenka the Singer".

Later music critics found that Beckman's music was not entirely original. The melody of "Yolki" echoes the song of the Swedish poetess and composer Emmy Köhler "Thousands of Christmas candles are lit" ("Nu tändas tusen juleljus", 1898):

And with a German student song from the early 19th century, "Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus":

Nevertheless, Rachmaninov, Taneyev, Scriabin spoke approvingly of the Yolka. After that, the new song began to gain more and more recognition, although Kudasheva did not even know about it for many years.

In 1933, when the New Year was officially celebrated in the USSR for the first time, designed to supplant the Christmas holidays, Kudasheva-Bekman's song again sounded under every Christmas tree. Kudasheva's text turned out to be ideologically sterile, and therefore acceptable - this Christmas song never mentions Christmas!

Why men prefer blondes or the evolution of the ideal of female beauty Blonde-haired, long-legged, slender - behind the phenomenon of the attractiveness of blondes, ...

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On January 7, Orthodox Christians in Russia celebrate one of the most important and solemn holidays in the church calendar - Christmas.

history of the holiday

On this day, believers celebrate the birth of the Infant Jesus from the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to Christian doctrine, the Son of God was born in Bethlehem. It was here that the Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph came to participate in the census, which was conducted by the king of Judea - Herod the Great. All the hotels in Bethlehem were occupied, so Mary and Joseph settled in a cave, where they spent the night with their pets. At the time of the birth of the Baby Jesus, a star appeared in the sky, which showed the Magi the way to the baby. The wise men entered the barn and presented their gifts to the future Savior: gold, frankincense and myrrh (a special fragrant oil).

Having heard about the birth of Jesus, King Herod, who ruled Judea at that time, and feared him as a rival to his reign, sent soldiers to Bethlehem with an order to put to death all male babies under two years of age. The Gospel tells that Joseph, having received a warning of danger in a dream, fled with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child to Egypt, where the Holy Family remained until the death of Herod.

As it is sung on these holidays in temples, mangers have become "a receptacle for the incapable God." The birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem was predicted by the prophet Micah more than seven centuries before the event itself. The birth of Jesus is described by two evangelists - the apostles Matthew and Luke.

The opinions of historians about the exact date of the Nativity of Christ differ.

In modern studies, the dates of the birth of Jesus are in the interval between 12 BC. until AD 7, when the only known census was conducted during the period described.

Not a single historian of this period mentioned the fact of the birth of Jesus in his writings. Theologians explain this by the supermundane nature of the birth of Christ, noting that it transcended historical events.

The holiday of Christmas, according to the teachings of the church, symbolizes the reconciliation of man with God. Christmas heralds the redemptive feat of Christ and the renewal of human nature.

You can often hear that Christmas, celebrated on January 7, is called Orthodox, and celebrated 13 days earlier, on December 25, is called Catholic. However, this is not entirely true. The fact is that on the night of January 7, four of the 15 Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas - Russian, Georgian, Jerusalem and Serbian. In addition to them, on this day, Athos monasteries living according to the Julian calendar, as well as many Catholics of the Eastern rite (for example, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) and part of the Protestants celebrate Christmas.

At the same time, some Orthodox celebrate Christmas on the night of December 25, like Catholics. These are parishioners of 11 out of 15 local Orthodox churches in the world that adhere to the New Julian calendar, which coincides with the Gregorian. Together with them, the holiday is celebrated by Protestants living according to the Gregorian calendar.

Different dates of Christmas (December 25 or January 7) are explained only by different systems of chronology (Gregorian and Julian calendars).

Traditions

Before Christmas, believers observe a strict forty-day fast, which lasts six weeks, from November 28 to January 6 inclusive.

The celebration of Christmas itself takes place on the night of January 7 - exactly at midnight, solemn worship begins in the churches.

Nativity scenes with figurines of the Holy Family, three wise men, angels, and animals are installed near the temples. After the solemn service, the faithful gather at the Christmas table. His main dish is poultry meat. Chicken was served cold, goose or duck hot.

At Christmas, pies, gingerbread, carols (baked rye dough with various fillings) were also baked in every house, which were treated to those who came to carol.

The period from January 7 to Epiphany Christmas Eve (January 18) is called Svyatki. At this time, it is customary to visit and help those in need. The tradition of carols belongs to the same period - songs glorifying Christ and Christmas, with which they used to go around the yards, wishing good and joy, collecting gifts in the form of treats. This custom appeared after the Baptism of Russia during the adaptation of pagan customs by Christian culture.

Prohibitions

On Christmas you can not do cleaning and all sorts of household chores. This day was created for peace and joy.

You can't swear on a holy day. Whoever swears takes away the hope of salvation from his ancestors.

You can not engage in heavy physical labor: build, make something, repair.

You can not do needlework: sew, knit, embroider, darn.

Can't take out the trash. Our ancestors believed that along with the garbage taken out of the house at Christmas, happiness, love and prosperity would disappear from it.

It is forbidden to get drunk, you can only sip wine.

Do not put empty dishes on the table, especially plates.

It is forbidden to be alone and sad.

Signs

• If there are many stars in the sky on Christmas night, then the year will be fruitful.
• If the weather is warm on January 7, then spring will be late and cold.
• To find some thing for Christmas - to prosperity and material well-being in the coming year, to lose - to a loss.
• If a woman is the first guest in the house on Christmas Day, then next year the family will face misfortune.

Prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Christmas is one of the main holidays for Christians. The Orthodox Church celebrates it on January 7th. In Europe, the same day is celebrated on December 25th.

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1 What event happened on Christmas

Christmas is one of the main Christian holidays, established in honor of the birth in the flesh of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary. A detailed account of the birth of Jesus Christ is given by the Evangelists Luke and Matthew

Emperor Herod ordered a census, and for this everyone had to come to their city. Joseph, a descendant of David, and his wife Mary went to Bethlehem. They did not have enough room in the hotel and they stayed in a cave, which was used as a barn for cattle. There Mary gave birth to Jesus and laid him in a manger.

After the birth of Jesus, the first of the people to bow to him were the shepherds, informed of this event by the appearance of an angel. A wonderful star appeared in the sky, which led the magi to the baby Jesus. They presented gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh.

2 Why is the date of Orthodox Christmas different from the Catholic

The Gregorian calendar, according to which most countries of the world now live, including Russia, was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. Whereas in Russia they continued to use Julian. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in our country in 1918, but the Russian Orthodox Church did not approve of this decision and continues to use the Julian calendar. In the 21st century, the difference between dates according to two calendars is 13 days.

3 Who celebrates Christmas

Christmas on the night of December 24-25 is celebrated not only by Catholics, but also by Protestants living according to the Gregorian calendar, as well as 11 of the 15 Local Orthodox Churches in the world that adhere to the New Julian calendar, which coincides with the Gregorian.

Christmas is celebrated on the night of January 6-7 by four Orthodox Churches - Russian, Georgian, Jerusalem and Serbian. As well as Athos monasteries living according to the Julian calendar, and many Catholics of the Eastern rite (for example, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) and part of Russian Protestants.

4 How Christmas is celebrated

In the Russian Orthodox Church, Christmas takes second place after Easter. It is preceded by a 40-day Advent fast. On Christmas Eve (the night of January 6-7) he is especially strict.

All-night vigils are held in churches. On the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox greet each other with the words: “Christ is born!”, answering them with “We praise Him!”.

5 Why is Christmas Eve called Christmas Eve

The name Christmas Eve comes from the word "sochivo". These are wheat grains soaked in the juice from the seeds. It is customary to treat yourself to Sochiv on Christmas Eve after the appearance of the first star. The tradition of eating nothing “before the first star” is connected with the legend that on the night of Christmas a Bethlehem star appeared over the cave where Mary was, announcing the birth of Christ.