I would like to emphasize that you must be present at the festive All-Night Vigil. During this service, in fact, Christ, born in Bethlehem, is glorified. Liturgy is a divine service that practically does not change in connection with the holidays, and the main liturgical texts, the main chants, which explain the event remembered on this day and set us up on how to properly celebrate the holiday, are sung and read in the church during Vespers and Matins.
It should also be said that the Christmas service begins a day earlier - on Christmas Eve. On the morning of January 6, Christmas Vespers are celebrated in churches. It sounds strange: vespers in the morning, but this is a necessary deviation from the rules of the Church. Previously, Vespers began in the afternoon and continued with the Liturgy of Basil the Great, at which people received communion. The whole day of January 6 before this service there was a particularly strict fast; people did not eat food at all, preparing to take communion. After lunch, Vespers began, and communion was received at dusk. And soon after this came the solemn Christmas Matins, which began to be served on the night of January 7th.
But now, since we have become more frail and weak, solemn Vespers is celebrated on the 6th in the morning and ends with the Liturgy of Basil the Great.
Therefore, those who want to celebrate the Nativity of Christ correctly, according to the charter, following the example of our ancestors - ancient Christians, saints, should be, if work allows, on the eve of Christmas, January 6, at the morning service. On Christmas itself, you should come to Great Compline and Matins and, naturally, to the Divine Liturgy.
2. When preparing to go to the night Liturgy, worry in advance about not wanting to sleep so much.
In the Athonite monasteries, in particular in Dochiara, the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Gregory, always says that it is better to close your eyes for a while in the temple, if you are completely sleepy, than to retire to your cell to rest, thus leaving the divine service.
You know that in the churches on the Holy Mountain there are special wooden chairs with armrests - stasidia, on which you can sit or stand, reclining the seat and leaning on special handrails. It must also be said that on Mount Athos, in all monasteries, the full brethren are necessarily present at all daily services. Absence from service is a fairly serious deviation from the rules. Therefore, you can leave the temple during the service only as a last resort.
In our realities, you can’t sleep in a temple, but there’s no need for that. On Mount Athos, all services begin at night - at 2, 3 or 4 o'clock. And in our churches services are not daily, liturgies at night are generally rare. Therefore, in order to go out for night prayer, you can prepare in completely ordinary everyday ways.
For example, be sure to sleep the night before the service. While the Eucharistic fast allows, drink coffee. Since the Lord has given us fruits that invigorate us, we need to use them.
But if sleep begins to overcome you during the night service, I think it would be better to go out and make a few circles around the temple with the Jesus Prayer. This short walk will definitely refresh you and give you strength to continue to pay attention.
3. Fast correctly. “Until the first star” means not to go hungry, but to attend the service.
Where did the custom of not eating food on Christmas Eve, January 6, “until the first star” come from? As I already said, before Christmas Vespers began in the afternoon, it went into the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, which ended when stars actually appeared in the sky. After the Liturgy, the rules permitted eating a meal. That is, “until the first star” meant, in fact, until the end of the Liturgy.
But over time, when the liturgical circle was isolated from the life of Christians, when people began to treat divine services rather superficially, this developed into some kind of custom completely divorced from practice and reality. People don’t go to the service or take communion on January 6, but at the same time they go hungry.
When people ask me how to fast on Christmas Eve, I usually say this: if you attended Christmas Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great in the morning, then you are blessed to eat food, as required by the rules, after the end of the Liturgy. That is, during the day.
But if you decide to devote this day to cleaning the premises, preparing 12 dishes, and so on, then, please, eat after the “first star”. Since you didn’t carry out the feat of prayer, at least carry out the feat of fasting.
Regarding how to fast before Communion, if it is at a night service, then according to existing practice, liturgical fasting (that is, complete abstinence from food and water) in this case is 6 hours. But this is not directly formulated anywhere, and there are no clear instructions in the charter how many hours before communion you cannot eat.
On an ordinary Sunday, when a person is preparing for Communion, it is customary not to eat food after midnight. But if you are going to receive communion at the night Christmas service, then it would be correct not to eat food somewhere after 21.00.
In any case, it is better to discuss this issue with your confessor.
4. Find out and agree on the date and time of confession in advance. So as not to spend the entire festive service in line.
The issue of confession at the Christmas service is purely individual, because each church has its own customs and traditions. It is easy to talk about confession in monasteries or those churches where there are a large number of serving priests. But if there is only one priest serving in the church, and there are a majority of them, then it is best, of course, to agree with the priest in advance, when it will be convenient for him to confess you. It is better to confess on the eve of the Christmas service, so that during the service you think not about whether you will or will not have time to confess, but about how to truly worthily meet the coming of Christ the Savior into the world.
5. Do not exchange worship and prayer for 12 Lenten dishes. This tradition is neither evangelical nor liturgical.
I am often asked how to reconcile attendance at services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the tradition of the Christmas Eve feast, when 12 Lenten dishes are specially prepared. I’ll say right away that the “12 Strava” tradition is somewhat mysterious to me. Christmas Eve, like Epiphany Eve, is a fast day, and a day of strict fasting. According to the regulations, boiled food without oil and wine are allowed on this day. How you can cook 12 different lenten dishes without using oil is a mystery to me.
In my opinion, the “12 Stravas” is a folk custom that has nothing in common either with the Gospel, or with the liturgical charter, or with the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, on the eve of Christmas, a large number of materials appear in the media in which attention is concentrated on some dubious pre-Christmas and post-Christmas traditions, eating certain dishes, fortune telling, festivities, caroling, and so on - all that husk that is often very distant from the true meaning of the great holiday of the coming of our Redeemer into the world.
I am always very hurt by the profanation of holidays, when their meaning and significance are reduced to certain rituals that have developed in one area or another. One hears that such things as traditions are needed for people who are not yet particularly churchgoers, in order to somehow interest them. But you know, in Christianity it is still better to give people good quality food straight away, rather than fast food. Still, it is better for a person to recognize Christianity immediately from the Gospel, from the traditional patristic Orthodox position, than from some “comics”, even those sanctified by folk customs.
In my opinion, many folk rituals associated with this or that holiday are comics on the theme of Orthodoxy. They have practically nothing to do with the meaning of the holiday or the gospel event.
6. Don't turn Christmas into a food holiday. This day is, first of all, spiritual joy. And it is not good for your health to break your fast with a large feast.
Again, it's all about priorities. If it is a priority for someone to sit at a rich table, then the entire day before the holiday, including when the festive vespers are already being celebrated, the person is busy preparing various meats, Olivier salads and other sumptuous dishes.
If it is more important for a person to meet the born Christ, then, first of all, he goes to worship, and in his free time he prepares what he has time for.
In general, it is strange that it is considered obligatory on the day of the holiday to sit and consume a variety of abundant dishes. This is neither medically nor spiritually beneficial. It turns out that we fasted throughout Lent, missed Christmas Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great - and all this in order to simply sit down and eat. This can be done at any other time...
I’ll tell you how the festive meal is prepared in our monastery. Usually, at the end of night services (Easter and Christmas), the brethren are offered a short break of fast. As a rule, this is cheese, cottage cheese, hot milk. That is, something that does not require much effort when preparing. And already in the afternoon a more festive meal is prepared.
7. Sing to God intelligently. Prepare for the service - read about it, find translations, texts of the psalms.
There is an expression: knowledge is power. And, indeed, knowledge gives strength not only morally, but also literally - physically. If a person has at one time taken the trouble to study Orthodox worship and understand its essence, if he knows what is currently happening in the church, then for him there is no question of standing for a long time or getting tired. He lives in the spirit of worship, knows what follows what. For him, the service is not divided into two parts, as it happens: “What is in the service now?” - “Well, they’re singing.” - "And now?" - “Well, they’re reading.” For most people, unfortunately, the service is divided into two parts: when they sing and when they read.
Knowledge of the service makes it clear that at a certain moment in the service you can sit down and listen to what is being sung and read. The liturgical regulations in some cases allow, and in some even require, sitting. This is, in particular, the time of reading psalms, hours, kathismas, stichera on “Lord, I have cried.” That is, there are many moments during the service when you can sit. And, as one saint put it, it is better to think about God while sitting than to think about your feet while standing.
Many believers act very practically by taking light folding benches with them. Indeed, in order not to rush to the benches at the right time to take seats, or not to “occupy” the seats by standing next to them throughout the service, it would be better to take a special bench with you and sit down on it at the right moment.
There is no need to be embarrassed about sitting during the service. The Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. Still, at some moments it is better to sit down, especially if your legs hurt, and sit and listen attentively to the service, rather than suffer, suffer and look at the clock to see when all this will end.
In addition to taking care of your feet, take care of food for your mind in advance. You can buy special books or find and print materials about the holiday service on the Internet - interpretation and texts with translations.
I definitely recommend also finding the Psalter translated into your native language. The reading of the psalms is an integral part of any Orthodox service, and the psalms are very beautiful both melodically and stylistically. In church they are read in Church Slavonic, but even for a churchgoer it is difficult to perceive all their beauty by ear. Therefore, in order to understand what is being sung at the moment, you can find out in advance, before the service, which psalms will be read during this service. This really needs to be done in order to “sing to God intelligently” in order to feel all the beauty of psalmody.
Many people believe that you cannot follow the Liturgy in church from a book - you need to pray together with everyone. But one does not exclude the other: following a book and praying, in my opinion, are one and the same thing. Therefore, do not be embarrassed to take literature with you to the service. You can take a blessing from the priest for this in advance in order to cut off unnecessary questions and comments.
8. On holidays, churches are crowded. Have pity on your neighbor - light candles or venerate the icon another time.
Many people, when they come to church, believe that lighting a candle is the duty of every Christian, a sacrifice to God that must be made. But since the Christmas service is much more crowded than a regular service, some difficulty arises with the placement of candles, including because the candlesticks are overcrowded.
The tradition of bringing candles to the temple has ancient roots. Previously, as we know, Christians took everything they needed for the Liturgy from home with them: bread, wine, candles for lighting the church. And this, indeed, was their feasible sacrifice.
Now the situation has changed and setting candles has lost its original meaning. For us, this is more a reminder of the first centuries of Christianity.
A candle is our visible sacrifice to God. It has a symbolic meaning: before God, we must, like this candle, burn with an even, bright, smokeless flame.
This is also our sacrifice for the temple, because we know from the Old Testament that people in ancient times were required to tithe for the maintenance of the Temple and the priests serving at it. And in the New Testament Church this tradition was continued. We know the words of the apostle that those who serve the altar are fed from the altar. And the money that we leave when purchasing a candle is our sacrifice.
But in such cases, when churches are overcrowded, when whole torches of candles are burning on candlesticks, and they are being passed around and passed on, perhaps it would be more correct to put the amount that you wanted to spend on candles in a donation box than to embarrass your brothers by manipulating candles and sisters praying nearby.
9. When bringing children to the night service, be sure to ask them if they want to be in church now.
If you have small children or elderly relatives, then go with them to the Liturgy in the morning.
This practice has developed in our monastery. At night at 23:00 Great Compline begins, followed by Matins, which turns into the Liturgy. The liturgy ends around half past five in the morning - thus, the service lasts about five and a half hours. This is not so much - the usual all-night vigil every Saturday lasts 4 hours - from 16.00 to 20.00.
And our parishioners who have small children or elderly relatives pray at night at Compline and Matins, after Matins they go home, rest, sleep, and in the morning they come to Liturgy at 9.00 with small children or with those people who, for health reasons, could not attend the night service.
If you decide to bring your children to church at night, then, it seems to me, the main criterion for attending such long services should be the desire of the children themselves to come to this service. No violence or coercion is acceptable!
You know, there are things of status for a child, which are criteria for adulthood for him. Such, for example, as the first confession, the first visit to the night service. If he really asks that adults take him with them, then in this case this needs to be done.
It is clear that a child will not be able to stand attentively for the entire service. To do this, take some kind of soft bedding for him, so that when he gets tired, you can put him in a corner to sleep and wake him up before communion. But so that the child is not deprived of this joy of the night service.
It is very touching to see when children come to the service with their parents, they stand joyful, with sparkling eyes, because the night service for them is very significant and unusual. Then gradually they subside and turn sour. And now, as you pass through the side aisle, you see children lying side by side, immersed in the so-called “liturgical” sleep.
As long as the child can bear it, he can endure it. But you shouldn’t deprive him of such joy. However, I repeat once again, getting into this service should be the desire of the child himself. So that Christmas would be associated for him only with love, only with the joy of the born baby Christ.
10. Be sure to take communion!
When we come to church, we often worry that we didn’t have time to light the candles or didn’t venerate some icon. But that's not what you need to think about. We need to worry about whether we often unite with Christ.
Our duty during worship is to pray attentively and, as often as possible, to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The temple, first of all, is the place where we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is what we must do.
And, indeed, attending the Liturgy without communion is meaningless. Christ calls: “Take, eat,” and we turn away and leave. The Lord says: “Drink from the Cup of Life, all of you,” and we don’t want to. Does the word “everything” have a different meaning? The Lord does not say: drink 10% from me - those who were preparing. He says: drink from me, everyone! If we come to the Liturgy and do not receive communion, then this is a liturgical violation.
INSTEAD OF AN AFTERWORD. What basic condition is necessary to experience the joy of a long all-night service?
It is necessary to realize WHAT happened on this day many years ago. That “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” That “no one has ever seen God; The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed.” That an event of such cosmic proportions occurred that had never happened before and will not happen after.
God, the Creator of the universe, the Creator of the infinite cosmos, the Creator of our earth, the Creator of man as a perfect creation, the Almighty, who commands the movement of the planets, the entire cosmic system, the existence of life on earth, Whom no one has ever seen, and only a few in the entire history of mankind have been privileged to behold part of the manifestation of His some kind of power... And this God became a man, a baby, completely defenseless, small, subject to everything, including the possibility of murder. And this is all for us, for each of us.
There is a wonderful expression: God became man so that we could become gods. If we understand this - that each of us has received the opportunity to become God by grace - then the meaning of this holiday will be revealed to us. If we realize the scale of the event we are celebrating, what happened on this day, then all the culinary delights, caroling, round dances, dressing up and fortune-telling will seem to us trifle and husk, completely not worth our attention. We will be absorbed in the contemplation of God, the Creator of the universe, lying in a manger next to the animals in a simple stable. This will exceed everything.
Christmas Eve, its eve, was popularly called Christmas Eve because of the ritual dish “sochiva,” which was an indispensable attribute of the pre-Christmas table and formerly consisted of grains soaked in water. A little later they began to cook the juice with almond and poppy milk, adding honey.
On January 6, a solemn service was held in churches, and those who for one reason or another could not attend glorified the Lord at home, telling children about the birth of Jesus Christ, about the Magi and the holy apostles. This is how the child gradually developed respect for the traditions and customs of not only his own people, but also the entire Christian world.
Late in the evening of January 6, when it was already completely dark, a cheerful Kolyada, consisting of a noisy crowd of mummers, glorifying the Lord and wishing their owners health and prosperity, walked from house to house. Among the ancient Slavs, Kolyada symbolized warmth, giving fertility to the earth and joy to people. In carols - ritual songs, the sun was sung, wishes for a rich harvest and a happy marriage were heard. Under the influence of the church, which did not recognize the Slavic Kolyada, pagan symbols began to disappear from carols over time, giving way to Christian ones. Which, however, did not in the least affect the generosity and hospitality of those who at all times with pleasure and from the heart presented the carolers with all kinds of delicacies, specially prepared for this day.
But Christmas Eve was considered primarily a family dinner. When peace, tranquility and harmony reigned in the house, and all sorrows and sorrows were forgotten. According to the ancient custom, the festive table on January 6 was first sprinkled with hay - in memory of the den and manger, the first refuge of Christ. Then it was covered with a tablecloth, from under which the most respected member of the family had to draw the straw. If it turned out to be long, they counted on a good harvest; a short straw predicted lack of food. And the girls on Christmas Eve were guessing at kutya. Why was it necessary to splash it from a spoon onto the door and listen carefully to what the first person who opened it would say. Whatever was the subject of his conversation, such was the fate of the fortuneteller. The rest of the family preferred to use kutya, sochivo, and broth for their intended purpose, treating themselves to them with great pleasure.
The Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of Saint Claudia and Saint Eugenia on January 6th. It is also Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, when people go from house to house and sing carols for good luck. On this day, the Filippov Fast ends, which began on November 28. On January 6th they judge what the month of December will be like. Signs help with this.
On Claudia's Day they say: “The day has increased by a chicken foot.” According to ancient signs, the most severe frosts are coming right now. “Winter frolics not only in the forest, but also on a person’s nose,” people say.
January 6 is one of the important days in the Orthodox Church. They celebrate Christmas Eve, the eve of the Nativity of Christ - the most important holiday after Easter. According to legend, it was on this night that Jesus Christ was born.
It is interesting that, despite church prohibitions, in Rus' in the old days girls gathered together on January 6 to tell fortunes, since, according to beliefs, fortune telling at Christmas is always true.
Until the first star rose, they tried not to eat. They prepared a rich table for the holiday, did the cleaning, and rubbed the floors with juniper grass so that the house had a pleasant smell.
Folk signs for January 6
- A frosty day promises a good harvest
- If on Christmas Eve at night the sky is starry and cloudless, it means that this year there will be a rich harvest of berries and mushrooms
- If a person was born on Christmas Eve, then he will be happy and will never need money. By the way, such people are recommended to wear a talisman with heliotrope, which, according to popular belief, will provide reliable protection against evil forces
- If the day of January 6 is clear and cloudless, then this promises a good harvest.
- If the paths in the forest are black (that is, the ground is visible and not hidden under the snow), it means that this year you can harvest a rich buckwheat harvest
- The starry sky on Christmas Eve promises livestock offspring
- If the ground is very frozen on Claudia, it is a sign that there will be a good harvest.
- On Claudia's day they don't feed chickens so that their gardens don't get dug up.
- On Claudia's Day you should not do sewing or handicrafts, as this promises bad luck.
- On this day you cannot take trash out of the house. Everything that had accumulated was collected in a secluded place and then burned.
- It was believed that on January 6 one should not sit down to the Christmas table wearing black clothes, since this is the color of sadness
- Not letting carolers into your house is a bad omen. It is believed that good luck will leave the house. But the hospitality shown towards carol performers, on the contrary, promises prosperity and prosperity
- If there is severe frost outside, this promises a rich harvest.
- According to the sign on January 6, if the Milky Way is visible in the sky, it means that the summer will be warm
- If you take a steam bath on Christmas Eve, this will give a person protection from illnesses for the entire next year.
For the Orthodox, on Saturday, January 6, 2018, Christmas Eve began - Christians are completing a 40-day fast and preparing for the holiday of the Nativity of Christ, reports the correspondent of the Access News Agency.
Festive services will be held at night from January 6 to 7 and on the morning of the 7th in all churches of the Chelyabinsk Metropolis.
Before Christmas, believers observe a strict forty-day fast - it lasts six weeks, from November 28 to January 6 inclusive. On the day before the holiday (Christmas Eve), it is customary to prepare a traditional dish of boiled wheat or rice with honey - sochivo. Traditionally, believers abstain from other foods until Christmas.
Another tradition that came to us from the West and has taken root in many Orthodox churches is to install a nativity scene, a scene of the Nativity of Christ with the main participants in the events: the newborn Jesus, his mother Mary, Joseph the Betrothed, shepherds, wise men, animals who came to worship the Infant God.
From January 6 to 7 comes the most important holiday for Christian culture - the Nativity of Christ. It is also celebrated by the Georgian, Serbian, Jerusalem and Polish Orthodox churches.
On this day, believers celebrate the birth of the Baby 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 conducted by the King of Judea, Herod the Great. All the hotels in Bethlehem were occupied, so the Holy Family was forced to stop for the night in a cattle pen. This is where Baby Jesus was born. The birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem was predicted by the prophet Micah more than seven centuries before the event itself.
Modern studies place the dates of Jesus' birth between 12 and 7 BC. e., when the only known population census was conducted during the period described.
The holiday of Christmas, according to the teachings of the church, symbolizes the reconciliation of man with God. Christmas foreshadows the redemptive feat of Christ and the renewal of human nature.
Nowadays, the celebration of Christmas takes place on the night of January 7 - at exactly midnight a solemn service begins in churches, after which believers gather at the Christmas table. In modern Russia, the tradition of giving each other gifts relates more to the New Year, but in recent years some have wished their loved ones a Merry Christmas.
The period from January 7 to Epiphany Eve (January 18) is called Christmastide. At this time, it is customary to visit and help those in need. The tradition of carols dates back to the same period - songs glorifying Christ and Christmas, with which people used to go around the courtyards, wishing goodness and joy, collecting treats. This custom appeared after the Baptism of Rus' during the adaptation of pagan customs by Christian culture.
According to tradition, 12 Lenten dishes are placed on the Christmas table, according to the number of apostles. Each person present at the table should eat at least one spoonful of sochiv for a healthy and prosperous life.
After the service, believers usually break their fast with meat and fish dishes. The decoration of the Christmas table is poultry. In each house they also baked pies, gingerbreads, and carols (products made from rye unleavened dough with various fillings), which were treated to those who came to carol.
On the night of January 6-7, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Nativity of Christ, one of the most important Christian holidays. This is a holiday symbolizing renewal. After all, it was the birth of Christ that proclaimed a new, bright era for humanity. It is no coincidence that a new calendar was even established - from the Nativity of Christ.
The birth in the flesh of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary is one of the miracles revealed by the Lord to humanity. Therefore, on the holiday of the Nativity of Christ, everyone expects a miracle and prays that the next year will be better and happier than the outgoing one. This bright holiday in Orthodoxy is one of the twelve lordly holidays and is preceded by a 40-day Nativity Fast. Christmas celebrations begin on January 6th with the appearance of the first star in the sky. As you know, after the birth of Jesus, the first people to come to worship him were the shepherds, notified of this event by the appearance of an angel. According to the Evangelist Matthew, a miraculous star appeared in the sky, which led the Magi to the baby Jesus.
Signs for Christmas
Clear weather for the Christmas holiday promised a good harvest in summer and autumn.
If there was a thaw at Christmas, then this means a bad harvest.
A snowstorm on Christmas Day was a sign of a good wheat harvest and a good sign for a beekeeper.
If the sky was starry at Christmas, then the year would be fruitful for mushrooms and berries, and a large litter of livestock was expected in such a year.
Well, if the Christmas holiday was warm, then they expected a cold spring.
If it snowed that day, and even in flakes, this meant a good harvest of bread.
And there is one more sign that is still trusted, that is, how you spend Christmas, so will the year be. Therefore, we always strived to spend Christmas in love, peace and prosperity, with a generous Christmas table. There had to be 12 Lenten dishes on the table, then there would be prosperity in the house all year, and the year would be generous.
Under no circumstances should you quarrel on Christmas Day, as you can spend the whole year in disagreements.
Holiday traditions
There are many folk traditions associated with Christmas. Most of them are recognized by the Church. The day before, on Christmas Eve, the Christmas tree is decorated. Its top is crowned with a star - the symbol of Bethlehem. The candles on the Christmas tree are reminiscent of the unearthly light emanating from the cave in which Jesus was born. Boxes with gifts for all family members are placed under the Christmas tree. In addition to the Christmas tree, in houses and churches they build a nativity scene - a symbolic cave with the birth of Christ and three-dimensional figures of the people who surrounded Him.
The main action of the holiday is caroling. Everyone can carol – both adults and children. Previously, cities bore little resemblance to today's megacities, so people went from house to house and glorified the born Christ, which is why they were called Christoslavs. It is customary to give gifts to those who brought good news to the house - sweets, fruits, money - whatever they can.
On Christmas days, it is customary to visit each other and exchange gifts. It is very useful and correct from a Christian point of view to visit the sick and suffering. Children especially look forward to this holiday. If you have the opportunity, give joy to a child in a shelter or a sick boy or girl. There are not so few disadvantaged people in our time - you just have to want to do good for them. You definitely need to attend services in the temple. But there are traditions that the Church categorically rejects as pagan. For example, fortune telling. Predicting the future is a sin, because by doing this a person cuts off God’s participation in his life and His care for himself. At any moment the Lord is free to change the course of events.
On Christmas it is prohibited:
Sewing, cleaning the house, killing animals (going hunting), telling fortunes.
Any day of Christmas time is suitable for fortune telling - from Christmas Eve to Epiphany, except Christmas itself.
On Christmas night you need to pray and make wishes. It is believed that if you look into the open sky on Christmas night and make a wish, it will definitely come true.
It is believed that on the night of January 6-7, dreams prophetic dreams.
On this night, unmarried girls try in every possible way to influence these dreams. So, according to legend, in order for a girl to dream about her future husband, she needs to comb her hair at night, put the comb under the pillows and say: “Mummer, comb my head.” The one who dreamed is the future husband of the fortune-telling girl.
On Christmas night, many girls try to find out their fate. Some with the help of dreams, and some with the help of fortune telling. Below are the simplest and most popular fortune telling. Particular attention should be paid to fortune telling with a mirror, which, according to the opinions and reviews of many fortune tellers, is unsafe.
Fortune telling with matches
Take two matches and insert them into the slot of the box on opposite sides. Light them at the same time and watch their behavior. If during combustion the matches “look” at each other, it means that the guy and girl they are guessing at will be a couple and they have a future together.
Fortune telling on paper
Take a piece of paper and crumple it up. Place the crumpled leaf on the bottom of an upturned plate or saucer and set it on fire. After this, bring the saucer with the burnt paper to the wall and carefully turn the saucer until some shadow appears on the wall, by the outlines of which they judge the near future.
Fortune telling with cards
When you go to bed on Christmas night, take the King of Diamonds with you. Place the card under your pillow and before going to bed, say the following words: “Dream, betrothed, dream, mummer.”
Before you rush into the kingdom of Morpheus, “make a mess”: wash your face, comb your hair. You can put some of the decorations under your pillow along with the card. They consider the future groom to be the person who visits you in your dreams on this magical night.
Fortune telling using nut shells
For this fortune telling, you need a basin of water, paper and a walnut shell.
Attach small paper strips to the edge of the pelvis with significant events written on them, for example, moving, new place of work, travel, marriage, pregnancy, etc. Then, in half the shell, attach the stub of a candle, but not a simple one, but one bought in a church or a birthday candle. The candle is lit, after which the shell is lowered to float in the basin.
Which piece of paper it will moor to or, remaining in place, will lean towards it, then the event will occur within a year.
Fortune telling for a husband's choice using bulbs
The results of such fortune-telling are not immediately visible, but this is the case when you can wait, because the price of the matter is choosing the best groom!
On Christmas Eve, take several bulbs according to the number of candidates for the vacancy of your life partner, sign them with the appropriate names. Place them in water and wait for them to begin to sprout. Pay attention to the onion, which sprouts earlier than all the others: the person with the name written on it is the most suitable candidate.
Fortune telling for the betrothed
At midnight on Christmas Day, girls leave the house and ask the first man they meet for his name. The name that he names will be the name of the betrothed.
Fortune telling on the number and gender of future children
On Christmas evening, you need to pour water into a glass, put a ring in it and put it out in the cold. Before going to bed, a glass is taken out of the cold and future children are judged by the icy surface formed in it. The number of tubercles indicates the number of boys, and the number of pits indicates how many girls there will be.
Fortune telling by book
They took a book at random and asked a question. After this, they called the page number and the line number on it - what was written in this place in the book served as the answer.
Fortune telling "yes, no"
Hold your left hand over a jar with any cereal or grain, palm down. While concentrating, you need to ask the question that interests you. After this, take a handful of cereal from the jar and pour it onto the table, then count the number of grains. If the number of grains is even, this means a positive answer - “yes”, an odd number means a negative answer - “no”.
Fortune telling for the betrothed with a frying pan
You need to put the frying pan under your mother's bed without her knowing about it. Before going to bed, say to yourself: “Betrothed, come to visit your mother-in-law - there are pancakes.” And in the morning you need to ask your mother what she dreamed about. If in a dream she fed some guy pancakes, ask her to describe his appearance. He is your future groom.
Fortune telling by the window
When everyone in the house goes to bed, the girl should turn off the light, go to the window and looking out of it say: “Betrothed, dressed up, dream of me dressed up!” - and immediately go to bed. That night she dreams of her future groom.
Fortune telling with mirrors
Fortune telling with mirrors is carried out before midnight in complete solitude; before this, it is impossible to inform anyone about the upcoming fortune telling. In an empty room, a large mirror is placed on a table without a tablecloth, with candles on both sides. Opposite the large mirror, at some distance, a second mirror is installed - a smaller one, so that it is reflected in the first mirror. Mutual reflection forms a “corridor”. A handkerchief is placed nearby.
Then you need to turn off the lights, light the candles and sit down at the table. Mentally make a wish to see your betrothed and gaze intently into the depths of the reflective corridor. After some time, the image of the betrothed will appear in it. When the image appears, immediately cover the mirror with a scarf and under no circumstances turn around at that moment.
Another way of fortune telling with a mirror. When there are no clouds in the sky and the moon is shining well, go outside at midnight. Stand at the crossroads with a mirror with your back to the moon so that it is reflected in the mirror. Looking in the mirror, say: “Mummer, show yourself to me in the mirror.” When the image appears, immediately say: “Forget me.”
They celebrate Christmas, both from December 24 to 25, and from January 6 to 7 - so when to visit the temple and how to do it, what traditions to observe? Many Orthodox people are interested in when to celebrate Christmas. We will talk about this in our article.
Why is Christmas celebrated on different days?
In the main Christian Churches, the church calendar is divided: the Orthodox Church celebrates holidays and days of remembrance of saints according to the old style (Julian calendar), the Catholic Church - according to the Gregorian calendar (this is due to astronomical phenomena).
Regarding the Nativity of Christ, the Gregorian calendar is more convenient: after all, the week of holidays begins on December 24-25 with Christmas and continues with the New Year, but Orthodox Christians must celebrate the New Year modestly and calmly in order to observe fasting. However, an Orthodox person can also have fun on New Year's Eve, trying not to eat meat or any particularly tasty things (if he is visiting). Likewise, children in Orthodox families should not be deprived of the New Year holiday and the joy of Santa Claus. It’s just that many Orthodox families try to emphasize the significance of Christmas with more expensive gifts, more active joint visits to events, etc.
Let us note that Christmas is celebrated on December 25 by a number of Orthodox Local Churches, but all Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on the same day (this holiday shifts depending on the phases of the moon). The fact is that only on Orthodox Easter does the descent of the Holy Fire take place in Jerusalem.
History of the Nativity of Christ
On Christmas Day the birthday of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is celebrated. The Gospel tells that because of the population census, Joseph the Obrochnik and the Most Holy Theotokos were forced to come to Bethlehem, Joseph’s homeland. Due to a simple everyday detail - hotels for the poor were overcrowded and there was no money for expensive rooms - they were forced to take refuge in a cave along with their livestock and pets. Here the Virgin Mary gave birth to the Son of God and laid him in a manger, in straw. Simple shepherds, called by the Angels, came here to worship the Baby, and wise wise men led by the Star of Bethlehem.
It is historically testified that at the time of the Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ there was a certain new star in the sky, a celestial phenomenon - perhaps a comet. However, it lit up in the sky as a sign of the coming into earthly life of the Messiah, Christ the Savior. The Star of Bethlehem, according to the Gospel, showed the way to the Magi, who, thanks to it, came to worship the Son of God and bring their gifts to Him.
On Christmas, they ask the Lord for the gift and upbringing of children, remember the simplicity of the Birth of the Infant God, and try to do good deeds during Christmastide - the week between the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany.
How to prepare for Christmas and New Year?
The day before Christmas, January 6, is Christmas Eve. On this day, until the “evening star”, that is, until twilight, according to the Charter of the Church, they did not eat at all; they could only drink water or tea. Nowadays it is difficult to perform such a strict fast. Try, especially if you did not fast during the Nativity Fast, to make a small sacrifice to the Lord - abstain in the morning on this day from meat and dairy products, from fish (even from at least one thing, including sweets). Interestingly, there was a historical joke when Count Suvorov did not eat anything during dinner with Catherine the Second before Christmas. When she asked why, the courtiers explained that it was impossible to reach the first star. The Empress called the servants and bestowed an order - “a star to Count Suvorov.”
In fact, in the Charter and the saying “it is impossible until the first star” does not mean the appearance of heavenly stars, but the singing in the church of the words of the troparion, a prayer in honor of the feast of the Nativity of Christ, where the word star is mentioned.
“Your Nativity, our God of Christ, shone to the world as the light of reason: in it those who served the stars (magi) learned with the star to worship You, the Sun of Truth, and to know You, Coming from the heights of the East. Lord, glory to You."
That is why on Christmas Eve it is advised to fast until the evening Christmas service, visit the temple, and then break the fast at the festive table.
This is not as difficult as it seems: after all, this is exactly how many spend December 31, forcedly fasting: the wife, busy in the kitchen, does not have time to eat, and the family, looking into the refrigerator, hears from the mother: “Don’t touch it, this is for the New Year!” But fasting on Christmas Eve on the eve of Christmas has a deep meaning, a spiritual purpose that is different from simply “creating a festive mood.” While waiting for Christmas, you should pay more attention to meaningful preparation for the holiday, and not to dinner. Prepare, for example, for Confession and Communion with prayer and remembrance of sins. Confess the day before, because on the night of January 6-7 and even in the morning of January 7, churches are crowded. It will be difficult to confess, but to receive communion is a double holiday, double grace.
If you do not plan to receive communion, read the Gospel aloud with the whole family or tell your children about the worship of the Magi, the singing of the Angels and the joy of the shepherds looking at the Infant Christ - the King of the World, humbly lying in the manger. The writer Ivan Shmelev wrote about the traditions of preparing for Christmas and festive pre-revolutionary customs in his amazing novel “The Summer of the Lord,” written from the perspective of a child. You can also read the Christmas chapters from it yourself on Christmas Eve.
Prayer in church at Christmas
Many people who don’t yet know much about the Church get used to being “goers”—coming in when it’s convenient, lighting candles, and not praying during services. However, the Lord Himself speaks about church prayer during general worship: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.”
The original meaning of the word “Church” is a gathering of Christ’s disciples, Christians; translated as “meeting”. It is interesting that the first Christians often gathered not only in buildings; it is important that they were together even in the open air and could perform the Sacraments and pray.
Therefore, try not only to come to church on Christmas, but also to pray, and even better, to prepare and receive communion during the Liturgy. The main service in the church, the main sacrament, is the Liturgy. The most powerful prayer is any commemoration of a person during the Liturgy and, of course, communion itself. The whole Church prays for a person during the Sacrament of the Eucharist. By receiving communion, people receive great strength and grace from God.
The Church blesses us to receive communion at least once a year: preferably about once a month.
How the church service goes on Christmas - rites
Please note that not every Orthodox church holds night services from January 6 to 7. There may be options, and you can go to the temple that is more convenient for you to visit, according to the schedule for which you are ready. Be sure to check at the temple stand
It must be said that churches and cathedrals open at different times, services are held at different times depending on
- Region, location;
- Is it a church or a parish church at the monastery?
- Seasons - in small, rural churches.
Before Christmas there will definitely be a solemn Vespers service - the All-Night Vigil. The name is just a tradition; the service does not last all night, but for about 2-3 hours in different churches.
The all-night vigil begins either at 17:00 or 18:00. Sometimes - in rare cases, in a village, in a remote monastery - at 16:00. In monasteries, services for both the Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil last longer.
The next day in the morning, at approximately 9 or 10:00, the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated, during which you can partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Accordingly, you can go to both services, or just one.
However, there is another option. On the evening of January 6, the service of the saint will begin at 23:30. Then, during the night, an all-night vigil, hours and Divine Liturgy will be celebrated.
The all-night vigil begins with Compline, at which prophecies and psalms are read, and in the middle the choir sings the solemn holiday chant “God is with us.” It includes singing verses from the prophetic book of Isaiah about how the great God himself, the Father of the next age, is now present with people. This chant begins with the words “God is with us, understand the Gentiles (that is, nations) and repent (submit to the power of God), as (because) God is with us.”
Immediately after Great Compline, the festive Christmas Vespers is celebrated. It begins with a litia, a part of the service in which bread, vegetable oil (oil), wheat and wine are blessed. Then the service of festive matins is performed, at which the choir performs many solemn chants. At Matins, a passage from the Gospel is read, telling about the event of the Nativity of Christ. Matins is joined by “hours” (short services consisting of the reading of three psalms and some prayers). Thus ends the festive All-Night Vigil. It will take about one and a half hours.
You will know that the All-Night Vigil has ended because afterward the priest will exclaim, “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This is how the festive Liturgy will begin. It will last about another hour and a half to two hours. If you get tired, you can leave the Liturgy.
May the Lord protect you with His grace, may the Infant Christ bless you!
