The celebration of the Nativity of Christ on January 7 begins with a preparatory period. Forty days before the celebration of the birth of our Lord, we begin the Nativity Fast, cleansing our soul and body in order to properly enter into the holiday and participate in the great spiritual reality Christ's coming. The period of the Nativity Fast is reflected in church life by a number of liturgical features that indicate the coming holiday.

Christmas Eve

On the eve of January 6th in all Orthodox churches Vespers, which usually follows the hours, immediately begins the celebration, because, as we know, the liturgical day begins in the evening. The tone of the holiday is set by five stichera on “The Lord has cried...” They are truly an explosion of joy about the gift of Christ’s incarnation, which has now taken place. Eight biblical readings show that Christ was the fulfillment of all prophecies, that His Kingdom is the Kingdom of “all ages,” that all human history finds its meaning in Him, and the center of His coming into the world was the entire universe.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is the culmination of the forty-day Advent fast. The day of the strictest fast. Believers do not eat food until the first star appears in the sky, which reminds us of the coming of the Savior to the world.

At this moment, Vespers is celebrated in Orthodox churches, after which they serve All-night vigil and the Liturgy of Basil the Great. The clergy read passages from the Old Testament, specifically pointing out the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to earth as our Savior. After the service, a symbolic image of the Star of Bethlehem, which ascended into the sky during the birth of the Son of God, is brought into the center of the temple.

The All-Night Vigil consists of Great Compline and Matins. The first part lasts more than 60 minutes and is divided into 3 parts. During the service, special, festive chants are sung. Then the vigil smoothly transitions into Matins.

All-night Vigil and Liturgy

Since the festive Vespers has already been served, the All-Night Vigil begins with Great Compline and the joyful cry of the prophet Isaiah: “God is with us!” Matins is performed according to the rite of the great holidays. For the first time, the canon “Christ is born...” is sung in full - one of the most beautiful canons in Orthodox worship. While singing the canon, believers venerate the icon of the Nativity of Christ. This is followed by stichera for Praise, in which all the festive themes are joyfully combined:

Rejoice, righteous ones,
Heavens rejoice,
Leap up, O mountains, Christ is born!
The virgin sits, looking like a cherub,
Carrying in the depths of God the Word is embodied;
Shepherd They marvel at the Born,
They bring gifts to Volsvi the Lady,
The angels say chantingly:
Incomprehensible Lord, glory to You!

The celebration of the Nativity of Christ concludes directly with the Liturgy of the day with its festive antiphons, which proclaim:

The Lord will send a rod of power from Zion, and rule in the midst of Your enemies. Beginning with You in the day of Your power in the brightness of Your saints.

Afterfeast

The next day the celebration of the Council takes place Holy Mother of God. By combining Christmas hymns with songs glorifying the Mother of God, the Church points to Mary as the person who made the Incarnation possible. The humanity of Christ - concretely and historically - is the humanity that He received from Mary. His Body is first of all Her body, His life is Her life. The feast of the Synaxis of the Blessed Virgin Mary is probably Christian tradition the most ancient holiday in honor of the Virgin Mary, the beginning of Her church veneration.

The six days of post-festival last until January 13 and conclude the Christmas period. During these days, during services, the Church repeats hymns and chants glorifying the incarnation of Christ, recalling that the source and basis of our salvation can be found only in Him who, being the eternal God, came into the world for our sake and was born as a little Child.

Presence in the temple on the night of January 6-7 is an individual matter. Some families come to the temple with small children, experiencing special awe and respect for the great holiday. Some people, due to their health, simply cannot attend the service and watch everything that happens on TV. Fortunately, these days live broadcasts from churches are not prohibited. Therefore, if there is a desire to take part in the service, but there is no opportunity to visit the temple, then this can be done in absentia using a television broadcast.

By big holidays, the so-called twelve, each Orthodox Christian tries to visit the temple and take part in the solemn service.

Are services long in Orthodox churches?

On Christmas Eve, everyone waits for the star to rise, eats nothing, prepares 12 ritual dishes, and reads or listens to prayers.

The day off, according to the calendar, falls on January 7, and everyone is looking for the star heralding the coming of the Savior into the world in the sky on the evening of the 6th. There is some strange paradox and some inconvenience in this.

What should you do if you want to bring your child to the holiday service?

When do they go to church (at Christmas or any other Holy holiday), then they notice that all the services, although long, are very beautiful and solemn. There are a lot of people in churches, it can be stuffy, but you want to go with the whole family, with children. If an adult can make an effort and make at least such a sacrifice to the Lord, then children cannot do this. And is it necessary for them to comply Orthodox traditions Do you still have any discomfort? Good parents want Christian holidays and church visits to be the most enjoyable days for their children. What if kids have to stand on their feet for hours in a crowded and dense crowd of people?

During the service it is not customary to walk, talk or engage in extraneous activities. You need to stand with your head down and listen to church texts. In addition, you should prepare in a special way for visiting the temple. It is very important to plan everything correctly and teach children to attend church on a major holiday. If you see that the child cannot stand it, quietly go outside with him. Let him not perceive visiting the temple as an unpleasant duty. He is not so sinful as to make such a difficult sacrifice, which not all adults can do.

The main thing is that children understand for what purpose and to whom they come when they go to church.

Visiting churches by unchurched Christians

Unchurched people, when they go to church on Christmas, treat this event with particular reverence. Many even refuse to participate in a Christian holiday if they have desecrated themselves the day before or if there is a ban on visiting the Abode of the Holy Spirit. Many are stopped by the fear of being judged because they do not know the text of prayers or do not know how to behave correctly in church. This is a whole science. And on a big holiday, the temples are filled with the most different people, and there is no need to fear that the most zealous and fanatical believers will drive them away or condemn them. It’s no secret that on ordinary days, when there are few people in church, this happens.

How to find out the schedule of services

If an unchurched person asks in a church: “When do they go to church on Christmas - January 6 or 7?”, he may not be given a definite answer. After all, those who serve in the temple are present at all services on this day. They have a lot of other worries at this time. After all, it is necessary for candle box quickly turn around and maintain cleanliness in the House of God, and there are plenty of other, most often voluntary, duties. Those people who work in the temple do not receive wages for their work. Accordingly, parishioners cannot demand anything from them. So, if you come across a smart and free man If you work in the temple and offer your sacrifice to God in this way, consider yourself lucky.

If you come to the Temple the day before and inquire in advance about the order of services, ask when they go to church on Christmas from 6 to 7, then, again, they may not answer you, because usually the schedule appears no more than a few days before the holiday, and Services in all churches do not begin at the same time.

In post-Soviet times active churches there were few, and the difficulties in taking part in the festive services were much greater than now, when there are so many churches, large and small, as well as chapels that there is no need to travel through the entire city to attend the festive mass.

What affects the duration of service?

What determines the beginning of the solemn service? For example, from such a factor as the sacrament of confession. Before holiday services, so that parishioners approach them cleansed, priests conduct confession. It is impossible to predict how many people will participate in it and how long they will repent. The duration and start time of the next service is also affected by the number of communicants. Usually, when they go to church on Christmas, they try to both confess and receive communion on this day. In order for the holiday to bring joy from joining the great sacrament, peace to the soul and prosperity to the family, you need to prepare for it in advance.

To understand when people go to church on Christmas, you need to find out what services are held at this time. Moreover, it is impossible to know this once and for all, because this holiday is moving, and it can happen on any day of the week.

Christmas Dress Colors

In the annual circle of the most important Christian holidays There is a certain system and hierarchy. All of them are divided into the Lord's, that is, most related to Jesus Christ, and the Theotokos, dedicated to his Most Pure Mother. The Lord's are the most important.

Made from yellow brocade and decorated with gold embroidery and braid, they are associated with power and might and symbolize God. Orthodox Christians, when they go to church on Christmas Day from January 6 to 7, note that the priests' festive vestments are painted in the colors of the Virgin Mary, symbolizing purity and purity - white and blue. Although this is the Lord's holiday. He is the second most important. The first one is Easter. Resurrection of Christ is the main holiday, and Christmas is the largest in terms of the number of days during which holiday services are held.

The longest holiday

The church and the entire Orthodox people prepare for great holidays long ago, making sacrifices through fasting, cleansing the soul with repentance and prayers. A joyful event also does not end in one day. After the most significant dates, the obligatory fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays are canceled, and entertainment events are allowed. It is no coincidence that weddings are always planned for this time.

The twelve holidays also differ in the number of days on which the great event is celebrated. The Nativity of Jesus Christ is the longest of all. Each celebration is divided into three stages - pre-celebration, post-celebration and giving. All together it continues for almost two weeks.

The pre-Christmas celebration lasts five days. People go to church on Christmas Day on the eve of the Great Event, on the 6th, on the 7th, and throughout the next week. After-feast lasts from one to eight days, depending on the proximity to the fasts or next holiday, and ends with giving.

This is the most solemn service. It recalls all the most significant circumstances of the celebrated event.

When is it better to go to temple - before or after the rising of the Star of Bethlehem?

Do people go to church on Christmas after the appearance of a star in the sky announcing the birth of the Child Christ? This question doesn't make sense. Of course they do. Visiting churches during Christmas is like visiting a close relative in the maternity hospital who has successfully given birth or is about to give birth to a child. If it is permissible to draw such a parallel.

The coming of each of us to the temple is an expression of gratitude to the Creator for the fact that on this day He gave us all, all of humanity, His Only Begotten Son to save us from death in fiery hell. And to the question of whether people go to church on Christmas before the star, and if they do, then what is the point of visiting church before the birth of the Infant God, we can answer the following.

Preparing for any holiday, we choose elegant clothes for ourselves, do a beautiful hairstyle, etc. Waiting for the arrival on earth of an immaculate child (a future sacrifice for our sins), we try to cleanse ourselves as much as possible from our sins, hoping that the less vicious we are, The purer the soul, the less suffering the Savior will experience in His earthly incarnation.

Thus, the question “when do they go to church on Christmas: the 6th or 7th” cannot be considered significant.

The Lord is stronger, kinder and smarter than we think

Of course, this day is shrouded in many secrets, superstitions and signs. This reveals our spiritual immaturity. The Lord sees the soul of each of us individually. And He sees whether we came to the temple to meet and communicate with Him, or because someone said that on this day all the desires of those who visit the church will certainly be fulfilled. Or maybe this is actually true? After all, God’s mercy is so great!

When they go to church on Christmas Day on January 6th in the morning, they don’t eat or drink anything until confession. Having received remission of sins and a blessing for Communion, parishioners participate in Great Vespers and the liturgy of St. Basil the Great. Before communion, you should not put anything in your mouth, not even water. If you do not take communion on this day, then until the first star rises in the sky you are allowed to drink only water.

Finally, we note that many instructions are announced by the priest looking after the temple at the end of the sermon. You just need to listen carefully.

Christmas is a special holiday. Preparation lasts throughout Lent, including the last few days. It is especially important to be able to prepare for service on the day of the holiday itself. Or rather, at night... After all, in many of our churches, services are held precisely at night.

How not to be afraid of the difficulties of a real “all-night vigil” and feel the joy of the holiday at a long Christmas service - we have already written about this:

TO How to prepare for, prepare yourself for long service and spend time in the temple with dignity, read the advice of the archpastor.

1. If possible, attend all statutory holiday services.

I want to emphasize that you definitely need to be at the festive all-night vigil. During this service, in fact, Christ, born in Bethlehem, is glorified. Liturgy is a divine service that remains virtually unchanged due to holidays. , the main chants that 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 - at. 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 Athos monasteries, in particular, in Dokhiar, the abbot of the Dokhiar 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 arms. 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 reach 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.

Christmas service at Ionin Monastery

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 have time or not 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, “12 Strava” is folk custom, which has nothing in common either with the Gospel, or with the liturgical charter, or with the liturgical tradition 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 true meaning 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 still better for people give immediately good quality food, not 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 if sanctified by folk customs.

In my opinion, many folk rituals, associated with this or that holiday, these 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 rich 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 a priority for a person to meet the born Christ, then he, first of all, goes to worship, and in his free time 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, to delve into its essence, if he knows that this moment happens in a temple, then for him there is no question of standing for a long time, fatigue. 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.

Christmas service at Ionin Monastery

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 charter in some cases allows, and in some even requires, 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 lightweight 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 yours native language. Reading psalms is an integral part of any Orthodox worship, and the psalms are very beautiful both melodically and stylistically. In church they are read in Church Slavonic, but even to a churchgoer It’s 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 Christmas service is much more crowded than a regular service, then 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.

Christmas service at Ionin Monastery

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 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 four in the morning - so 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!

Christmas service at Ionin Monastery

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.

Festive service at the Dohiar monastery

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 are aware of 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.

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 wondering when to celebrate Christmas. We will talk about this in our article.

Why is Christmas celebrated on different days?

In the main Christian Churches is divided church calendar: 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 the Orthodox should celebrate New Year modestly, calmly, to observe the fast. However, and Orthodox man can 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. Just many Orthodox families they try to emphasize the significance of Christmas with more expensive gifts, more active joint visits to events, etc.

Note that Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and 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 convergence take place Holy Fire 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. They came here called by Angels simple shepherds 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 coming to earthly life Messiah, Christ the Savior. Star of Bethlehem, according to the Gospel, showed the way to the wise men, who, thanks to her, 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 of church prayer for 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 under 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 strong prayer- this 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 temples and cathedrals open in different time, services are performed 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!

By analogy with the pre-Easter fast, called the “Great Lent,” the fast before Christmas was sometimes also called the Lent, but “small.”The anticipation of the holiday and its anticipation with some testing of oneself can be no less spiritually fulfilling than the holiday itself. And therefore the church calendar adjusts to it long ago, gradually and incrementally.

ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT HOLIDAYS during Lent, when the day beforeAll-night vigil:

December 4 - - (twelfth holiday)

December 13th - service of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called

December 18 - memory of St. Savva the Sanctified

Polyeleos happens the day before:

29th of November - memory of the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew

December 2nd - memory of St. Philaret of Moscow

December 6 - memory of St. blgv. book Alexander Nevsky / St. Mitrofan of Voronezh

December 10 - celebration in honor of the icon Mother of God"The Omen" -

December 13th - memory of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called

December 26 - memory of the martyr. Evarest, Auxentius, Eugenius, Mardaria and Orestes

January 1 (after the end of the Divine Liturgy) - Prayer service for the beginning of the New Year

January 2 - memory of St. right John of Kronstadt

On the eve of Christmas, the All-Night Vigil is celebrated at 15:00.

The early Liturgy of the Nativity of Christ in some churches is celebrated at night.

At the very beginning of Lent and during this “Little Lent”, a special place in the service is occupied by the memory of the Old Testament prophets and righteous people - Obadiah (December 2nd) , Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai (December 14, 15, 16 and 29, respectively). They are not highlighted during all-night services, but apparently they were collected deliberately for this Lenten period. The services to these prophets are not at all festive, but repentant in nature. This shows that before the coming of Christ, humanity was burdened with the burden of both the fall of Adam and its own iniquities. But even that didn't stop me faithful to God and in those times look into the future with hope and faith in salvation:

"God! Do Your work among the years, among the years reveal it; in anger, remember mercy!.. His majesty covered the heavens, and the earth was filled with His glory... You come forward for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crush the head of the wicked house, stripping its foundations to the top...” (Song of Habakkuk - Hab. 3, 1-19).

December 4 - , the All-Night Vigil is celebrated the day before. Introduction - the twelfth holiday, one of the most revered. This day is celebrated as Blessed Virgin Mary At the age of three, the righteous Joachim and Anna were brought to the temple and dedicated to God.

More than a month before the holiday, Christmas carols begin to sound in Orthodox churches. First time - at the All-Night Vigil on the feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, about whom it is sung that “The Virgin clearly appears in the temple and announces Christ to everyone”:“Christ is born - praise! Christ from heaven - drop it! Christ is on earth - ascend! Sing to the Lord, all the earth; and sing with joy, O people, for you are glorified.”

These words themselves are taken from the first lines of “Words 38, on Epiphany or on the Nativity of the Savior” by St. Gregory the Theologian (“Christ is born: glorify! Christ from heaven; come out to the meeting! Christ is on earth - be exalted! Sing to the Lord, all the earth (Ps. 95: 1)! And I will say to both together: let the heavens rejoice, and the earth rejoice for the sake of the Heavenly , then earthly! Christ in the flesh; rejoice with trembling and joy - with trembling because of sin, with joy because of hope ... ").

From this moment (December 3, evening) at all holiday services, as well as on Saturday evenings before Sundays, we hear these irmos of the Nativity Canon- more details: Irmos of the Nativity: history and translation

And in the services of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called (December 13) and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (December 19) more Christmas stichera of the Forefeast are added , such as, for example, this one from the All-Night Vigil for the memory of the saints. Nicholas:“Be adorned in the den, for the Lamb is coming bearing Christ’s belly: take up the manger with the word of him who has absolved us earth-born from the wordless deeds. As a shepherd, bear witness to the terrible miracles: and bring willows from Persis, gold and frankincense and myrrh to the king, as if the Lord appeared from the Virgin Mother. He bowed down slavishly to Mother, and greeted the one held in Her embrace: how did you vegetate in Me, or how did you vegetate in Me, My Savior and God?

Russian translation: “Adorn yourself, cave; for the Lamb is coming, bearing Christ in her womb. The manger, raise up with the word of the one who freed us, earthly creatures, from senseless deeds. Shepherds playing flutes, testify to a terrifying miracle; and the wise men from Persia, bring gold, frankincense and myrrh to the king, for the Lord has appeared from the Virgin Mother. And before Him, humbly Having fallen, the Mother herself bowed, turning to the One who was in Her arms: “How were You conceived in Me? Or how has My Savior and God grown in Me?”December 30th The Church commits memory of the prophet Daniel and the three youths Ananias, Azariah and Misail.

At the evening service the day before, Christmas carols are also heard, although it is not at all festive in nature.“Daniel, the man of desires, a stone without a hand was cut off when he saw Thee, Lord (see Dan. 2:31-45), a child without Seed was born, prophesied (predicted) Thee, from the Virgin incarnate the Word, the unchangeable (unchangeable) God, and the Savior of our souls "

The blessed dew from the angel, which preserved the three youths thrown into the kindled furnace by order of King Nebuchadnezzar, prefigures God’s condescension at the Virgin’s conception of the incarnate God... And the youths themselves represent the triumph of life and resurrection (the episode with the three youths is remembered especially during the Great Saturday before Passover - see Dan. 3, 24-90).

The Song of the Three Young Men is not included in the Hebrew Masoretic text of the Bible, but is included in the Greek text of the Septuagint, which is used in worship. And in every service, in the 7th and 8th songs of any canon, this miracle of preserving the lives of the three youths in the furnace of Babylon is sung in one way or another all year round. In the Christmas canon, the beginning of the 7th and 8th songs can be rendered in modern Russian as follows:Youths brought up in piety,neglecting the commandment of the wicked,they were not afraid of the threatening fire,but, standing in the midst of the flames, they sang:“God of the Fathers, blessed are You!”

Dew Sprinkling Furnacepresented an image of a supernatural miracle:for she does not scorch the young men whom she has received into herself,like the fire of the Divinity of the Virgin’s womb into which it descended.Therefore let us sing a song:“May the Lord bless all creationand exalts it to all ages!”(translation by Hierom Ambrose Timrot)

Besides, last two Sundays before the Nativity of Christ, they are dedicated in general to all the Old Testament prophets and righteous people and are called in the church charter the Week of the Holy Forefathers and the Week of the Holy Fathers.

As a rule, polyeleos are celebrated on the eve of the memory of St. VMC. CatherineDecember 7 (in Churches, except Russian - December 8). Also, polyeleos and vigil services can be performed on the eve of the memory of locally revered saints and saints in whose honor the temple is consecrated.

31th of December in the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church they often serveNew Year's prayer service . IN last years In many churches, a tradition has appeared to celebrate the Liturgy on New Year's Eve - this allows you to spend the civil holiday both joyfully and with benefit for the soul. In our church such a prayer service is not served. This is due to public transport.

AND, Finally, January 2 marks the final five days of Christmas Eve. Christ, the last of which is. A more strict fast begins.

January 6, at, usually the Royal Hours are read, and at their end - Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (according to the charter, it is supposed to be served in the afternoon, but this is not practiced in the Russian Church). In 2013, Christmas Eve falls on Sunday, and therefore the Royal Hours are moved to the previous Friday and the Liturgy is not celebrated after them.

Thus, the liturgical and prayerful content of the pre-Christmas fast is very rich and intense. It would be better to turn our attention to this, and not to the dietary side, which is not the most important, but often the most exciting for many modern Orthodox Christians! However, we can’t do without the latter, and therefore let’s move from the more sublime and poetic part to the more prosaic and everyday.

On the eve of Christmas, an All-Night Vigil is celebrated. The early Liturgy of the Nativity of Christ in some churches is celebrated at night.

But in our church there are always two in the morning Divine Liturgies: early at 6:00 am and late at 8:00

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