New Year is a civil holiday, but in which church people can take part. The tradition of celebrating the New Year is very ancient, and it existed even before the advent of Christianity. The date of the New Year's celebration has changed several times. It cannot be said that the Church gives exclusively important When celebrating the New Year, we must pay tribute to the fact that this holiday has been celebrated since ancient times.
The date of the New Year is a time to take stock, an opportunity to bring gratitude to God for the past year, to ask God's help for the coming year - therefore, the Orthodox Church also has a prayer service for the beginning of the New Year, which is served on December 31 in many churches.
New Year is also a holiday when people get together. In our time, when people's lives are so divided, this is a very good opportunity and occasion to get together with people close to our hearts.
Father Alexander, how can we celebrate the New Year so that this celebration does not contradict the fact that fasting is underway and the strict week of fasting before Christmas begins?
My confessor answers this question this way: you need to celebrate in such a way that you can take communion the next day. You can get together, cook something tasty, you can drink a little, sit with your family and celebrate so that your conscience doesn’t bother you later. For people of faith who strive to live a full church life, it is natural to strive to connect every important event my life since Divine Liturgy, church prayer and participation in the Sacraments of the Church. Such a good and pious tradition exists, but it is not obligatory and must be consistent with a person’s capabilities.
- Do you celebrate the New Year?
Yes, we celebrate, but we celebrate modestly. In my parents' family - a non-church family - this was our favorite holiday, we gathered very warmly and comfortably, with the whole family. And in our family we celebrate, but modestly.
Father, at such family meetings, an Orthodox person, as a rule, finds himself in the circle of his non-believing relatives. And the problem of fast food and alcoholic beverages arises...
The non-lenten table is, of course, difficult. If a person can take part in preparing the New Year's table, then let him prepare several Lenten dishes himself. You can raise a New Year's glass, maybe more than one, but here you need to be guided by the words of the Apostle Paul: “Everything is allowed to me, but not everything is useful, everything is allowed to me, but nothing should possess me.”
- And if someone from the family insists that we try his culinary discoveries, which are not at all Lenten??…
In this case, you must choose the lesser of two evils: which is the lesser evil for a person - either you will offend your neighbors or break your fast, but then you will have to repent of it.
- Offending your neighbor is, of course, a greater evil...
I think that everyone must make this choice themselves, because the greater evil is individual in each situation. Do we have enough humor and love for our neighbors to observe fasting without our relatives being offended? Because you can refuse savory dishes with such tact and love that your family won’t be offended. And do we have enough love to refuse without offending our family? Or maybe the person finally wants to taste the pie so much that he says that his family will be offended?
The modern New Year's table often turns from a warm meeting of relatives into semi-decent conversations, jokes, endless TV...
In such cases, you need to try to take the initiative into your own hands. If this is a family celebration, and not a trip to a company where you know in advance that the celebration there will be indecent, then you need to prepare in advance. Find a good film that everyone will be interested in watching, think through possible topics of conversation, find something interesting to tell yourself, prepare for the holiday so that everyone will be interested and so that it will all be decent.
Father, if the whole family is Orthodox, the husband and wife are believers, children grow up in the family. The spouses are not against not celebrating the New Year at all, but maybe it’s still worth celebrating at least a little so that the children don’t feel deprived of the holiday?
In our family, the tree is decorated before Christmas, not for the New Year. Everything important in our house is related to Christmas. And in children's minds it is important not to blur the exclusivity of Christmas. Before the revolution, the situation, of course, was more harmonious: Christmas was celebrated until the New Year. And after the revolution, all those celebrations that used to be Christmas celebrations were moved to the New Year, in order to crowd out all Christmas celebrations from the consciousness and way of life of the people.
So I think that you can give a small gift to a child, but the main celebration should be Christmas.
Father, what about celebrating Catholic Christmas? Is it possible and necessary to congratulate fellow Catholics?
The Russian Orthodox Church lives according to its own calendar, so Catholic Christmas is not a holiday for us, although on this day, December 25, many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas. For example, the Greeks. You need to show kindness and congratulate your colleagues on their holiday. Here we can draw the following analogy: we congratulate a person on his birthday! We congratulate you not on our birthday, but on his! We congratulate Catholics on their holiday, because... We show kindness to them and want to show our good attitude.
Anna Danilova spoke with Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
A very important time has come for Christians of all denominations - preparation for one of the two most important holidays - Christmas. However, followers of various branches of Christianity not only celebrate this holiday in different times, but they also prepare for it in different ways.
Christian churches living in Gregorian calendar(so-called new style), note Christmas into the night from 24 to 25 December. Lives according to the new style catholic church and that's all Protestant denominations. Ten out of 15 local Orthodox Churches celebrate holidays according to the so-called New Julian calendar, which currently coincides with the Gregorian calendar. All churches living according to the new style, as well as most residents of countries whose culture is based on Western values, will celebrate the birth of the son of God on the night of December 24-25, 2017.
By Julian calendar(so-called old style) Christmas Day will come 14 days later. Believers who adhere to the old style will celebrate this amazing holiday on the night from 6 to 7 January.
The five Orthodox churches of the world live according to the Julian calendar. These are the Russian Orthodox Church, Jerusalem, Georgian, Serbian and Polish Orthodox Churches, as well as Mount Athos monasteries. Together with them, some Catholics of the so-called Eastern rite and a small number of Protestants.
This question is quite complicated, especially considering that the celebration Easter Orthodox and Catholics sometimes have the same thing.
The Gregorian calendar was first introduced by the Pope Gregory XIII in Catholic countries in 1582 instead of the previous Julian. This was done due to the backlog that arose due to the fact that the Julian calendar did not take leap years into account.
In Soviet Russia, the Gregorian calendar was introduced by decree of January 26, 1918, but the Russian Orthodox Church never recognized this, although such attempts were made.
In 1923, most local Orthodox churches adopted the New Julian calendar, similar to the Gregorian, and began to celebrate holidays at the same time as Catholics and Protestants. However, the Russian, Jerusalem, Georgian and Serbian Orthodox churches, as well as the monasteries of Athos, refused to comply with this decision. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church still adheres to the old style, and the majority of Russians, even those far from religion, celebrate Christian holidays according to the Julian calendar.
That's why Catholic Christmas will come December 25, A Orthodox - January 7.
Why Christmas doesn’t coincide for Catholics and Orthodox Christians, but with Easter everything is more complicated
As you know, in Christianity there are holidays intransient, that is, fixed in the calendar and always celebrated on the same day, and moving (that is, having a floating date).
So, in 1948, at the Moscow meeting of Orthodox churches, a resolution was adopted that Easter and all moving holidays should be calculated according to the Julian calendar, and non-moving ones - according to the calendar according to which the local church lives.
But in fact, all this just needs to be accepted and remembered, and as for moving holidays, for example, Easter, you just need to check their date annually according to the church calendar.
How Orthodox and Catholics prepare for Christmas
Orthodox Christians begin preparing for Christmas more than a month in advance - for this there is Christmas post which begins November 28 and lasts 40 days - until the evening of January 6. Read more about how it is customary to observe the Nativity Fast in Orthodoxy.
Catholics and Lutherans call preparations for Christmas Advent, this time is also accompanied by fasting and traditional rituals, which have not only a religious, but also a cultural meaning.
What is Advent
Advent(from the Latin word adventus - arrival) is the name of the pre-Christmas period, in its own way spiritual meaning similar to the Nativity Fast among the Orthodox.
Advent is especially important for Catholics - after all, it is a time of spiritual and physical preparation for the holiday of the Nativity of Christ. It should be noted here that if the Orthodox consider the main Christian holiday Easter, then in Western tradition in the first place is precisely Christmas, therefore, everything connected with it is extremely important for Catholics and Protestants.
Advent lasts four weeks - until Catholic Christmas, that is, it is about a third shorter than the 40-day Orthodox Nativity Fast. During Advent, it is also customary for Western Christians to fast, although not as strict as in Orthodoxy, and to perform various good deeds.
First Sunday of Advent
One of the most important days before Catholic Christmas is first Sunday of Advent, which in 2017 falls on December 3.
On this day the first candle in the traditional Advent wreath is lit - Candle of prophecy, which symbolizes the connection between the Old and New Testaments.
Second Sunday of Advent
In second Sunday of Advent, which falls on December 10, the second candle is lit along with the first. The second candle is called Bethlehem- it is lit in memory of the maiden’s journey Maria and saint Joseph to Bethlehem and the birth there Jesus.
Third Sunday of Advent
Third Sunday of Advent will come December 17. This day is symbolized by the third candle, which is called Shepherds Candle. It is lit along with the first two. The third candle is dedicated to the shepherds who were the first to come to worship the baby Jesus.
Christmas Eve for Catholics
IN Christmas Eve- Christmas Eve (December 24) - light up fourth Advent candle, which is called Angels Candle. This candle symbolizes the divine essence of Christ.
On Christmas night, all four candles in the Advent wreath are lit.
Read about how Western Christians celebrate Christmas in the materials Federal News Agency.
Although Advent is considered a period of prayer and fasting, Western countries it is also a very fun time, dedicated to the anticipation of a miracle, with which Christmas is invariably associated. In all populated areas- from lush European capitals to small mountain villages - fairs and sales are held, Christmas markets open, which tourists love to visit. Everyone is trying to stock up on gifts, which are usually given to both children and adults at Christmas.
The word “Christ” does not mean “Anointed One”, but...
BDG-online:
A small educational program for those who do not yet know why Orthodox and Catholic Christmas are celebrated two weeks apart.
The fact is that the Catholic Church switched to a new style of chronology, that is, it adopted the Gregorian calendar, while the Russian Orthodox Church continues to live according to the Julian calendar with a lag of 13 days. Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25 according to the new style (or January 7 according to the old style)? It’s simple: it is then that exactly nine months have passed since the day of the Annunciation, that is, from the day when Mary received news from the angel that the Savior of mankind would be born to her.
On December 25, Christmas, in addition to Belarusian Catholics - who make up 14 percent of all believers, is also celebrated by Protestants and some Uniates.
Atheists are used to celebrating this holiday in both ways...
Can an Orthodox Christian celebrate Catholic Christmas?
How should an Orthodox person feel about Catholic Christmas? Is it possible to celebrate it?
Christmas is the same for everyone. But Catholics celebrate it according to the Gregorian calendar, and we Orthodox Christians celebrate it according to the Julian calendar. On December 25, the Orthodox still celebrate the Nativity Fast.
You should not celebrate Christmas on December 25th on purpose, when there is no special reason for it. But, for example, if there are Catholics in your family, why not rejoice with them on the Savior’s Birthday. Or if you find yourself in a Catholic country: there is no need to shy away from general rejoicing, because people glorify Christ. But there is no need to abandon our tradition in favor of the Catholic one - we have January 7 to celebrate the Nativity of Christ together with almost the entire Orthodox world.
It is important to determine: what exactly is Christmas for us? It's not just about sliding down the slides and gifts under the tree. This is, first of all, worship and Communion as it is...
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___die Geburten der Tag…morgen der anfang der Tage___
…Machiavelli dei Nicolaus di Bernardo…
Catholic Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. In more than 145 countries around the world it is the official public holiday and one of the main religious holidays of the year. In essence, Orthodox and Catholic Christmas have the same roots, which go back to ancient pre-Christian cultures. Therefore, many Christmas customs among Catholics are also no different from the traditions of Orthodox Christians. Although Catholic Christmas still has its own characteristics.
Features of the Catholic Nativity of Christ
For Catholics, Christmas plays a big role higher value than New Year. A month before Christmas, Avent begins, a time of strict fasting and repentance. Direct preparations for the holiday begin on December 20. Until the moment when the first star appears in the sky on the evening of December 24, announcing the birth of Jesus, this is the period of pre-celebration. From December 24 to January 1 is the actual holiday of the Nativity of Christ, the so-called “octave”, consisting of 8...
The first mention of Christmas is in the chronicles of the 4th century. It is not known for certain what date Jesus Christ was born, but based on the fact that the Incarnation of God (the day of the conception of Christ, the Annunciation) is celebrated nine months before Christmas, December 25 is considered the accepted date of his birth.
The first Christians were Jews and did not celebrate Christmas (according to Jewish belief, the birth of a person is “the beginning of sorrows and pains”). For Christians, the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ (Easter) was and is more important from a doctrinal point of view. After the Greeks (and other Hellenistic peoples) entered the Christian communities, under the influence of Hellenistic customs, the celebration of the Nativity of Christ began.
Ancient Christian holiday Epiphany on January 6 ideologically combined both Christmas and Epiphany, which later became different holidays.
In fact, in ancient times there was no single date for this holiday, but later Universal Church decided to celebrate Christmas...
The Nativity of Christ is one of the main spiritual Orthodox holidays, which is celebrated on December 25 by Catholics and January 7 by Orthodox.
Both religions celebrate Christmas Eve - the evening before Christmas night (Jesus was born at night - hence another legend about the Star of Bethlehem.) The name in Russian comes from the word sochivo - wheat grains soaked in berry juice or honey. The holiday of Christmas itself is the date of breaking the fast - liberation from fasting and indulgence in gluttony.
What is the difference between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas?
Date
The discrepancy between the celebration of the Nativity of Christ by Western and eastern churches explained by the different chronology systems they adopted. After the new Gregorian calendar was compiled in the West, Catholics and Protestants began to celebrate Christmas two weeks earlier than the Orthodox. We draw the attention of readers to the fact that the date is actually the same, and the difference is in the calendar.
Catholics...
Orthodox and Catholic Christmas - what is the difference?
Christmas is a shortened name for the holiday - the Nativity of Christ. By biblical legends The birth of the infant Christ to the Virgin Mary took place in the Jewish city of Bethlehem on the night of December 24-25.
In what year exactly the Messiah appeared to the world is still debated by learned historians and theologians. Called the period between 12 BC. and 7 years old new era. (Where the modern chronology came from, which is carried out “from the birth of Christ,” is not entirely clear). The date December 25 was first mentioned in chronicles in 221 AD. The first Christians were Jews and did not celebrate this holiday at all. Quite widely, believers began to honor the date of Christ’s birth around the fifth century.
However, these details are not very interesting to us, because the Christmas holiday has long lost its exclusively religious connotation and has simply turned into a pleasant family holiday, in which it is customary to meet with relatives and...
The first information about the celebration of Christmas can be dated back to the 4th century. The question of the true date of birth of Jesus continues to be controversial and not clearly resolved among church authors.
Probably, the choice of the date of December 25 is related to the solar pagan holiday “Birth of the Invincible Sun,” which fell on this day. It is quite possible that after the adoption of Christianity in Rome, it acquired new content.
The Nativity of Christ involves five days before the celebration and six days after the celebration. On the eve of the holiday, a strict fast is observed, which is called Christmas Eve, since on this day they eat raw barley or wheat grains boiled with honey.
In the 13th century, the custom arose of displaying mangers in churches in which a figurine of the Baby Jesus was placed. Over time, mangers began to be installed not only in shrines, but also in homes before Christmas. Church and pagan customs - rituals are extremely organically intertwined, complementing each other...
0iStalker
> Why do Orthodox Christians celebrate paganism? New Year?
> Why do atheists and Orthodox Christians celebrate Catholic Halloween and Saint's Day?
> Valentina?
> Why do believers celebrate March 8, a day with a very dubious history and
> contrasting with the Christian religious worldview?
> Why do Christian believers trudge along pagan horoscopes, despite
> instructions of spiritual mentors?
1. New Year is by no means a pagan holiday. The history of this holiday in Russia has agricultural significance and it was originally celebrated in September, when the harvest was being harvested. Later, Emperor Peter I moved the holiday to January 1, and, if I’m not confusing anything, he came up with an attribute of the holiday, which became so integral, as Santa Claus.
2. Orthodox Christians do not celebrate Halloween; for Russians, this is just another reason to relax a little and another reason not to go to work. Valentine's Day is also not celebrated by the Orthodox, but this is unnecessary...
Christmas is our favorite holiday, covered in light and joy. It contains so much warmth, kindness and love that you want to give these feelings away along with gifts to friends and family. But sometimes it turns out that they celebrate this event on a completely different day. How is this possible? When should Christmas be celebrated, and what are the reasons for the discrepancies? Let's try to figure it out.
History of the holiday
The Gospel says: Jesus was born in Bethlehem, where His mother Mary and Joseph the Betrothed went to take part in the announced population census. Due to the influx of visitors, all the hotels were occupied, so they had to settle in a cave, which served as a stable for livestock. It was there that the Son of God was born. The angel brought the news of His birth to the shepherds, who hurried to bow to Him. Another sign of the appearance of the Messiah was the amazing Star of Bethlehem, which lit up in the sky and showed the way to the Magi. They brought gifts to the Baby - incense, myrrh and...
1. Why doesn’t Easter coincide for Orthodox and Catholics?…
You can often hear definitions such as “Orthodox” and “Catholic” Christmas. What is the difference between them? First of all, the date: Catholics celebrate the holiday on December 25, Russian Orthodox – on January 7.
It all started with the fact that in 1582 a new one was introduced in Europe - the Gregorian calendar. The Julian system that was in force before had a significant drawback: every 128 years an error occurred in comparison with the year of the equinox - an “extra” day accumulated. In the Julian calendar, all years divisible by 4 are leap years. In Gregorian, a year is a leap year if it is a multiple of 4 and not a multiple of 100, or a multiple of 400, which is why “errors” occur less frequently.
Russia switched to the new style in 1918, by which time the difference between the calendars was 13 days, and they were simply “crossed out,” but the church did not approve of such a decision. Because of this, “our” Christmas lags behind the Catholic one. This is how a holiday with the most paradoxical name appeared - Old New Year.
On the same day as Russian...
Mch. Iacinthos (108). Transfer of the relics of St. Philippa, Metropolitan Moscow and all Russia, miracle worker (1652).
Prpp. Anatoly, in the Near Caves (XII), and Anatoly the recluse, in the Far Caves (XIII), Pechersk. Blgvv. knn. Vasily and Konstantin Yaroslavsky (XIII). St. Vasily, bishop Ryazansky (1295). Prpp. John and Longinus of Yarenga (1544–1545). Blzh. John, Christ for the Fool's Sake, Moscow (1589). St. Nikodim Kozheezersky (1640). Mchch. Diomede, Eulampia, Asklipiodota and MC. Golindukhi (II). Mchch. Mokia and Mark (IV). St. Alexander, the monastery of the “Unsleeping Ones” of the original (c. 430). St. Anatoly, Patriarch of Constantinople (458).
Sschmch. Anthony, Archbishop Arkhangelsky (1931). Finding the relics of Sschmch. Sylvester, Archbishop. Omsky (2005).
Morning – Luke, 24 chapters, VI, 17–23. Lit. – Rom., 114 readings, XIV, 9–18. Matthew, 46 parts, XII, 14–16, 22–30. St.: Heb., 335 readings, XIII, 17–21. John, 36 credits, X, 9–16.
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(1) SLOVENIAN ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD (1) Service October 13: Iveron Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1) CATHEDRAL OF THE 70 APOSTLES (1) CATHEDRAL OF NEW MARTYRS AND RUSSIAN CONFESSORS (1) Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints. (1) CATHEDRAL OF GOD MICHAEL (1) Unction (1) MEETING OF THE LORD (4) Holy Week(1) Trinity (1) Trinity parent's Saturday(1) AMAZING LIVES OF THE SAINTS. (1) Dormition Holy Lady our Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary (1) SLOVENIC TEACHERS (1) SLOVENIC TEACHER (1) Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk (1) Photo gallery (4) Photo gallery (5) Christ is Risen. (3) Church hierarchy(1) Quotes (5) Readings for each day of Lent (77) READER OF CAESARIA (1) What is important for us to remember about the time of fasting? (49) MIRACLE WORKER (4) SHUISKAYA-SMOLENSK ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD. ODIGETRIA (1) Elpidios Neosktitiotis. (1) This is interesting (338)Christmas is approaching - one of the main holidays in the Christian church calendar. Representatives of different faiths celebrate this holiday in different ways.
Why do Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25th of the year, and Orthodox Christians on January 7th?
Christmas is celebrated in more than a hundred countries around the world. Why did it happen that Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25, 2019, and Orthodox Christians on January 7, 2020?
According to tradition, the Jerusalem, Russian, Georgian, Serbian Orthodox and some other churches celebrate this holiday on January 7 (December 25, old style) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the Catholic Church and most Protestant churches on December 25 in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
That is, in the Russian Orthodox and some other churches they take the Julian calendar as a basis, in the Catholic one - the Gregorian, so the dates of the holiday are different. And yet everyone celebrates the birth of the Son of God on December 25, although each according to his own calendar.
For Catholics, Christmas has five days of pre-celebration (from December 20 to 24) and six days of post-celebration. In many European countries, December 25 is a day off, followed by several more non-working days.
On Christmas Day, solemn services are held in churches. The holiday is also celebrated in the family circle. On Catholic Christmas Eve, relatives and friends gather at the festive table, serving Lenten dishes and breaking wafers (Christmas bread).
People congratulate each other on the upcoming holiday and forgive each other's grievances. An integral part of the holiday among Europeans are children's theatrical performances, scenes from the Bible associated with birth God's Son. These days the Christmas sales period begins in stores.
Can Orthodox Christians celebrate Catholic Christmas?
Unless there is a special reason for this, for example, there are no Catholics among your friends, and you are not going to a Catholic country for Christmas, you should not celebrate this holiday on December 25th. After all, at this time, Orthodox believers are still observing the Nativity fast.
So you shouldn’t give up your tradition in favor of the Catholic one. These are the recommendations Orthodox Church which believers follow.
Now you know why Orthodox Christmas does not coincide with Catholic Christmas. Christmas is a wonderful holiday, warmed by the warmth of our loved ones and faith in miracles.
Be sure to congratulate your friends and loved ones on this occasion, regardless of whether they are Orthodox believers or Catholics.
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