Christmas: traditions, signs and everything you wanted to know about the holiday. What signs you need to know about Christmas

Christmas, perhaps, can safely be called the most widespread cultural holiday in the world. There are as many options for celebrating as there are languages ​​and peoples in the world. One of the oldest holidays is eagerly awaited all over the world, preparing ahead of time.

Let me tell you about some Christmas traditions that you may not know everything about.

1. Christmas trees. Tradition to install in the house evergreen tree has its origins in 16th century Germany. Early Christmas trees were called “paradise” because they were used during performances in the scene of the feast of Adam and Eve. Edwin and Jennifer Woodruff say that round wafers were often hung on trees as a symbol of the Eucharist. Hence the “baked” decorations that are hung on Christmas trees in Germany today.

2.Christmas lights. The legend that the German reformer Martin Luther was not only the first to bring a Christmas tree into the house, but also to decorate it with lights is a fiction both in the first and, most likely, in the second part. The legend, however, goes like this: Luther walked home in the dark winter evening and admired the picture of the shaggy Christmas tree and the stars of the clear sky shining around. He couldn’t explain what he saw to his family in words, so he simply brought the tree home and decorated it with candles depicting stars. And this became the prototype of modern lights on the Christmas tree. True, there is no historical evidence for this story.

3. Candy cane. Popular rumor indicates that candy canes appeared in Germany in 1670. The choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral handed out candy to children during the service so that they would sit silently. He asked the confectioner to add a hook to the sweets to remind the children of the shepherds who came to visit the newborn Jesus. There is another version about a Christian confectioner from the American state of Indiana who made a candy cane to combine several symbols of the birth, ministry and death of Jesus Christ in one candy. True, the second story is just another urban legend.

4. Christmas cards. The first Christmas cards for sale first appeared in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole, too busy to write letters, asked an artist friend to draw a card with a picture and a message that could be mailed instead of a letter. Artist Collcott Horsley printed 1,000 postcards and sold them in London for a shilling each. Until 1875, Americans imported cards from England, when German immigrant Louis Prang printed the first overseas card, becoming the "father of the American Christmas card."

5. Christmas stockings. In the famous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (1823), which begins with the words “It was the night before Christmas,” stockings are mentioned, but not a word about the Christmas tree! And this is all logical, because throughout the 19th century, stockings were a greater symbol of Christmas than the tree. An 1883 New York Times article stated that “stockings have been a part of Christmas for so long that Christmas would not seem real without them.” The same article also mentions a Christmas tree: “A German Christmas tree, an unrooted corpse – there’s no point in even thinking about it.” No one knows exactly where the tradition of hanging stockings on the fireplace began. There is a popular legend that Santa Claus heard about an impoverished family too proud to beg. The father of the family, recently widowed, was unable to raise a dowry for his three daughters, so Santa threw three gold coins down the chimney, which ended up in the girls' stockings drying on the fireplace. In another version of the legend, Santa sent three golden balls, and this is where the tradition of serving oranges or tangerines at the Christmas table comes from.

6. Eggnog. Eggnog is a cocktail made from milk, cream, sugar, whipped cream and some alcoholic component (brandy, cognac, rum, sherry or whiskey), as well as some spices (cinnamon or nutmeg). Gastronomy historians believe that this drink originates from the British "swirl" - a hot, milky and beer-like drink. Because milk and eggs were abundant in the American colonies, eggnog became a popular holiday drink.

7. Christmas carols. Since the 14th century, hymns have been considered a type of popular religious song. Christmas carols became popular after the Reformation, but they became widespread in the 19th century when music sheet books of Christmas songs began to be published. For example, in 1833, the English lawyer William Sandys published a collection of Christmas Carols: Modern and Ancient, which included “Angel's Hearing Messages” and many other songs sung today. Also during Victorian England, the tradition of going from house to house and singing Christmas carols began, which became an analogue of “caroling.”

Subscribe:

8. Advent calendar. In the Middle Ages, Advent was directly associated with the first coming of Christ at Christmas. Today, Advent lasts 4 weeks before Christmas, although most calendars start on December 1 and count down 24 days until the holiday. The tradition of Advent calendars began in the mid-19th century, when German Protestants began chalking marks on doors or lighting candles to count down the days until Christmas. The first printed Advent calendar was created in the early 1900s by a German named Herald Lang. When Lang was little, his mother would sew 24 cookies onto the lid of a box and give him one cookie a day during Advent. This is what became the prototype for the calendar created in 1908, published by Lang.

9. Christmas presents. Until the 19th century, Christmas was more of a public holiday, held in Christmas markets in city centers. In the 19th century, the holiday slowly began to move from market squares to homes, turning into a family holiday. With the development of capitalism in the 19th century, advertising began to develop, and jewelers realized that during the Christmas period they could significantly increase sales by encouraging buyers to fork out money to propose and show affection to loved ones. In addition, the end of December is the end of the year and the time to take stock. Bible sellers also advertised for Christmas, and it was during this time that young family members began receiving personalized Bibles with parting words from adults. Little by little, in the 19th century, gifts entered the list of Christmas traditions, marking the beginning of the commercialization of the holiday. However, one way or another, every year the whole world, consciously or not, remembers the most important event in human history- the coming of the Savior into this world.

To be honest, many of us associate Christmas with... American films about how two lonely hearts meet on the eve of a holiday, a number of incredibly romantic adventures happen to them, and it all ends with a kiss under the sudden snow. And the concept “ Christmas miracle“For some reason we associate it with fluffy snow that slowly sweeps the streets. But in fact, Christmas is a deeply spiritual holiday. Let's figure out how to prepare for it and celebrate according to Orthodox canons.

shutr.bz

Celebration date

Various sources describe the 4th century as the start of the tradition of celebrating the Nativity of Christ. And the date December 25 was set in Rome. This day celebrates the birth of the baby Jesus. This number was not chosen by chance, because it was on this day that the winter solstice occurred and the pagan cult of the Invincible Sun had to be abolished.

Nowadays, Catholic Christmas is celebrated on December 25 according to the Julian calendar, and Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7 according to the Gregorian calendar.

shutr.bz

Preparing for Christmas

Preparation for Christmas should begin in advance, and it is expressed in church tradition Christmas fast, which begins on November 28. Deacon of the Academic Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, Mikhail Omelyan, explains that the meaning of fasting is that we must immerse ourselves in the depth of the revelation that the Lord gives us, and, accordingly, try to prepare not only the body, but also the soul for this. That is, you should limit yourself not only in food, but also in fun, and also devote more time to prayer and reflection on spiritual values.

shutr.bz

January 6 – Christmas eve, or Christmas Eve. After the first star appears in the sky (this time approximately coincides with the end of the service in the temple), you need to pray and only after that you can sit down to dinner.

There must be 12 Lenten dishes on the table in honor of the twelve apostles, the main one of which is kutya. And also don’t forget to prepare uzvar (dried fruit compote), cabbage rolls, cabbage rolls with rice, peas, buckwheat porridge, fish and mushroom dish, lean borscht with mushrooms, dumplings with cabbage, lean pancakes and pies.

shutr.bz

Christmas menu

And already on January 7th in the morning you can start a feast not only spiritual, but also physical. You need to add meat dishes and wine to the menu. We recommend preparing jellied fish or fish aspic, roast, homemade sausage, and honey gingerbread in advance. Just don’t try to taste the goodies before the right time, because then you will not only violate the church prohibition, but also lose the taste of the holiday at the right time.

shutr.bz

Traditions

Christmas is one of those holidays when the whole family should gather at one table and honor the memory of their ancestors. When setting the table on Christmas Eve, do not forget to put several cutlery on the table for deceased relatives, and after dinner you need to leave kutya and spoons on the table so that your ancestors can also try it.

shutr.bz

We cannot help but remind you that if you have animals at home, then you must also treat them to kutya. By the way, on Christmas Eve they supposedly receive the gift of speech.
There are probably no such number of rituals as on Christmas Eve and on the holiday itself for any holiday. It’s worth starting with girlish traditions. Unmarried girls should get active on the festive evening, because folk beliefs It is at this time that many magical events occur. The most harmless way of telling fortunes about the name of the betrothed is to simply ask the name of the first man you meet on your way. What a great way! This way you can not only reveal the secret of the name, but also meet your future husband. Suddenly, a passer-by decides to find out your name, and this will be the beginning of your story.

And here is another type of fortune telling, which is popular among bachelors who dream of parting with this status. They take three pairs of boots, put a piece of bread, candy, a ring, a toy, a coin and a bag of salt in each of them. Then you need to blindly pull out its contents from one boot. This item will tell you what the coming year will be like. Bread symbolizes a well-fed life, candy symbolizes a sweet life, and a coin symbolizes a rich life. The ring, of course, means marriage, the toy means procreation. But don’t be alarmed when you take out the salt, because it predicts tears.

shutr.bz

Of course, the church is against guessing on Holy Eve, since the Nativity of Christ is the greatest event in the history of mankind, because God came into the world, and one should not try to find out one’s destiny, but take care of spiritual values.
However, another fun tradition is carols. Costumed carolers walk with a nativity scene from house to house, act out scenes and sing carols. And for this, the owners must reward the guests with treats and money. This tradition has long taken root in Ukraine, however, in a metropolis you can hardly see a costumed nativity scene on the threshold of your apartment, but in villages this phenomenon is still widespread.

Mikheyev Viktor

Remember that you need to clearly distinguish between worldly and church holidays. The first are timed to remember some date or event that left a mark on history or influenced it. And church holidays are an occasion not only to remember, but also to immerse yourself in spiritual world and gain knowledge that is not given to us in worldly life. So try to spend at least Christmas with your family and friends and not lose the feeling of a real Christmas miracle.

How to celebrate Christmas:

Christmas is a family holiday! It should definitely be celebrated with your closest and dearest people.

Angel - let joy into your home!

The first to worship the little son of God were the shepherds - the true children of nature!

The good news of the birth of Jesus Christ was brought to them by the Angel of Good News!

Therefore, it is believed that the Angel is main symbol Christmas!

To ensure that peace, harmony and comfort reign at home all year round, decorate it with figurines of angels before Christmas!

Place on shelves or hang on the Christmas tree.

What Christmas table dishes will give us happiness?

On January 6, with the appearance of the first star in the sky, symbolizing the Birth of Jesus Christ, you can sit down at the festive table!

To ensure that happiness and joy do not leave your home until next Christmas, the table must have:

Christmas kutia (sochivo). You should start your meal with it. According to biblical legend, a person who eats at least one spoon of kutya on an empty stomach will live in health and prosperity all year.

Poultry (duck or goose), cooked whole... It’s not without reason that at Christmas time from time immemorial they say: “a bird on the table means happiness in the house.”

Gingerbread cookies, cookies in the shape of angels and stars, pies and pancakes.

They should be placed on the Christmas table at the end of dinner, when all the guests have tried the kutya and poultry.

Also treat those who come to caroling with baked goods.

Vzvar is a compote made from dried fruits. According to legend, if you use this drink at the Christmas table, illnesses and misfortunes will be avoided all year.

Christmas signs.

The events that happened to you on the night before Christmas and Christmas itself can predict a happy future.

If on Christmas night someone knocked on your door unexpected guest, then be sure to let him into the house and treat him to various dishes. Then the whole year will be happy and successful for your family! And the house will always be full of friends, relatives and loved ones!

If the Christmas candles do not go out, but burn out completely, then in the new year you will have an unexpected, but great joy!

What not to do on Christmas Day.

There are many different traditions and customs associated with the blessed day of Christmas. Just like in many Orthodox holidays, it’s better not to do it on Christmas:

Do household chores: cleaning, sewing, embroidery, washing, ironing and even cooking.

Take care of all the treats for the Christmas table already on Christmas Eve - January 6th. Also, during the holiday, do not start renovations at home.

Quarrel not only with loved ones, but even strangers.

On this day you should do only good deeds and say good words.

On the bright holiday of the Nativity of Christ - January 7 - go to church for Christmas services. They go from early morning until late evening.

Light the candles and ask Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary for health and prosperity!

Prayer for healing illnesses

“Lord Heavenly Father! In the name of Jesus, grant me healing for my illness(es).
Heal me from... (list specifically what you want to be healed from).
If there are any obstacles to healing, You reveal them to me. Reveal the sins I need to repent of, reveal what needs to change in my life, teach me what I need to do to receive healing.
Amen".

Prayer for family well-being

“Most Blessed Lady, take my family under Your protection. Instill in the hearts of my husband and our children peace, love and intransigence to all that is good; do not allow anyone from my family to be separated and difficult, to premature and sudden death without repentance. And our home and save all of us who live in it from the fiery blaze, the thieves’ attack, and we, collectively and separately, openly and secretly, will glorify. your name Holy always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Holy Mother of God, save us! "
Amen.

Prayer for help in business

“Lord Heavenly Father! In the name of Jesus Christ, forgive all my sins and help me live a sinless life.
Help me not to step on the mines of sins that will bring me pain and suffering. Teach me to fulfill Your commandments. Teach me to live the way You want.
I ask You, help me solve all my problems. Help me earn enough to live. Help me to be healed of my illnesses. Help me with housing (list your needs). Help me in all my affairs. Deliver me from all evil, protect and protect me."
Amen.

Merry Christmas!

One of the biggest and brightest Christian holidays is approaching - Christmas. What should believers and non-believers know about Christmas? These and other questions were answered by the Head of the Administrative Apparatus of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC, Archimandrite Victor (Kotsaba).

Should a person with an atheistic worldview who has not been baptized celebrate Christmas? Or is it better for him not to confuse with his presence those who are breaking fast and preparing for the holiday?

- It’s difficult for me to say what an unbaptized person should do. Especially regarding Christmas. The same as, strictly speaking, regarding Easter. Yes, I know that many atheists celebrate both Christmas and Easter. It's difficult to say what motivates these people. After all, Christmas is the birthday of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom they do not believe. Therefore, most likely, for them these events are nothing more than an excuse to sit at a table that has nothing to do with spiritual life.

The only thing I can advise an atheist is not to confuse believers with your attacks on faith. In general, we need to learn long ago to respect the views and worldview of other people, even if they do not agree with us. This is precisely the basis and foundation of a civilized society. Otherwise, too often it turns out that non-believers try to prove that they are right with the help of force. There are more than enough examples.

How to spend the day of January 6 on Christmas Eve correctly? Are there any Orthodox traditions? Or can you watch funny Christmas movies, comedy programs and play computer games all day?

- These days, Orthodox Christians must visit the temple. This is the main thing. In general, everything important in our lives takes place in church - the baptism of a child, a wedding, the funeral service of relatives and friends. But the most important thing is the Liturgy. Only participation in this Sacrament makes it possible to really experience everything that is happening these days and what we read about in Holy Scripture.

Therefore, if we talk about traditions, this is the most important one. But watching TV, playing games, etc. are secondary things.

When exactly is Christmas and should it be celebrated? Is there a specific time? Or wait for the first star to appear in the sky? What if the sky is overcast and you can’t see the stars?

- According to tradition, the star is only a permission to refresh with food before the night service. It must be said that January 6th is the day of strict fasting before Christmas. That is, on this day it is not customary to eat food before sunset and the appearance of the first star. I must say that this tradition also has liturgical roots. The fact is that previously the pre-Christmas Liturgy was celebrated not in the morning, as now, but in the afternoon, that is, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Therefore, it usually ended quite late - around 7-8 pm. And naturally, Christians were strengthened with food even when the stars were burning in the sky. Today the Liturgy is celebrated in the morning, but the tradition of late meals remains. This is also stated in the liturgical regulations of our Church.

Should you immediately sit down at the table when the first star appears? Or does the main holiday fall on January 7th? What dishes must be on the table?

- Christmas will come after the Christmas Liturgy on January 7th. Then, after the service, you can sit down at the table and break your fast. Which, by the way, makes sense only for those who have fasted. Those who did not fast and were not in church for the festive service will never be able to truly experience Christmas.

Will it do any good to an unbeliever and unbaptized person and his soul if he attends a Christmas service in church or receives a blessing?

- Certainly! The benefit, as you say, will be to everyone who visits Christmas service. This is exactly how this holiday should be celebrated - in the temple. Even if the person is an unbeliever. God works in mysterious ways! And maybe it’s after the service that an atheist will believe in God?! Believe me, this happens quite often.

Why, if our chronology starts from the Nativity of Christ, do we not celebrate Christmas on January 1? In both the new and old style of calendars, Christmas comes first and only then New Year.

- The idea of ​​celebrating Christmas on December 31 has neither canonical nor traditional justification. For us Christians, the New Year generally begins in September. This is when the Church celebrates its new anniversary. And January 1, like January 13, is nothing more than a civil New Year, to which from the point of view of the Church it makes no sense to become attached. The main event for us is Christmas, and when the New Year comes is not so important. In general, I think that since in our society the calendar is calculated “Anno Domini” - “from the Nativity of Christ”, then society should rather change something and adapt to the Church, and not vice versa.

From Christmas Eve to Epiphany, our ancestors dressed up in animal skins, put on horned masks, played mischief, and caroled. On these holidays, believers also always used to tell fortunes. Is it worth sticking to these traditions and how? modern church does it apply to them?

- Everything you listed, except carols, is clean water paganism, which has nothing in common with Christianity. Carols cannot be placed in this row simply because they glorify God. But fortune telling, dressing up in animal skins, etc., these are things that the Church certainly condemns.

Christmas Facts: What year was Christ born? Why was Herod afraid of the news of the Birth of the Messiah? Why is the Christmas symbol a Christmas tree? The answers are in the article!

The Nativity of Christ is the second most important Christian holiday after Easter. We love him since childhood. And it seems that we know everything about him, all the history, traditions and legends. Some of us know all the Christmas services by heart. Maria Senchukova talks about little known facts about the Nativity of Christ.

In what year was Christ born?

It would seem that everything is simple: the new era is counted from the Nativity of Christ. But initially there was an error in the calculations: the Roman compiler of the Paschals, Abbot Dionysius the Lesser (worked in 525) was mistaken by several years.
It is difficult to accurately determine the date of birth of Jesus Christ: from the Gospel of Matthew it is known that at the time of the massacre of the infants, Christ was no more than two years old. Against the backdrop of all the cruelties of King Herod the Great, this event in a small town in the vicinity of Jerusalem was unlikely to be particularly significant for the entire country, so it is not reflected in the documents.
Herod the Great died in 750 from the founding of Rome - according to our calculation this is 4 BC. At this time, the Savior was still a child, as the apostle and evangelist Matthew says: “After the death of Herod, behold, the Angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in Egypt in a dream and says: Arise, take the Child and His Mother and go to the land of Israel, for you are dead. looking for the soul of the Child. He arose, took the Child and His Mother, and came to the land of Israel (2:19-21). The Greek word παῖς can mean not only infant, but also any child, and in the Jewish tradition boys are considered children under 13 years of age.
Another clue is the year John the Baptist went out to preach. Luke names it exactly: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” (3:1) - this date is calculated, 28 AD. At this time (or a little later) Christ is about thirty years old - because he goes out to preach after the Baptism of John. He couldn’t have been exactly thirty, because then it would have turned out that the Nativity of Christ happened after Herod the Great, but this is precisely “about thirty,” and not “about forty.” If we assume that Christ goes out to preach in the year 28 at the age of at least 32 years, and at most at 35, then the year of His birth ranges from 7 to 4 BC.

Why was Herod afraid of the news of the Birth of the Messiah?

In those years, messianic expectations in Jewish people were especially strong. Judea was under the rule of the pagans - the Romans, and the Messiah was perceived as a king who would defeat the enemies and restore the kingdom of Israel. All Jewish believers were sure that this was exactly His role - both the descendants of kings, and simple fishermen and farmers.
But Herod was not like that - his affiliation with the faith of the Jewish people was formal, purely political.
Herod could not be a legitimate king of Judea at all, since he was not a descendant of David. By origin, Herod was an Edomite, not a Jew. It was not he himself who accepted Judaism, but his grandfather Antipas, and not at the behest of his heart, but by submitting to the Hasmonean kingdom of Judah.
Herod's father Antipater received the post of procurator of Judea and the place of guardian of the then Jewish king and high priest Hyrcanus II from the Maccabean dynasty. Having risen, he seized the royal throne.
Antipater fell victim to a conspiracy. His son Herod destroyed the conspirators and took power into his own hands.
To give legitimacy to his rule, he married the granddaughter of Hyrcanus II, to establish himself as a pious man - he reconstructed the Temple. In 25 BC. he solved the problem of famine due to crop failure in Judea by exchanging all the gold in the palace for grain in Egypt. But his cruelty and suspicion (he killed his wife and sons, Alexander, Aristobulus and Antipater, accused of conspiracy), his obvious cooperation with the occupiers (he received power not without the help of the Romans - with the support of Mark Antony, he was elected by the Senate in Rome itself ) - all this led to the fact that he did not gain popularity among the people.
The king's suspicions intensified. The news of the birth of the Messiah was not joyful for him - he was not interested in the liberation of the Jewish people (and especially not in enlightening other nations with the light of the true faith, which was also expected by believers), but in maintaining power.

"Massacre of the Innocents" (Matteo di Giovanni, 1488)
The thirst for power had already repeatedly turned Herod, a proud man and an impostor, into a cruel murderer - but the beating of infants surpassed his previous crimes. After that, he lived no more than three years (most likely even less).

Why did the Magi come to worship Christ?

It is well known that the Magi described in the Gospel of Matthew most likely came from Persia and were apparently astronomers (at that time, astronomy closely intersected with astrology). But not everyone knows why they needed to worship Christ.
Since ancient times, the word “magi” was used to describe Zoroastrian priests. Zoroastrianism, or Mazdaism, widespread in Persia, is the very first monotheistic religion, addressed to all humanity, and not to a specific people.

Albrecht Durer. Adoration of the Magi. 1504 Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
Historical and cultural ties between Ancient Israel and Persia have been present for centuries - the Jews were conquered by the Persians; The action of some Old Testament books takes place in Persia (the book of the prophet Daniel, the book of Esther).
In general, the Persians and Jews favorably perceived each other as bearers of faith in the One God.
Many motifs of the “good faith” (as the Zoroastrians themselves call themselves - the term “Zoroastrianism” is used by Europeans to designate this religion by the name of its prophet, Spitama Zarathushtra) are close to Judaism. In particular, eschatology, which includes resurrection of the dead and the final judgment are practically the same in both religions.
The ancient Hebrew teaching about the Mashiach (Messiah) proclaimed the coming of the King-Liberator and echoed the Zoroastrian idea of ​​the Saoshyants - three saviors who would come one by one at the end of time and convert people to the Good Faith. The third Saoshyant, together with all believers, will defeat the destructive power of Druj ( evil spirit- Angra) and will resurrect the dead. After this, the world will be transformed to a state of pristine perfection - this change in the world is called “Frasho-Kereti”.
Being a supranational religion, Mazdaism did not see any obstacles to the fact that Saoshyant came from the Jews, who, the Zoroastrians knew, were also waiting for the King-Savior.
That is why the new star of the King of the Jews - the Savior of the world - led three learned priests to distant Jerusalem.

How do we know about the Nativity Cave?

From the Gospel of Luke we know that instead of a cradle for the Baby, the Most Pure Virgin Mary used a manger - a feeding trough for livestock.
The Catholic Church carefully preserves part of the Christmas shrine in the Roman temple of Santa Maria Maggiore - wooden planks, considered to be particles of the manger of Christ. True, it is difficult to talk about the historical authenticity of this item. Throughout the Holy Land, you can still see caves in the rocks, into which cattle were driven in ancient times, but the mangers located there are made of stone - after all, wood is not a common material in this area.
But, in any case, a manger is mentioned in Scripture.
But not a word is said about the cave. How do we know about the place of birth of the Savior?

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn. Engraving. 1654
We find the first written mentions of the den in which Christ was born in sources from the mid-2nd century: the apocryphal “Proto-Gospel of James” and the “Dialogue with Tryphon the Jew” by the holy martyr Justin the Philosopher.
If the "Proto-Gospel" abounds big amount historically unreliable details, Justin the Philosopher records an oral tradition, which on the whole does not differ from that set out in the Gospel: “When the time came for the baby to be born in Bethlehem, Joseph, due to the lack of a place in that village where to stay, came to one cave not far from the village . And while they were there, Mary gave birth to Christ and laid Him in a manger.” Saint Justin does not indicate the exact place.
But Origen, who visited the holy places, very accurately indicates the place of the Nativity. “The very cave of Bethlehem indicates where He was born, and the cave manger also testifies to where he was wrapped in swaddling clothes,” he reports in his work “Against Celsus.” “In those places the legend about this event is still alive; even the enemies of the faith know that Jesus was born in that cave, Whom Christians honor and marvel at.”

What are these enemies of faith?

In the middle of the 2nd century, a major uprising against Rome took place in Judea under the leadership of Bar Kokhba (among the Jews there was even an idea that this particular man was the promised Messiah). The rebellion was brutally suppressed. Emperor Hadrian completely destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem and virtually all of Jerusalem, expelled the Jews from it, forbidding them even to approach the holy city (only on the eve of the Jewish Passover they could look at it from the mountain, to this day called “har ha-tsofim” - Mount Observation) , gave the colony built on the ruins a new name - Elia Capitolina, and even renamed the province of Judea itself to Palestine.
By dark irony, the biblical land was named in honor of the people with whom the Old Testament judges and King David himself fought - the Philistines.
In an effort to erase from the face of the earth the very memory of the people who lived here, Adrian also destroys the shrines of Christians, perceiving them as a Jewish sect. IN Ancient Church It was customary to gather for the Eucharist in memorable places - and the Nativity cave was no exception. Adrian orders pagan temples to be built over them. According to the translator of Scripture into Latin, Blessed Jerome Stridonsky, “the very cave where the Infant Christ uttered His first crying cry was dedicated to the lover of Venus.”
But the memory of the cave was preserved throughout the first centuries of Christianity, and it was this place that Origen described in the middle of the 3rd century.
Several decades will pass, and Saint Queen Helena will begin her search for Christian shrines. Thanks to the manic vindictiveness of Hadrian, who tried to desecrate and destroy them with pagan rites, holy places were easily found: pagan altars pointed to them.

Why is the Christmas symbol a Christmas tree?

Let's move on from history to legends and folk customs.
Many are familiar with the good European fairy tale about the Christmas tree, which, when the trees came to worship the Infant Christ, humbly stood at the door, having no gifts and afraid to prick Him, until other trees gave it their fruits - nuts, flowers, apples, oranges, so that it could to bestow gifts on the Savior (according to another version, the Christmas tree was decorated with stars by an Angel). Christ reached out to the tree with a smile, and so the spruce became a symbol of Christmas.
But why this legend arose is not known to everyone.
Among the Germanic tribes, long before the adoption of Christianity, evergreens were a symbol of life. They were believed to protect home from evil spirits, darkness and cold.
In the Middle Ages, Germans decorated their houses with juniper or spruce throughout the winter.
And in historical sources The first mention of a Christmas tree was in 1419: in Freiburg, local bakers decorated the tree with fruit, nuts and buns, leaving it for children to “plunder” on New Year’s Day.
In Russia christmas tree Peter I tried to “plant” this, which is also well known, but it had nothing to do with Christmas - spruce branches decorated the city for the New Year.
Christmas trees appeared thanks to the Germans who came to St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 19th century, and first attracted high society, and even then not immediately - only on the eve of 1840, the newspaper “Northern Bee” advertised decorated Christmas trees for sale, and a year later reported on a new custom, like about “adopted from the good Germans children's party on the eve of the Nativity of Christ... A tree, illuminated by lanterns or candles, hung with sweets, fruits, toys, books, is a delight for children, who have already been told what good behavior and diligence on the holiday will be a sudden reward.”

Pre-revolutionary Christmas card
Among the people, the Christmas tree did not immediately take root, and the point is not at all in opposition to heterodox innovations. They didn’t like spruce in Rus': it grew in a swamp, was unpleasant to the touch (prickly, with a damp, mossy trunk) and symbolized, in contrast to the Western European tradition, evil spirits and death. Hence the custom, which has survived to this day, of covering fresh graves with spruce branches (though in last centuries it has been rethought in a Christian key, largely thanks to the idea of ​​the Christmas tree, a symbol of life, adopted from Western Christians).
Only to end of the 19th century centuries, spruce also becomes a Christmas symbol in Russia.
And today the Christmas and New Year trees can be found even among Orthodox Christians of the East - and in hometown Savior, surrounded by the desert of Bethlehem, in store windows there are decorated Christmas trees and Santa Clauses with sleighs and reindeer.

When did ancient Christians celebrate Christmas?

But they didn’t celebrate it separately. By the 4th century, Christians celebrated the Epiphany, which included the very coming of the Lord into the world, Christmas, the appearance of the Child Jesus in the Temple and the appearance of Christ to preach after Baptism in the Jordan. In the Churches of Rome and North Africa this day fell on December 25, and in the Churches of the East and Gaul - on January 6.
Where did these dates come from?
The ancient Church adopted the ancient Jewish tradition, according to which the date of death of a holy person coincided with the date of his birth (for example, on the 6th of Sivan, King David was born and died, on the 15th of Sivan, the son of the forefather Jacob, Judah, was born and died, on the 10th of Av, a son was born and died forefather Jacob, Issachar...).
Christians figured out the day of the Incarnation, that is, the Annunciation, when the conception of the Lord Jesus Christ took place, based on the date of Easter - the Resurrection of Christ - but they calculated Easter in different ways. Some, focusing on the solar calendar, added 14 days to the day of the vernal equinox (March 22) and celebrated Easter on the nearest Sunday to the resulting April 6, while others, following the tradition coming from Tertullian and corresponding to other ancient sources (the treatise “On the Calculation of Easter” , attributed to St. Cyprian of Carthage and others), they believed that the Passion of Christ took place on the eighth calendar of April - that is, March 25.
Respectively, by simple addition by April 6 or March 25 they received the holiday of Epiphany - Christmas and Epiphany. Some teachers of the Church (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, St. Athanasius the Great) correlated this day with Baptism in the Jordan, others (St. Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Ephraim the Syrian) - with Christmas.
The theme of Christmas was central to the feast of the Epiphany, and the motif of the worship of the Magi as a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to the pagan world was considered especially important.
Why was the more common date of January 6th divided into two and why was it necessary to separate the Nativity of Christ into a separate holiday on December 25th?
The most convincing point of view is that this happened for apologetic reasons. Firstly, in the 70-80s of the 4th century, the position of the Orthodox against the Arians strengthened.
The selection of a separate holiday dedicated according to the flesh to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ made it possible to emphasize the consubstantiality of His Father.
Secondly, on December 25, the third day after the winter solstice, the “feast of the invincible sun” was celebrated in the pagan world. The celebration, accompanied by the ritual of lighting fires, was so widespread that Christians also took part in it. St. Augustine called for celebrating the Nativity of Christ on this day, “not as infidels for the sake of the sun, but for the sake of Him who created this sun.”
Still in Armenian Church(non-Chalcedonian) they celebrate not Christmas and Epiphany, but one feast of Epiphany - January 6.

When will we celebrate Christmas in the 22nd century?

The question seems funny - after all church calendar unchanged, which means we will have to celebrate Christmas on the same day as now, that is, December 25 according to the Julian calendar or January 7 according to the Gregorian calendar.
Meanwhile, the Julian, that is, church, or Old Calendar, calendar does not change, but the Gregorian, that is, “civil,” or “New Calendar,” changes according to the rules according to which the gap between the old and new styles will gradually increase.
We are accustomed to the fact that leap years are those years that are divisible by four. But this rule only applies to the Julian calendar. For "civil" Gregorian, the rules leap years the following:
- if the serial number of the year does not end with two zeros and is divisible by 4 without a remainder, then the year is a leap year;
- if the serial number of the year ends with two zeros and the number of hundreds in the serial number of the year is divisible by 4, then the year is a leap year, and if it is not divisible, then it is a simple year.
Thus, 1900 is a common year, 2000 is a leap year, 2100 is a common year. Consequently, from March 1, 2100, the gap between the Julian and Gregorian calendars will increase by one more day, and from 2101, Christmas will be celebrated on January 8 in the new style, which will correspond to December 25 in the old style.
Of course, all other immovable holidays will also shift.
Surprisingly, Orthodox Churches those living according to the old style may face a serious problem - even now there are people, even among the priests, who are sure that this particular shift is a violation of liturgical tradition and is categorically unacceptable. Of course, sensible people will understand the problem of addition within one unit, but psychological discomfort is guaranteed even to them - after all, in ordinary life We focus on the civil calendar.
We can only hope that the state will show prudence and shift the day off on January 7 to 8.
Happy Christmas to you, dear readers! God's help in all your affairs, peace and prosperity!