This night, from 6 to 7 January, Orthodox Christians are celebrating Christmas - one of the biggest and most ancient Christian holidays, which has its roots in the distant past. In the annals of belonging to the Christian history of Russia, you can even find the exact date when Christmas was celebrated in Russia for the first time - 25 December 988. Christmas for many centuries was the main winter holiday, far more celebrated than New Year. Even after the reforms of Peter the Great in 1700, which moved New Year to January 1, Christmas traditions have remained unchanged.
The Christmas holidays have been associated with a variety of folk customs, but they were forgotten after celebrating Christmas was banned in 1918. Only in 1935 did the Soviet government allow Christmas trees to be set and decorated again - although not for Christmas but for New Year. And the stars at the top of the spruce became five-pointed Soviet-style stars. Previously there were seven-pointed stars that symbolized the very same star, which, according to the Gospels, led the Magi to the new-born Christ Child.
Before 1918 Christmas was celebrated all over the country, and the new year was a much less important holiday, but under Soviet rule they changed places. The Soviet Union was the only country in the world where New Year absorbed the attributes of Christmas, while remaining quite a Soviet holiday. And after the collapsr of the Soviet Union, the reverse transformation did not happen - New Year stayed a traditional family holiday, and Christmas is honored only by a part of the population, mostly Orthodox Christians.
In recent years, however, more and more people visit churches in the Christmas holidays, remembering the religious meaning of Christmas. Today, the majority of Christians in Russia celebrate Christmas and fasting for forty days preceding Christmas and go to church to attend the vigil in honor of the Feast of the Nativity.
This actual holiday in Russia was restored only in 1991, after the collapse of the USSR. The decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation on December 20, 1990 declared January 7 as a holiday. Every year more and more people in our country celebrate Christmas. January 7 is officially a non-working day for all citizens of our country. Gradually, people are returning to their roots, fully aware of the great religious significance of the holiday. According to a survey, already 35% of Russians believe that the main holiday is Christmas, leaving New Year in second place.
The Christmas holiday is preceded by fasting, which lasts forty days, from November 28 to January 6. The actual fasting is accompanied by spiritual fasting. Christians repent and pray, refraining from passions and vices. The strictness of fasting amplifies from 2 January and culminates on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve believers adhere to the tradition of not eating until the first star in the sky is visible, it symbolizes the star of Bethlehem. Breaking the fast is accepted only in the morning of the seventh of January.
On the night from the 6th of January to the 7th in the temples of Russia a solemn service is held. In Moscow, services for the occasion of the Nativity will be held in 389 current Orthodox monasteries, temples and churches of the city, and the main Christmas service will take place in the Christ the Savior Cathedral, which brings together more than five thousand people, headed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia.
The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) celebrates simultaneously the Christmas Holiday and the Baptism under the general title of The Epiphany. The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Karekin II, has already served a celebratory Christmas liturgy in the Cathedral of the Sacred Etchmiadzin. The service was attended by President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and Rita Sargsyan, the Speaker of the National Assembly Sahakyan, government members, MPs, ambassadors accredited in Yerevan, political leaders and parishioners. In the churches of the country Christmas Liturgy Chrakaluyts was served with lit oil lamps. In the evening people carry the church lighted lamps and candles home. Thid symbolizes the light of the star of Bethlehem, which pointed the way to the Magi to the cave where the baby Jesus lay wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Christmas has always been a national holiday, one of the most popular holidays in Russia. During the Christmas holidays kindness and hospitality dominated, everyone tried to show care and compassion, treating each other generously. It is a tradition to do good deeds: to help the sick, giving alms. On Christmas Eve the Christmas tree is decorated. Under the tree, of course, would be gifts. Giving gifts is a tradition rooted in the story of the Magi who brought gifts to the baby Jesus - gold, frankincense and myrrh. Children get their gifts from Father Christmas - Santa Claus, which today we believe to be a New Year's grandfather.
