Many hundreds of years have passed since our ancestors began to believe in Christ. Cities of Ancient Rus heard the melody of the bell ringing, in the temples there were hymns, praying people saw the faces of the saints. Christ came to our difficult and contradictory world, sharing human sorrows, problems and joys. The meaning of Christmas for Christians is so great that it is called "the mother of all the holidays." And even the chronology soon began to lead from the date of the birth of our Savior. It is not surprising that in Russia this holiday is popularly loved and honored. Even during the years of repression, people secretly celebrated the birth of Christ, ate kutyu, fasted and attended church services. Times have changed, and now it has again become an official holiday in many former republics of the Union.
The history of the birth of the Nativity of Christ
In ancient times, church historians argued for a long time, figuring out the true date of the Savior's birth. Until the end of the IV century, in all the Eastern Churches, it was celebrated on January 6. It was connected with the Epiphany of the Lord and had a common name - the Epiphany. By the way, the Armenian Church has remained faithful to this tradition, and even in our time she celebrates Epiphany on January 6 in one day with Christmas. The date of the celebration was postponed to 25 December, first in the Western Church. This happened on the instructions of Pope Julius in the first half of the IV century. The Council of Constantinople in 377 th year extended this custom to the Orthodox East.
The day of the celebration of Christmas was established as follows. At first it was believed that the Savior was born on the same day as the first man Adam - on the sixth day of the first month. That's why they celebrated Christmas, at first it was January 6th. But later decided to highlight such an important event and move it to a separate day. Christ had to be on the sinful Earth for a full number of years. Hence, the date of conception must coincide with the date of death on the cross. She is known for sure - March 25 in the Jewish Passover. Having counted 9 months from it, we will get the required date - December 25. It coincided in ancient times with the pagan holiday of the winter solstice. People, participating in church celebrations, turned away from the ancient cult. They knew the true God, who in the New Testament was called the Sun of Truth and the Winner of death. The introduction of the Gregorian calendar led to the fact that Catholics and Orthodox began to celebrate Christmas on different days. Russia, Belarus and Ukraine do this together with other countries of the Orthodox Church in the old style - January 7.
The history of the celebration of Christmas in Russia
With the advent of Christianity on our lands, Christmas began to be widely celebrated in the great Kyivan Rus. It here also coincided with the ancient pagan holidays - the saints. The ancient Slavs held ceremonies on that day, dedicated to the ancestral spirits. The Christmas day preceding Christmas has long been called Christmas Eve . Sochi - porridge with vegetables and vegetable oil. You can mate on the eve of Christmas, but the other food on this day was strictly forbidden, until the very dawn of the star of Bethlehem.
The people gradually established the tradition of celebrating Christmas. In the morning people were cleaning in the cottages, bathing in the bath, preparing for carols. In the evening the young people painted their faces, gathered in large groups, and dressed in turned out clothes, drove around the village of Kolyada. So they called a doll or a girl dressed in a special outfit. Children wore a star across the village, went into houses and sang carols. For this the hosts gave them a reward - sweets or other sweets. Obligatory dishes on Christmas Eve were kutya and vvar. Since Christmas, the people began merry Christmas-tidings, which ended in Epiphany. Everyone should remember that the main goal of this holiday is the remembrance and glorification of the great event the appearance on earth of the Savior. This is a great and joyful day for all of us.