Christmas Eve - the night before Christmas and Orthodox traditions. Christmas Eve before Christmas - what date is it celebrated and what to do on this day? The meaning of the word, tradition, food

Christmas Eve is the day, or rather the evening, on the eve of the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.

The last day of the Christmas fast is four weeks long, the day during which Christians traditionally abstain from eating until the first star appears. This tradition is associated with historical tradition about the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced the birth of Christ to the Magi.

The very name "Christmas Eve" comes from the word "sychivo" - this was the name of a special rice or wheat porridge with honey, nuts and raisins. It is such lean food that is intended for this day, as well as vegetables, peas, beans, fish, compote. After all, Christmas Eve is a solemn feast with an invariably defined ritual, both in terms of organization, time and order of holding, and in terms of dishes and food.

Christmas Eve traditions

Since olden times in Russia many good traditions have been associated with the last day of the Nativity Fast. V village huts it was customary to cover the floor with hay, and the table with straw, on top of which a snow-white tablecloth was laid. This was done as a reminder that our Savior was born in a sheep's stable, and not in the royal palace.

Another tradition is carols. From a small box - "den" (translated from the Slavic "cave"), they arranged an impromptu puppet show, in which the action was played out on the Christmas theme. We walked around the village with a nativity scene in the evening, congratulating the neighbors.

The guys “dressed up” - they changed into fur coats turned inside out, put on animal masks on their faces, and sang Christmas carols.

It was on Christmas night that folk beliefs, two forces dominate - the power of good and the power of evil. The power of goodness called to carol or listen to the carols of others and treat them with sweets, to glorify the birth of Christ at the Lenten evening table. The power of evil gathered a Sabbath of witches, raging in their powerlessness, and pulled them into fortune-telling.

Various rituals of fortune telling by the shoe, by the mirror, by the ashes, by the ring, by the onion or by the bark of a dog have sunk into the summer, with the rooting of Christianity.

It is not for nothing that it is said that wishes come true on Christmas night. So it may not be worth reviving stupid pagan fortune-telling, but simply, on the night before Christmas, look at the sky and try to see a shooting star. And if you are lucky and you see a shooting star on this Christmas night, ask the born Christ to fulfill your cherished desire.

Do not miss this time, otherwise you will have to wait more whole year... Miracles happen most often on Christmas night!
There should be twelve lenten dishes on the table on Christmas Eve - according to the number of the first apostles. The meal should be started in the evening, after the evening service and the appearance of the first star. Prior to that, during the whole day, neither food nor drink is consumed.

Only the next day, on the very feast of the Nativity of Christ, on January 7, after the solemn Liturgy, meat dishes are allowed.

After Christmas Eve, Christmastide begins. Continuing until Epiphany (January 19) two weeks of winter holidays.

Dishes for Christmas Eve

The first must-have dish on Christmas Eve is ochivo - a grain of bread soaked in water, honey, broth or gravy. Until the end of the 19th century, the Eastern Slavs had rye with this grain, later, mainly wheat, and the wealthy people had rice.
Also compulsory dishes in the ritual feast of Christmas Eve are baked fish, preferably in its whole form (you can replace boiled one), and a thick brew of whole or halves of different fruits (pears, apples, plums, apricots, figs, quince, raisins). The brew differs from the usual compote in its higher concentration. In addition to the broth, berry jelly is also cooked.

The complete Christmas Eve menu is as follows:

1. Juicy.
2. Rice or wheat kutia with raisins.
3. Whole fish, baked or boiled.
4. Broth or compote from whole fruits or sour berry jelly.

The number of dishes can be expanded to twelve, and the rest of the dishes can be nuts, vegetables, lean pies and gingerbread. The symbolism of such a table is the birth of Jesus Christ. A grain soaked in water is a symbol of the beginning of life, germination. Whole fruit compote or fruit processed into liquid jelly - symbolize the full maturation of life and the end of it.

These two dishes - the first and the last - are symbols of birth and death.

And all the dishes together are a reminder of the grains and fruits brought to Christ by the Magi on the day of His Birth.
The Christmas Eve meal is a symbolic ritual of the birth of Jesus Christ.

It should be a quiet and modest pre-holiday dinner, which should be spent in a family circle, without long gatherings at the table and empty conversations. The Christmas celebrations will begin the next day.

Signs for Christmas Eve

Snowstorm on Christmas Eve - to early foliage.
Snowy weather on Christmas Eve - to the grain harvest in the new year.
It was not recommended to sweep the litter out of the hut precisely during the period from Christmas Eve to January 14. Collected in a heap, the garbage had to be burned in the yard.
On Christmas Eve, peasant children crawled under the table and “chuckled” like chickens - so that the chickens were well-run.
Greed and stinginess are absolutely not for this time - this is the time of preparation for the great holiday, preparation of purchases and gifts.
Beginning on Christmas Eve, winter is frosty and the sun is summer.
After the onset of Christmas Eve, after the evening church service on this day, you cannot do household chores. This is understandable - after all, one of the most important holidays is about to come, which is celebrated for three days, writes the InFlora.ru magazine.

The Nativity of Christ is one of the main Christian holidays, established in honor of the birth in the flesh (incarnation) of Jesus Christ. Most Churches celebrate Christmas on the night of December 24-25. The Roman Catholic Church and most Protestant churches celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar.

Christmas is preceded by the Advent period, which begins four weeks before the birth of Christ, and is designed to prepare believers for a deeper experience of this holiday. During Advent, believers participate in spiritual exercises and special pre-Christmas services, and try to perform deeds of mercy. During the four weeks of Advent, it is necessary to prepare for confession in order to participate with a pure heart in the Christmas services and receive the Sacrament.

The services of each of the four Advent Sundays have a specific theme, which is reflected in the Gospel readings: the first is dedicated to the coming of Christ at the end of time; the second and third reflect the transition from the Old to the New Testament - on the third Sunday, the ministry of John the Baptist is especially remembered; the fourth is devoted to the Gospel events immediately preceding the Nativity of Christ.

A wreath with four candles is erected at the altars in churches, and one candle is lit every Sunday of Advent. The round shape of the wreath symbolizes eternity, and its green color- hope, like the branches of a Christmas tree. In many countries, it is customary to decorate with such wreaths in the pre-Christmas period. entrance doors as a sign that Christ is expected in this house.

In many countries, it is customary for children, in anticipation of the holiday, to do feasible good deeds, for which they receive a bundle of straw or a small paper heart in the family. Before Christmas, children hang these hearts on the tree and put the straw in the nursery. In the narrow sense of the word, a manger is a cattle feeder where the Mother of God put the newborn Infant Jesus. A manger, or in the Russian tradition, a nativity scene, is an image of a cave (“nativity scene” in Church Slavonic means “cave”), where the shepherds drove their cattle at night, and where, as the Gospel narrates, Christ was born.

In the Western tradition, a manger or nativity scene is a scene depicting Christmas and consisting of three-dimensional figures, the number of which may vary. Only the figures of the Infant Christ in the manger are unchanged here, Blessed virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The rest of the participants in the Christmas event - shepherds, animals that were in the cave that gave shelter to Joseph and Mary, angels - are made depending on the imagination and skill of the author.

The arrangement of a Christmas nursery is a tradition established by the Catholic Saint Francis of Assisi, who in 1223 in the village of Greccio placed a nursery in a cave on the side of a mountain. An ox and a donkey were also brought there - animals, according to legend, warming the newborn Infant Christ with their breath. Since the days of St. Francis, most catholic churches the world. It has become a tradition in many countries to hold exhibitions of a nursery, allowing to visually represent the moment of the birth of the Baby of Bethlehem.

Day 24 December, coming on Christmas Eve, (from the Latin vigilia, vigil). On this day, families decorate Christmas trees and set up a nursery. Those of the family members who did not have time to start confession go to the church, which is usually open in the early morning.

A festive Christmas Eve dinner is being prepared, traditionally consisting of lenten dishes. In the center of the table is a dish with consecrated unleavened bread - Christmas wafers. Before dinner begins, the head of the family reads aloud a passage from the Gospel of Luke about the birth of Jesus Christ. Then all those present take wafers from the dish and share them with each other, wishing each other peace and good. After that, Christmas Eve dinner begins. After dinner, the whole family goes to Mass, the obligatory attendance at which is a common Catholic Christmas tradition for all believers.

The custom of leaving an unoccupied place at the Christmas table is widespread and well-known. If someone comes to the house on Christmas Eve, they will be received as a brother. This custom is a sign of memory of loved ones and dear people who cannot celebrate the holiday with their families on this day. An unoccupied place also symbolizes the deceased family member, or all deceased relatives.
The custom of putting hay underneath white tablecloth on the table at which the Christmas Eve meal is being served. Hay is intended to remind of the poverty of the Bethlehem cave and of the Mother of God, who laid the newborn Christ Infant Christ on hay in a manger.

According to the Roman tradition that developed in the first centuries of Christianity, on Christmas Day, December 25, three special liturgies are served - Mass at night, Mass at dawn and Mass during the day. Thus, Christmas is celebrated three times - as the eternal birth of the Word from God the Father (at night), the birth of God the Son from the Virgin (at dawn) and the birth of God in a believing soul (during the day). In the evening on Christmas Eve, the Christmas Eve Mass is served. At the beginning of the first of the Christmas masses, a procession takes place, during which the priest carries and places in a manger a figurine of the Christ Child and consecrates them. This helps believers feel like they are part of an event that happened on Christmas night. Attendance at Christmas Mass is the dominant feature of the Catholic Christmas tradition and the main event of the holiday.

The celebration of Christmas lasts eight days - from December 25 to January 1 - forming the Octave of Christmas. On December 26, the feast of the holy Martyr Stephen falls, on December 27 the memory of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian is celebrated, on December 28 - the Innocent Babies of Bethlehem (December 28). On Sunday, which falls on one of the days from December 26 to December 31, or December 30, if this year does not fall on Sunday, the holiday of the Sagrada Familia is celebrated: the Infant Jesus, Mary and Joseph. On January 1, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated.

Christmas time continues after the end of the Octave until the Feast of Epiphany, which is celebrated in the Roman Catholic calendar on the first Sunday after Epiphany (January 6). During the entire Christmas time, the clergy at the liturgy is dressed in festive white robes.

Traditionally, on Christmas Day it is customary for the whole family to gather for a Christmas dinner, and the festive table is decorated with special dishes - different for each country. A common Christmas dish is turkey, duck or goose. In England, the must-haves for Christmas are roasted turkey with gooseberry sauce and Christmas pudding that is doused with rum, set on fire and placed on the table blazing. In the United States, turkey is also served for Christmas dinner, only with cranberry sauce.

In Germany, there are traditional regional types of Christmas pastries - Nuremberg gingerbread, Aachen gingerbread, Christmas cake from Dresden, cinnamon stars. In China, where there are Catholic Christians, an imperial dish is prepared for Christmas - Peking duck. In western and northern Norway, salted and steamed lamb ribs with potatoes are eaten. Pork is popular in eastern Norway, while fish is the main dish in other areas. Some families prefer turkey on this day. At Christmas, Italians prefer to put fish or seafood and tortellini (Italian dumplings made from unleavened dough with meat, cheese or vegetables) on the festive table. In Portugal, on this day, it is customary to eat baccalao - a dish made from dried salted cod. In Spain, suckling pig roasted on a spit is served. On festive table in this country will be present seafood - shrimp, crabs, lobsters, as well as Christmas sweets - halva, marzipans, anise candies. Some families, following long-standing Catholic traditions, invite lonely old people and just very poor people to this night at their table.

Christmas Reveals Christ in the Image to Believers little child surrounded by the Holy Family, this holiday is celebrated with the family and warmed with special warmth and mutual love.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

- a bright and joyful holiday. But are we celebrating Christmas properly? What Christmas Eve(Christmas Eve), how it is celebrated and what pre-Christmas Christian traditions exist, we will tell in this article.

You can't get to the first star ...

First of all, you should know that correct name Christmas Eve (Eve) is not "Christmas Eve", but "Nomad"... Sochivo (kutia) is the main ritual dish of the Christmas table. Christmas Eve is celebrated - January 6 evening (December 24 old style) a special festive atmosphere when all family members gather at a common table.

All day before Christmas, believers keep strict fasting... Only when the first star rises in heaven, announcing the birth of Jesus Christ, do Christians wish each other a Merry Christmas and begin a festive meal. They sit down at the table upon returning from the Christmas service. Those who have not been to the church service will learn about the ascent of the first star from the children who are playing in the street at that time. Or they themselves leave the house to see the appearance of the Christmas Star. If the weather is cloudy and the stars are not visible, the Christmas Eve meal begins as soon as it gets dark.

Christmas menu on Christmas Eve

Twelve dishes are prepared for the Christmas table, according to the number of faithful apostles of Christ, and also put a bunch of hay on the table, symbolizing the manger where Jesus was born.

V Orthodox Christmas Eve eat exclusively lean food... No eggs, meat, lard and other animal fats, including dairy products, butter. Alcohol is also strictly prohibited. On the Christmas table there should be: sochivo (kutia) as a symbol of the birth and death of the Son of Man, baked or boiled fish - another well-known symbol of Christianity, any vegetables and fruits. Traditional drink- a broth of dried fruits.

There is no need to despair, there are a huge number of recipes for delicious lean dishes that can be prepared from these products. Do not forget, because there is vegetable oils, and it is not necessary to cook kutya from wheat, you can also from rice.

Sochivo (kutia) has many cooking options, for example, in addition to raisins, you can put candied fruits, nuts, poppy seeds, and even finely chopped multi-colored marmalade into it.

Brew Is a kind of compote made from dried apples, pears, plums and cherries. Our ancestors cooked honey-infused boils, because sugar was fabulously expensive. The broth was sometimes replaced with berry jelly.

Our grandmothers even cooked lean milk to “flavor” kutya! Here's a recipe for you: chop 200-300g of any nuts into flour, gradually adding water (3 cups of boiled water), strain through cheesecloth, squeeze well. The resulting liquid can be sweetened to taste, it turns out simple and unusual.

Christmastide has arrived - that's a joy!

Christmas eve- a purely religious holiday. He is humble and quiet, passing at the table in a well-mannered conversation. The meal ends pretty quickly. Family people, old people, small children stay at home, and young people go carol... Boys and girls dress up and go from house to house singing carols- ritual songs praising the Nativity of Christ. In return, they ask the owners of the house for food or money, so that the wishes of happiness will certainly come true.

And at dawn, a completely different Christmas table is set in every house - teeming with quick meat and dairy food. The strict Christmas fast is over and now you can indulge yourself in gourmet food. On the feast of the Nativity of Christ, guests are welcomed and they themselves go to visit, Christmas gifts are given, and wishes of happiness sound. This is how the 12-day festivities begin - Christmastide ending with a holiday.

On this day before Christmas, the eve, or the eve of the holiday, Orthodox Christians are preparing for the great day.

Christmas Eve ends the 40-day Christmas (Filippov) fast. On this day, the main preparations for Christmas are made.

Other names of the holiday: Holy Eve, Somad, Eve of the Nativity of Christ, Kolyada, Christmas Eve.

The eve of the holiday is colloquially called Christmas Eve, or Nomad. This name comes from a special dish made from wheat, nuts and honey - sochi.

The tradition of eating this dish on the eve of Christmas was born in memory of Daniel and the three youths who, according to the Gospel, "ate from the seeds of the earth, so as not to be defiled by a pagan meal."

Christmas Eve Story

V Orthodox Church the celebration of the eve of the Nativity of Christ was established in the 4th century. In the 5th-8th centuries, sacred chants were written, which are used for Christmas services. At that time, the Royal Hours were celebrated in churches. At them it was customary to proclaim many years to the tsar, his house, and all Orthodox Christians.

The name of the holiday comes from the word "sychivo", or "sip". Both of these dishes were prepared on Christmas Eve. Juice consisted of soaked grains of wheat or barley, to which the juice of the seeds of poppy, sunflower, hemp, mustard, and nuts was added. Sochni - bread cakes in which holes were made for the eyes and used for fortune-telling. They looked at the street through the mask. It was considered if it passes good man, then the year will be successful, and if it is bad, vice versa.

What is Christmas Eve?

Where did the name of this holiday come from? It turns out that from the word "soothing" - this is a dish that was specially prepared on this day for treating all the household. To do this, the hostess soaked boiled cereal grains (wheat, barley, lentils, rice) in seed juice (poppy, almond or nut). The dish turned out to be lean. No oil was put into it. It was only allowed to add a spoonful of honey to make the food more nutritious. Sometimes it was replaced by kutya.

People used it on this day in imitation of the biblical prophet Daniel.

This parable refers to Old Testament times... The pagan Julian the Apostate, wishing to poke fun at the believers fasting people, ordered all the food in the market to sprinkle the blood of animals sacrificed to idols. Then the prophet Daniel ordered his young novices to eat soaked grains and dried fruits. In this way, the believers were able to avoid accepting the defiled pagan meal.

Christmas Eve Traditions and Rites

The main traditions of January 6: 12 meatless dishes are prepared, the main of which is kutia; go to visit with treats; guess; use a talisman ("didukh").

On Christmas Eve, Orthodox Christians attend church services: all-night vigil and liturgy.

From the very morning, the hostesses carry out a thorough cleaning, throw out the trash, and then begin to prepare a festive dinner. Traditionally, 12 meatless dishes are served at the table.

In some houses, it is customary to give Special attention decoration of the Christmas table. The hostesses cover it with a new tablecloth, under which they put a bunch of hay - a symbol of the manger. At the corners of the table, banknotes and cloves of garlic are placed, which symbolize the health and well-being of family members. An ax is placed under the table, on which the sitting people put their feet in order to have good health and spirit. Compositions of candles and fir branches are placed in the center.

The meal begins with a prayer in which they glorify Christ, ask for prosperity and happiness for all present. First of all, they taste kutya, after which they proceed to the rest of the dishes.

On Christmas Eve, in the villages, young people gather in large companies, paint their faces, put on fancy costumes, go home and sing carols. An important attribute of such an action is the Star of Bethlehem, which is made of colored paper and ribbons, and an icon is placed in the center. In ritual songs, it is customary to glorify Jesus Christ, the family of the owner of the house. Caroling people are presented with sweets, pastries and money.

On Christmas Eve, you should ask for forgiveness from people who have been offended, forgive all your enemies.

Signs and sayings for Christmas Eve

If on Christmas Eve the sky is abundantly strewn with stars, then a rich harvest should be expected this year.

On the eve of the Nativity of Christ, it is customary to light candles in the house or light a fireplace in order to attract prosperity and good luck to the house.

You cannot wear old dark-colored clothes for a festive dinner, otherwise the year will pass in tears and difficulties.

An even number of people must be present at the festive table. If it is odd, then the hostesses put one extra set devices.

On Christmas Eve, you need to go outside and look at the sky. If you see a shooting star and make a wish, then it will certainly come true.

If a blizzard breaks out before Christmas Eve, the bees will swarm well.

On a holiday, a wax candle was put on a table with a white tablecloth and lit with the words: "Burn, candle, righteous sun, shine to the little ones in paradise and to us, alive, warm our mother earth, our cattle, our fields." If the light burns cheerfully, it means that the year will be successful and fruitful, if it blinks and trembles, you will have to tighten your belts.

On a holiday, frost on the trees - for good bread.

What you can eat on Christmas Eve

January 6 is the strictest day of the 40-day Nativity Fast. Believers are allowed to drink only water. For a meal, you can take after the ascent of the first star in the sky, after which it is allowed to eat soothing - wheat grains boiled in honey or boiled rice with raisins. V folk tradition it is customary to serve other lean dishes for dinner.

What not to do on Christmas Eve

Work is prohibited on the evening of Christmas Eve.

On this holiday, you cannot quarrel and sort things out.

It is not allowed to eat until the first star appears in the sky.

You can't be greedy on this day.

Festive dinner

According to popular custom, the hostesses put 12 lenten dishes on the table, which personify the 12 apostles. The main dish is kutia (sochivo). It is cooked from whole grains of rice or wheat, with the addition of poppy seeds, honey, walnuts, dried apricots, prunes, raisins. Also served on the table are baked fish, vegetable salads and stews, mushroom soup, lean borscht, donuts, pies, dumplings, cabbage rolls with mushrooms, pickles. For dessert, they eat rolls with poppy seeds and nuts, honey cakes, gingerbread cookies, berry and fruit jelly, apples baked with honey and nuts.

The traditional Christmas drink is an uzvar made from dried fruits and honey. The combination of kutya and uzvar on the tables is a symbol eternal life, birth and death of Jesus. No alcohol is consumed at dinner on Christmas Eve.

How to make it syrupy?

Our great-grandmothers knew what to cook for Christmas Eve. These ancient recipes for preparing Christmas meals have not been forgotten. And today, any housewife, if desired, will be able to cook juicy.

Here is the recipe for this dish:

1 faceted glass of wheat grains.

100 g of poppy seeds.

100 g of walnut kernels.

1 or 2 tablespoons of liquid honey.

a little sugar.

Put the wheat grains in a wooden mortar and pound with a pestle until the shell of the grains comes off. In this case, you need to add a little warm boiled water to the mass. Then the husk is removed by washing the grains. Wheat is poured with water, put on fire and boiled until tender. It turns out a crumbly porridge. In a wooden mortar, pound the poppy in the same way until poppy milk appears. Add it to the porridge, put honey, sugar there and mix thoroughly. At the end, crushed kernels are placed in the mass walnut... It's juicy ready.

Festive service in the church

On the Eve of Christmas and Epiphany, a service is performed, consisting of the Great (Royal) Hours with the reading of the Gospel, a short succession of the "Pictorial" ones, during which the clergymen on the pulpit read the entrance prayers and put on vestments, and great vespers with the reading of paremias in conjunction with the Liturgy of Basil the Great, on Epiphany Christmas Eve at the end of the liturgy after the prayer outside the ambo, the Great Blessing of Water is performed.

If Christmas Eve (both Christmas and Epiphany) falls on Saturday or Sunday, then the service of the Royal Hours with the Pictorial and Great Vespers is postponed to Friday, and in this case the Liturgy is not added to them (that is, the Liturgy is not performed on Friday in principle), on Christmas Eve itself, in this case, the liturgy of John Chrysostom is served (the blessing of water on Epiphany is still performed), and on the holiday itself (Christmas or Epiphany), in this case, the liturgy of Basil the Great is performed

Based on materials from the site "Yaropolch"

Christmas Eve (Eve of the Nativity of Christ) is the last day of the Nativity Lent, the eve of the Nativity of Christ. The holiday is January 6.

Christmas Eve - the holiday before Christmas

January 6 - Eve, or Christmas eve, - last day, eve Nativity of Christ... On this day, Orthodox Christians are especially preparing for the upcoming holiday, the whole day is filled with a special festive mood. On the morning of Christmas Eve, at the end of the Liturgy and the following evening, a candle is brought to the center of the church and the priests sing the troparion in front of it. Nativity of Christ... Services and christmas eve post have a number of features, therefore it is on these days that many questions come to our site about how to properly conduct Christmas Eve... We asked Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko to answer these questions.

How to fast on Christmas Eve?

- Father Alexander, the most frequently asked question by our readers is how to fast on Christmas Eve, until when should you abstain from eating food? What does “fasting to the first star” mean? Is the measure of abstinence the same for those who work and those who do not work on this day? How long is fasting before communion?

Indeed, the Typicon prescribes fasting until the end of Vespers. However, the Vespers service is combined with the Liturgy, it is served in the morning, and therefore we fast until the moment when a candle is brought out to the center of the church and the troparion to the Nativity of Christ is sung before the candle.

It is obvious that the people in the temple are fasting, many on this day. It is good if those who cannot attend church services, who work, honor this day with stricter fasting. We remember that, according to the Russian proverb, "A full belly is deaf to prayer." Therefore, a stricter fast prepares us for the coming joy of the holiday.

Those who partake at the night Liturgy, according to church tradition, eat their food for the last time no less than six hours before the time of Communion, or from about 6 pm. And here the point is not in the specific number of hours, that 6 or 8 hours need to be fasted and not a minute less, but in the fact that a certain limit is established, a measure of abstinence that helps us to comply with the measure.

- Father, many questions come from sick people who cannot observe fasting, they ask what to do?

Sick people, of course, should fast as long as it is consistent with medication and with the prescriptions of doctors. This is not about putting a weak person in a hospital, but about strengthening the person spiritually. The disease is already. And here a person should already try to determine the measure of fasting according to his strength. Any thing can be brought to the point of absurdity. For example, imagine that a priest who comes to give communion to a dying person will ask when the person last ate ?!

- As a rule, believers try to meet them at the night festive liturgy. But in many churches there is also an All-Night Vigil and Liturgy at the usual time - 5 pm and in the morning. In this regard, they often ask whether it is a sin young man, not weak, without children, to go to the service not at night, but in the morning?

Attending a night service or morning service is something you have to watch. Celebrating a holiday at night is, of course, a special joy: both spiritual and spiritual. There are very few such services per year; in most parish churches, night liturgies are served only at Christmas and - especially solemn services are traditionally performed at night. For example, on Mount Athos, Sunday all-night vigils are served at night. And still, there are not so many such services, just over 60 per year. The Church establishes this, taking into account human capabilities: the number of night vigils per year is limited.

Solemn night services contribute to a deeper prayer experience and perception of the Holiday.

- The festive Liturgy is over, the festive feast begins. And here we are asked two questions. First, is it okay to celebrate Christmas first in the ward instead of having a family celebration right away?

- The second question is related to the fact that on Christmas Liturgy many take communion. And people feel some embarrassment: you have just received communion, in the books of the holy fathers it is written that in order to retain grace, you need to try to protect yourself from conversations, especially laughter, and try to spend time after communion in prayer. And then a festive feast, even with brothers and sisters in Christ ... People are afraid of losing their prayer mood ..

The rules that the hermitage fathers proposed to monastics cannot be fully transferred to worldly life, and even more so, they cannot be transferred to major holidays. We are talking about ascetics - ascetics, especially richly endowed with the grace-filled gifts of God. For them, the outer part is secondary. Of course, the spiritual life is in the first place for the laity as well, but here we cannot draw the same clear line between the spiritual and the earthly.

The Apostle Paul commanded us “ Always rejoice. Incessantly pray. In everything give thanks to the Lord ”(1 Thess 5: 16-18). If we celebrate the holiday with joy, prayer and gratitude to God, then we are fulfilling the apostolic covenant.

Of course, this issue needs to be considered individually. Of course, if a person feels that during a noisy celebration he is losing his gracious mood, then perhaps he should sit down at the table for a while, leave earlier, retaining spiritual joy.

- Father Alexander, isn't it worth it to distinguish between us in ourselves two states - when we are really afraid to splash the feeling we received in the church, and when by our refusal to participate in the holiday we can grieve our neighbors, and often we refuse to joint joy with an uneasy heart. Relatives resigned themselves to the fact that their zealous family member flatly refused to meet with them New Year it would seem that the fast is over, the person should “return” to the family, share the joy of the holiday together, and he slams the door again and says “What a“ sit with us ”, I have a great holiday, such grace, I’ll lose all the prayer mood with you !! "

In this case, a person is unlikely to harm his prayer state, since such behavior suggests that a person does not dwell in him. The state of contemplation, prayer is always associated with a surge of spiritual joy, grace, which the Lord generously pours out on his slaves. And this attitude towards neighbors is more like hypocrisy and pharisaism.

- Is it obligatory to attend the evening service on the day of the holiday itself - the evening of the holiday of Christmas?

- Everyone should decide for himself. After the night service, you need to recuperate. Not everyone, due to age, health and spiritual level, is able to go to the temple and take part in the service. But it must be remembered that the Lord rewards every effort that a person makes for His sake.

The evening service on this day is not long, especially spiritual, solemn and joyful, the Great Prokeimenon is proclaimed at it, therefore, of course, it is good if you manage to visit it.

Congratulations to all readers of our site on the upcoming holiday Christ's Nativity!

Questions were prepared by Lydia Dobrova and Anna Danilova