Orthodox Christmas: traditions and history of the celebration. Orthodox Christmas traditions
There was very little time left until the moment when Saint Mary was to give birth.
Just at this time, at the direction of King Herod, it was necessary to conduct a census in the country. At the same time, according to ancient customs, each resident must be recorded at the place of origin of their clans.
Regardless of their situation, Mary and her husband Joseph went to Bethlehem, from where the genealogy of King David was conducted. They reached the place only in the evening of the fifth day.
Exhausted by the hard journey, Saints Mary and Joseph could not find lodging for the night. Just like them, a lot of people came to Bethlehem for the census. All the inns and hotels were already occupied, and the prices for empty places had risen and were too high for the family of a poor carpenter.
So the holy family, not far from the city of Bethlehem, in a cave where shepherds sheltered their cattle from bad weather.
On the holy night of 747 from the foundation of Rome, the great event of the Nativity of Christ took place in this cave, it was the Nativity of the Savior of the whole world. 
After the birth of the Infant, St. Mary swaddled him and laid him on a manger, in which there was straw for feeding cattle. According to legend, the donkey and the ox warmed the Divine Infant.
The first to know that the greatest event that ever happened to the world, the Nativity of God the Son, was the shepherds. In the darkness of the night, everything around suddenly lit up with a wondrous light, the Angel of Heaven in this radiance appeared to the shepherds who were grazing their flocks nearby, and announced to them:
"Do not be afraid! I proclaim to you great joy, which will be joy to all people: today, in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find the Baby in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger ”(Luke 2, 10-12)
And all the heavenly angelic host appeared before the gaze of the shepherds, they heard a solemn song:
“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men!”
When this wonderful phenomenon disappeared, people saw bright light emanating from one of the caves, they went there and
“they found Mary and Joseph, and the Child lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16)
Simple, illiterate shepherds were the first who unconditionally believed in the Nativity of Christ, that they saw God Himself.
It was a real holiday, the Star of Bethlehem shone brightly over the cave, by its light the Magi found the place where the Nativity of the Child happened. They entered the cave and bowed before the Savior. With them, the Magi brought gold as a gift to the king, incense as God and myrrh as a harbinger of future death.
Note: The Jews used myrrh in burial to keep the body incorruptible for as long as possible.
King Herod the Great, like many other Jews, knew about the prophetic prediction, about the birth of the king, and was afraid of this, because he considered Him a pretender to his throne. 
He even tried to deceive the Magi and asked them to indicate the place where Christmas happened, so that Herod himself could bow to Jesus Christ. But the Magi received revelations about the intentions of the ruler, they did not give out the location of the holy family.
The fear of losing power forced King Herod to give a terrible order:
“Then Herod, seeing himself ridiculed by the Magi, became very angry, and sent to beat all the babies in Bethlehem and in all its boundaries, from two years old and below, according to the time that he found out from the Magi” (Matt. 2:16).
More than 14,000 babies died at that time, but the Son of God remained alive - Mary and Joseph, with God's protection, left the cave that night and went away from Judea to Egypt.
CHRISTMAS POST BEFORE THE HOLIDAY. PASSING THE CHRISTMAS LENT.
From November 28, the last multi-day fast of the year begins, Christmas, which ends with the feast of the Nativity of Christ - January 7th. At first, the Nativity Fast lasted about 7 days, but at the Council in 1166 it was established that this fast must be kept for forty days, just like Great Lent.
The Nativity fast is about the same in terms of severity as Petrovsky, but the food restrictions are not as strict as the Great one.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of Advent, you can not eat fish and drink wine, food is prepared without using butter, but it is better to stick to a dry diet these days. On all weekends and great holidays it is allowed to eat fish. True, if the holiday falls on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, then you can’t eat fish, but you can drink a little wine.
From 25 to 31 December fast intensifies, fish is not eaten these days. The strictest day of fasting is on the eve of the holiday, on Christmas Eve, on which food is not eaten until evening. It is customary to spend this Holy evening in the Nativity Fast in the circle of relatives and friends, you can break the fast only after midnight.
On Christmas Eve, church rules prescribe the most strict observance of fasting (before the meal after Vespers), reminding ancient custom catechumens preparing to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.
“And we enter into the meal, and we eat jam with oil, but we do not eat fish. We drink wine, giving thanks to God” (Typicon, December 25).
In the Russian Church, there has long been a pious custom of the Nativity Fast - until late in the evening, until the first star appears just before the Nativity of Christ, to continue fasting.
Those who take communion at the night Liturgy, according to church tradition, eat food on this fast for the last time no less than six hours before the time of Communion, or from about 6 pm!
Fasting continues until the moment when, after the Liturgy of Christmas Eve, a candle is brought to the center of the temple, and they sing
Advent is not a diet. It is necessary for us to worthily celebrate the Nativity of Christ, so that we can purify ourselves with repentance and accept the feast of Christmas with a pure soul.
From ancient times it was a pagan holiday, when our ancestors praised the sun, performed rituals for the harvest or to increase the livestock of their herds.
It is known from the history of religion that in the fourth century in Greece there were two weeks after Christmas, which were considered holidays. At the same time, no one was deprived of the right to celebrate Christmas time, including the poor and even slaves.
There is historical evidence that in Byzantium, in connection with the festive Christmas time, there was a tradition of helping prisoners in prisons and patients in medical institutions. In Saints Gregory of Nyssa and Ephraim the Syrian, we also find references to Christmastide.
According to the rooting of Orthodoxy in Rus', after the Christmas holiday, on Christmas time, people sing festive troparia and kontakia, glorify Jesus Christ. Charitable events are organized during Christmas time, for example, Patriarchal Christmas trees for children from orphanages, children's festivals and other holidays.
Recently, the tradition of holding sacred music concerts during Christmas time has been revived.
It is believed that the custom of giving gifts at the onset of Christmas time came from the Magi, who, after His Nativity, brought gold, myrrh and incense to the Bethlehem cave.
This period does not fast days. People cook treats and go to visit each other.
Christmas time ends on January 18 on Epiphany Christmas Eve.
GREATING IN THE HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS
The magnification of our Lord Jesus Christ on the feast of the Nativity of Christ.
We magnify Thee, the life-giver of Christ, for the sake of us now in the flesh born of the Brideless and Most Pure Virgin Mary
VIDEO FILM
Video about the event of the Nativity of Christ.
According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary during the reign of Emperor Augustus (Octavia) in the city of Bethlehem.
Augustus ordered that a national census be made in his entire empire, which then included Palestine. The Jews had a custom to conduct national censuses by tribes, tribes and clans, each tribe and clan had its own specific cities and ancestral places, therefore the Virgin Mary and the righteous Joseph, who came from the family of David, had to go to Bethlehem (city of David) to bring and their names on the list of Caesar's subjects. In Bethlehem, in connection with the census, all the places in the hotels were occupied, and Mary and Joseph could only find lodging for the night in a limestone cave intended for cattle stalls. When they settled there, it was time for Mary to give birth. Among the hay and straw on a cold winter night, the baby Jesus Christ was born. The Blessed Virgin swaddled the Divine Infant and placed it in a manger - a feeder for cattle.
In the middle of the midnight silence, when all mankind was enveloped in sleep, the news of the birth of the Savior of the world was heard by the shepherds guarding the flock. An angel appeared to them and said: “Do not be afraid: I am proclaiming to you a great joy that will be for all people. Today the Savior of the world, Christ the Lord, was born! And here is a sign for you: you will find the Infant in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, with an angel, a numerous host of heaven appeared, glorifying God. When the Angels disappeared, the shepherds said to each other: let's go to Bethlehem and see what happened there. And hastily, they found a cave where Mary, Joseph, and the Child lay in a manger. The shepherds told the holy family about what they had proclaimed about the Child.
At this time, according to the Gospel of Matthew, the Magi (ancient sages) from the east came with gifts to the Divine Infant. They were waiting for the great King of the world to come to earth soon. Seeing an extraordinary star that rose over Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus, the Magi (according to legend, their names were Gaspar, Melchior and Belshazzar) went to Jerusalem to ask where to look for the Savior of the world.
Hearing about this, King Herod, who ruled Judea at that time, became agitated and called them to him. He found out from the Magi the time of the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem - the possible age of the future king, whom he feared as a rival to his reign. Herod hypocritically asked the wise men to inform about the birthplace of the baby, "so that I could go and worship Him."
Following the guiding star, the magi reached Bethlehem, where they bowed to the newborn Savior and brought the gifts of the East: gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts were deep meaning: they brought gold as a tribute to the king, frankincense as to God, and myrrh as to a person who must die (myrrh was anointed in those distant times for the dead). Then, having received a revelation from God not to return to Jerusalem, they left for their own country by another way.
Enraged, Herod, discovering that the Magi did not listen to him, sent soldiers to Bethlehem with orders to put to death all male babies under two years of age. The Gospel tells that Joseph, having received a warning of danger in a dream, fled with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child to Egypt, where the Holy Family remained until the death of Herod.
In remembrance of the birth (nativity) of Jesus Christ, the church established a holiday - the Nativity of Christ. The beginning of its celebration dates back to the time of the apostles. The Apostolic decrees say: "Keep, brethren, the feast days, and, firstly, the day of the Nativity of Christ, which you may celebrate on the 25th day of the tenth month" (of March).
In the first three centuries new era during the persecution of Christians in some churches, the feast of the Nativity of Christ was combined with the feast of Epiphany on January 19 (January 6, old style) under common name Epiphany. The reason for this was probably the belief that Christ was baptized on the day of his birth.
Until the 70s of the 1st century, the overwhelming majority of Christians were Jews, and among them the question of the date of the birth of the Savior was not raised, because it was generally not customary for the Jews to know exactly the birthdays. The first attempts to establish the date of the Nativity of Christ and celebrate this day as one of the main Christian holidays belong to the II-III centuries.
In 337, Pope Julius I approved the date of December 25 as the date of the Nativity of Christ. Since then all christianity celebrates Christmas on December 25 (the exception is the Armenian Church, which celebrates Christmas and the Epiphany as a single feast of the Epiphany). The Russian Orthodox Church also celebrates Christmas on December 25, but according to the old style - according to the Julian calendar (since the Russian Orthodox Church did not accept the reform of the calendar of Pope Gregory XIII), that is, on January 7 according to the new Gregorian style.
The feast of the Nativity of Christ precedes the Nativity Fast, so that the soul of Christians is cleansed by prayer and repentance, and the body by abstinence from food. Lent begins on November 28 (November 15 according to the Julian calendar) and lasts until January 7 (December 25 according to the old style). The last day of Advent fast is Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, when fasting becomes especially strict and Vespers (evening service) of the Nativity of Christ is served. By Christmas Eve, churches are decorated in a festive way - with spruce branches, garlands with flowers and lights.
Since the festive vespers had already been served, all-night vigil begins with the joyful exclamation of the prophet Isaiah: "God is with us!" Matins is celebrated according to the order of the great feasts. It is the first time one of the most beautiful canons in the world is sung in full. Orthodox worship: "Christ is born, praise! Christ in heaven, hide (meet)! Christ on earth, ascend! Sing to the Lord all the earth!"
The celebration of the Nativity of Christ concludes with the Divine Liturgy - the service at which the sacrament of Communion is performed.
The next day is the celebration of the Cathedral Holy Mother of God. Combining Christmas carols with hymns glorifying the Mother of God, the church points to Mary as the person who made the Incarnation possible.
Feast of the Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Christian tradition is the most ancient holiday in honor of the Virgin Mary, the beginning of Her church veneration.
Christmas holiday on the night of January 7 (according to the new style) together with the Russian Orthodox Church(Jerusalem, Serbian and Georgian Orthodox), as well as Athos monasteries (in Greece), Eastern Rite Catholics and some Protestants who adhere to the Julian calendar. According to the charter of the Russian Church, Christmas time is followed by Christmas time (holy days) - a time of special spiritual joy and continuation of the celebration. These days, from January 8 to 17, one-day fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays are cancelled.
By Christmas, in many families there is a custom to decorate a Christmas tree, to give gifts to each other. Christmas tree branches are decorated with various sweets and glowing lights.
On the holiday, after the service, they broke the fast with all kinds of meat and fish snacks, aspic and baked goose with apples.
Fried bird was the decoration of the Christmas table. Chicken was served cold, goose or duck hot. Cold poultry was garnished with pickles, tomatoes and herbs, hot fried potatoes. At Christmas, pies, gingerbread, carols (small-shaped products made from rye unleavened dough with various fillings) were baked in every house, which were treated to those who came to carol - to sing folk songs about Christmas.
Since 1917, in the atheistic Soviet state, Christmas was not only celebrated, but also forbidden to be mentioned.
Metropolitan of SurozhAnthony
Nativity which we celebrate today with such lightness of heart, with such gratitude and joy, deserves the attention not only of us, people, but of all creatures, because it Nativity, the incarnation of the Word of God, has brought us unprecedented incomprehensible, new news both about God and about man and about all creation.
God, in Christ, has appeared to us in an unprecedented and incomprehensible way. The pagan peoples could imagine a great God, a heavenly God, as if embodying everything great, majestic, wondrous that a person can dream of on earth. But only God could reveal himself to man as He revealed Himself in the Nativity of Christ: God became one of us. But not in glory, but in weakness; helpless and destitute; vulnerable and as if defeated; contemptible for all who believe only in strength and in earthly greatness. On that first night when God became man, when Most Living God dwelt in the flesh among us on earth, He shared in the most severe human deprivation. Nobody did not take His Mother under her roof; All considered Him a stranger, everyone sent Him on a distant, endless path, which stretched out before the pilgrims without shelter and without greetings. And they went - and on that first night Christ shared with all those who from age to age pass through life both bodily and spiritually rejected, despicable, unwanted, excluded from human society. And such people in the history of mankind - countless quantity. And to this day - alas! - V big cities and in the expanses of the earth how many people who nowhere go, which no one is waiting for, about which nobody does not sigh, which nobody is not ready to open his own house, because they are strangers or because it is terrible to join the fate of people who are destitute not only by misfortune, but by human malice: become strangers because People, other people excluded them from their hearts and from their destiny. Loneliness - terrible, burning, murderous loneliness, which consumes the hearts of so many people, was a share the Blessed Virgin Theotokos, Joseph the Betrothed and the newly born Christ. He was a stranger, not desired by anyone, excluded and thrown out. This is the beginning of His way; and on this path He partakes, as I said, everyone Who So lives in is our time, a stranger among people who should be brothers to them; they are contemptible, defeated - by meanness, cowardice and human malice. They are vulnerable because of their fragility, because of their defenselessness. Is our the point, Christians, is to see in them the image of that God whom we reverently revere today, and such to accept as we would now accept Christ if He appeared before us destitute, vulnerable, helpless, contemptible, hated, persecuted...
This is how God appeared to us because He wanted to be one of us, so that not a single person on earth is ashamed of his God: as if God is so great, so far away that there is no access to Him. He became one of us in our humiliation and in our deprivation; and He was not ashamed of us, “became like us all,” not only because of material, earthly, physical deprivation, not only because of spiritual abandonment by human love, but because He became related - through His love, through His understanding, through His forgiveness and mercy, - He became related to those whom others repelled from themselves, because they were sinners. He did not come to the righteous, He came to love and seek sinners. He came so that not a single person who has lost respect for himself could think that God has lost respect for him, that God no longer sees in him someone worthy of His love. Christ became Man so that we all, all without a trace including those in myself lost all faith, knew that God believes in us, believes in us in our fall, believes in us when we have lost faith in each other and in ourselves, believes in such a way that he is not afraid to become one of us. God believes in us, God stands guard over our human dignity. God - guardian of our honor, and in order for us to believe it, to see it with our own eyes, our God becomes a destitute, helpless Man. Only those who believe in power and nothing else, only those who believe in their righteousness, will not find the way to Him until they repent, until they see that humility, love, pity, mercy are the law of life.
But in Christ, not only did God appear to us with His love, faith in us, as the guardian of our dignity, as the guardian of our truth - He showed us the greatness of man. If God could essentially become Man, do we not understand how great Human? Don't we understand: man So great that God can become Man and man remains himself? And that the creature that God has called into existence is so great that man can contain God in himself? And what substance is ours flesh, our blood, bone ours, all our substance is capable of being God-bearing, uniting with the Divine and remaining itself? And appear to us in glory, greatness, which we do not see, but which God sees, for the sake of which He created us and created everything?
Let's look at this image of the Incarnation: Christ showed us the humility and love of God, the faith of God in all creation, in us sinners, fallen ones, and showed us at the same time, How we can be great and how deep, bottomless deep is the creation of the Lord. It is with this faith that we can live, we can become people to the full extent of Christ's incarnation, and consider the world in which we live not only as dead material, but as something that is called upon to become in the end, as it were, a visible garment of the Divine, when God will become everything in everything.
What glory, what joy and hope! Let us sing with reverence, love and awe the Nativity of Christ; it is for us eternal life already on earth, and it is the glory of all created things in eternity in heaven. Amen!
And God calls us to remember this, and calls us to be like that not only in our Christian environment, but also among the whole world around us: to treat each person with such justice, not judging and condemning, but seeing in everyone man with all the beauty that God endowed him with and which we call the image of God in man, to bow before this beauty, to help this beauty shine in all its glory, dispelling everything evil and dark and, recognizing it in everyone, to give way to this beauty to become a reality and win, triumph.
He also revealed to us such love as the former world did not know, but modern world, as well as ancient world, so afraid: love that agrees to be vulnerable, helpless, pouring out, draining itself, generous, sacrificial; love that gives without measure; love that gives not only what it has, but itself. This is what the Gospel, this is what the Incarnation brought into the world, and this is in the world. Christ said that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot embrace it, but it cannot extinguish it either. And this light shines and will continue to shine, but it will win only if we become its heralds and doers of commandments about truth and love, if We let us accept God's vision of the world and bring it to the whole world - our faith, that is, our confidence and hope, the only power that can help others begin to live in a new way. But in order to start living again, they must see the newness in us. The world became germinally new through the union of God with man, when the Word became flesh; We must now become the revelation of this newness, the glory and radiance of God in the darkness or twilight of this world.
May the Lord give us courage and love, generosity to be His heralds and witnesses, and may the blessing of the Lord be upon you. That grace and philanthropy, always, now and ever and forever and ever! Amen.
Wishing to save the human race, God became Man and entered human history. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, was born from of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the reign of Emperor Octavian Augustus in the Jewish city of Bethlehem. At that time, the emperor ordered that a nationwide census be made throughout the empire, which then included Palestine. For the census, people had to go to the places where they were from. Therefore, the Virgin Mary and the righteous Joseph, as descended from the family of King David, came to Bethlehem (the city of David) to enter their names in the list of Caesar's subjects. In Bethlehem, they did not find a single free room in the hotels. In a cave that served as a pen for sheep, among hay and straw for feed and bedding for livestock, in an environment devoid of not only earthly grandeur, but even ordinary convenience, the God-man, the Savior of the world, was born.
The born humble Divine Infant was glorified by angels, shepherds and foreign wise men who miraculously learned of His birth and came to worship Him. Following them, humanity solemnly celebrates this great event on January 7 (December 25, old style).
The Meaning of the Feast of the Nativity
Christmas is called "the mother of all holidays." Its significance is so great that even a move new history and we are counting the chronology from the Nativity of Christ. The day preceding Christmas night is called Christmas Eve, after the name of the Lenten dish of this day - sochi, prepared from honey and wheat. Before sunset and the appearance of the first evening star, according to the ancient church tradition, it was customary not to eat anything, imitating the Magi who endured many hardships on the way to the Born King, as well as the shepherds who guarded their flocks at night and were the first to accept the news of the birth of the Divine Infant.
The twelve days from Christmas to the Baptism of the Lord are called Svyatki, that is, holy days, in honor of the Savior's coming into the world. Since ancient times, people have sought to bring joy to each other these days: they gave gifts, invited guests, told fairy tales and riddles, rode a sleigh and lit a fire, which symbolized the Star of Bethlehem with its light in a dark winter night. Parents told their children about how the Magi came to bow to the newborn Savior of the world and brought him gifts. Starting from the Petrine era, they began to decorate the Christmas tree in the houses - a symbol of unfading life, arranged a nativity scene (like a Christmas cave), went to glorify the born Christ with special songs - carols.
Christians should protect the holiness of these days and evenings in every possible way, not violating it with fortune-telling and other superstitious customs borrowed from the pagans, because the Church considers fortune-telling to be among grave sins.
in Church Slavonic:
Thy Nativity, Christ our God, ascension to the world, the light of reason, in it I study the stars serving as a star, bow down to the Sun of Truth and lead Thee from the height of the east: Lord, glory to Thee!
in Russian:
Your birth, O Christ our God, shed light of knowledge on the world: for those who served the stars were taught by the star to bow to You, the Sun of Truth, and to know You, the East from on high. Lord, glory to You.
in Church Slavonic:
The Virgin today gives birth to the Most Substantial, and the earth brings a den to the Unapproachable: angels with shepherds glorify, the wise men travel with the star: for the sake of us be born a young child, the Eternal God.
in Russian:
Today the Virgin gives birth to the superexistent, and the earth brings a cave to the Unapproachable; The angels glorify together with the shepherds, while the magi travel after the star, because for our sake the young Infant, the Eternal God, was born.
The troparion and kontakion for the holiday are performed by the vocal quartet of the Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery "Parable"
Materials of the site about the Nativity of Christ
The Orthodox are preparing for the onset of one of the main twelfth church holidays - the Nativity of Christ, which believers will celebrate on January 7, 2018, the Advent fast. FBA "Economy Today" talks about the traditions and customs of celebrating Christmas.
Birth of the Immaculate Virgin Mary Son God's Jesus Christ opened the possibility of soul salvation and eternal life for every believer. As a holiday, Christians began to celebrate Christmas from the 4th century, and earlier the birth of the Son of God was mentioned only on the day of Theophany. In the future, these holidays were divided. Christmas is the second most important Christian holiday after Easter. The celebration of Christmas continues until January 17 and this period of time is called Christmas time.
History of the Nativity
On the eve of the birth of her son, the Mother of God came to Bethlehem. Christ was born in a rock grotto where shepherds kept their cattle, sheltering them from the weather. The angels announced to the shepherds about the birth of the Savior. Those, in turn, came to the grotto to bow to the newborn. Little Christ lay in a manger (the so-called feeder for cattle). The Magi brought their gifts to the Son of God - incense, gold and myrrh, gifts that have a special symbolic meaning. So, gold is a symbol of an offering to the King, incense is a priestly symbol (Christ was the High Priest), and myrrh is expiatory sacrifice Christ for all mankind.
Christmas Eve and Holy Evening
The final day of fasting - Christmas Eve - is considered the most severe. Those who fast do not eat until the stars begin to appear in the sky. The first flashed star is a sign that the Divine Infant has been born.
The evening before Christmas is called Holy. Since fast food can only be taken the next day, according to a tradition that has developed over the centuries, hostesses prepare twelve Lenten dishes for the Holy Evening. This number symbolizes the 12 months of the year, and the 12 apostles, and the 12 major feasts of the Church.
Main course holiday table this evening - kutya. This is the name of a dish of boiled grains seasoned with honey, poppy seeds, nuts and raisins. In Rus', a small patch of hay was always hidden under a plate with this dish, which was a reminder of the birthplace of Christ.
Also on the table were lean borscht, vegetable salads, pies, fish dishes and dumplings with lean stuffing.
How to properly celebrate Christmas
Believers are always looking forward to the bright holiday of the Nativity of Christ. On the eve of Christmas, festive services take place in the temples. That night, no one went to bed, because it is believed that it is impossible to oversleep such a great event as the birth of the Son of God. The Church reminds that the Lord thanks a person for even the smallest effort that he makes for him. And even nature responds to this event - and the stars shine brighter, and the morning sun plays different colors rainbows.
After the end of the festive service, the faithful sat down at the laid tables and began to break their fast. For the great holiday, various meat and fish snacks were prepared, aspic and goose were put on the table, which was baked with apples. Pickled cucumbers and tomatoes, herbs, fried potatoes were served as a side dish.
The traditional symbol of the holiday is a Christmas tree decorated with toys and candles (the latter are a reminder of the unearthly light emanating from the cave where Jesus was born), the top of which is crowned with a star. Under the tree they put gifts for all family members. In addition, a crib is built in houses and temples - a cave in which Christ was born.
Another tradition that came from past centuries and is associated with Christmas is caroling. The essence of the ceremony lies in the fact that children and adults, having changed clothes, go from house to house and sing carols with which they glorify the born Christ.
Housewives for Christmas, in addition to pies and gingerbread, baked carols - this was the name of small-shaped products made from rye unleavened dough with fillings. It was carols that were treated to those who came and sang songs about the Nativity of Christ. Carol performers were presented with sweets, fruits and even money. Today, this tradition has remained only in the villages and villages of Russia.
Short SMS Merry Christmas
On the Internet, you can find many options for congratulations on Christmas. Here are just a few examples short congratulations in verse.
Christmas is a special day, believe me.
On this day, Christ appeared into the world.
And with love in divine light
He brought us hope and joy.
Raise your hands to the sky
And open to the miracle of the heart.
Let go of all your grudges
Radiating love without end!
We wish you Christmas
Smiles, sincere laughter,
Good health, success
And a lot of good things.
Let the blood play in the heart
And the joy lasts forever.
And may they be with you forever
Hope, faith and love!
Merry Christmas congratulations!
I wish you light in my soul and love.
Let a good heart beat in your chest
And there is a faithful companion in life.
Let there be a strong spirit, a happy life
Good luck will fly into your house like a bird,
And happiness will gladly come to the light
They won't stay with you for one day.
WITH The last evening comes to us, a miracle, Christmas!
Let there be joy and light in your house!
On this day, Christ was born, the world brought us everything,
He only did good to people, his path is not easy.
We sincerely wish happiness to you and all relatives,
On this day, we only want to see your smiles.
Together with the stars, the Holy Spirit will come to earth,
And in the hearts of love a beautiful light will light.
Christmas angels
The news has been spread around the world!
People will be happy, period
On the territory and all over the world!
Beautiful day, beautiful moment
And we see the radiant face!
Today is Christmas
And we are ready to spread the message
And with it, together with good, happiness!
Let everyone leave you to attack!
