Special day: balls – planets and other signs of Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, or Christmas Eve, is a special day. Even people who are far from Orthodoxy have heard that “you can’t reach the first star,” about oozing and about carols. And that it is on this day that believers decorate the Christmas tree. Also, mystical properties have always been attributed to Christmas Eve, and it was believed that fortune telling for love on the night before Christmas is the most accurate.

Actually, strictly speaking, there are two Christmas Eves in Orthodoxy, January 6 and 18, the days before the holidays of Christmas and Epiphany. And their name comes from the word “sochivo”, this is a festive ritual dish of rice or wheat with honey and sugar. Actually, it is very similar to kutya, which is eaten at funerals, only more sweetness is placed in the juice; it may contain nuts and dried fruits.

The discrepancy between the date of Orthodox Christmas and Catholic and Protestant Christmas, as well as the New Year itself, which in our country is usually celebrated a week before Christmas, of course, brings a lot of inconvenience to believers, especially children. Everywhere they decorate Christmas trees, give gifts, Santa Clauses amuse the people. And no one even thinks about celebrating at home…

This discrepancy in the dates of the holiday occurred due to the fact that in the 16th century the Eastern Church did not recognize the reform of the calendar of Pope Gregory XII. And she continued to use the Julian calendar, adopted by Julius Caesar. By the 21st century, the difference between the two chronology systems was 14 days. After the revolution of 1918, our country finally switched to the Gregorian calendar. But the church still uses Julian. Not all Orthodox countries did this; some celebrate Christmas on the 25th. But, nevertheless, on January 7, as in Russia, Christmas is celebrated in Georgia, Serbia, Orthodox Christians in Poland and Jerusalem.

Decorating Christmas trees, building nativity scenes, hanging spruce paws and wreaths in churches does not have to start on January 6th. Where there is a lot of work, they can start decorating earlier, on January 3-5. Spruce, like a Christmas tree, personifies the world order and space. Balls are planets, angel figures, candles or lights on a Christmas tree are stars. And at the top, of course, shines the Star of Bethlehem, which in Soviet times was ingeniously replaced with a red ruby ​​one.

The famous 40-day fast before Christmas is not necessarily followed very strictly by everyone. There are life circumstances, people can get sick, and everyone understands this. But, at least in the last week, and this is precisely when the secular New Year holidays are raging, parishioners in churches are asked not to eat meat and sweets, not to drink alcohol, and not to indulge in amusements.

A completely fasting Christmas Eve on January 6 is also a myth – the priests ask not to eat at night after 21 o’clock. And before that, on the contrary, it is necessary to properly refresh yourself, because you still need to defend the Christmas service. But only with lean food. The same juice is allowed to be eaten in moderate quantities after the morning liturgy.

And finally, at the end of the fast, the first to eat again is juicy. By the way, “after the first star” means that a candle has already been brought to the temple, symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem. So, no one sits hungry and waits for a star from the sky, as some people think.

After this, you can finally start celebrating. But a believer’s table at Christmas is also different from the usual New Year’s table. Orthodox Christians usually prepare 12 dishes for Christmas: fish, salads, pancakes, soups. By tradition, most of them are also lean. Alcohol is traditionally not consumed at the table; it is customary to drink compotes, infusions, and fruit drinks.

There are no weddings or baptisms for children at Christmas. There is also a belief that children conceived on this night are displeasing to the Lord. In folk tradition there were also a lot of prohibitions for Christmas. You cannot sew, and in general it is better to avoid sharp objects, and cut the bread or pie in advance. Directly on the 7th and on the night of Christmas, you can’t cook or clean – this needs to be taken care of ahead of time.

On the other hand, the mystical holidays begin – this is the name of the period from Christmas Eve to Epiphany, from January 6 to January 18. And although the official church, of course, does not approve of fortune telling, these days it turns a blind eye to such a tradition. Christmas fortune-telling with a comb, with a mirror and a candle, on needles and so on has always been considered the most “love spell”, strong and true.

Some ethnographers associate the custom of fortune telling during these two weeks with the winter solstice, when, long before the advent of Christianity, similar pagan rituals were performed. The time of the winter and summer solstice, the latter known as Ivan Kupala, was considered a period when the boundaries between worlds are especially permeable. An echo of these same rituals is the custom of caroling at Christmas, putting on masks and fur coats with fur inside out and singing carols in this form. Although, over the past centuries, the lyrics of these songs have also changed a lot, now they are all related to Christmas.