Christmas is one of the most important religious holidays, an official public holiday in almost 100 countries around the world. On this day, true believers glorify the birth of the baby Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Christmas is preceded by a multi-day fast, which ends with the appearance of the first evening star. When is Christmas 2016 celebrated by Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants? The Orthodox Church praises the incarnation of the Savior on January 7, the Roman Catholic - on December 25.

How and when is Orthodox and Catholic Christmas celebrated?

According to the canons of the Holy Church, Orthodox Christmas is the triumph of sacrificial divine love God the Father to the Son and the triumph of hope for salvation. On the eve of the birth of Christ in Orthodox churches All-night vigil is served, during which prophecies about Christmas are read and sung. Matins begins at midnight: the priests sing the canon "Christ is born" and read fragments about the Nativity from the Gospel. folk traditions celebrations of the Nativity of Christ and Christmas time are rooted in the distant past. During this period in Rus' it was customary to arrange fortune-telling, youth games and festivities. Christmas time begins with traditional treats - kutya, pies, porridge. By the holiday, the owners certainly clean the house, wash in the bath, cook 12 dishes - this number is associated with 12 apostles who accompanied Jesus in earthly life. Another obligatory Christmas ritual is carols glorifying the birth of the infant Savior.

What date is Protestant and Catholic Christmas celebrated?

The Catholic Church celebrates Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar - December 25th. The holiday precedes the Advent period, which begins 4 weeks before Christmas. Its purpose is to prepare Catholics for a more profound experience of the celebration. According to the established tradition, on December 25, three liturgies are served in churches - a night mass, a mass at dawn, and a daytime mass. The celebration lasts 8 days (December 25-January 1), the entire Christmas period, the clergy serve masses in white robes. For true Catholics, Christmas is family celebration which has exclusively religious significance. On December 24, all family members attend the service; on Christmas Eve they gather at a plentiful festive table. Another characteristic element Catholic Christmas - the installation of a decorated spruce on the eve of the holiday. IN European countries spruce symbolizes paradise tree with abundant fruits.

Catholic Christmas is celebrated on the night of December 24-25. This great holiday is dedicated to important events that took place over two thousand years ago. The miraculous birth of the Divine Infant has become not just an important, but a central date in the religious world.

Christians who live according to the Gregorian calendar celebrate it on the night of December 24-25. In the Orthodox Church, where the Julian calendar is followed, Christmas falls on January 7th.

Within a few hours, you can listen to a festive mass or simply partake of the spirit of a fairy tale and magic in the Basilica of St. Catherine on Nevsky Prospekt. Masses will be held in other Catholic churches cities.

Christmas services are held three times - at midnight, at dawn and in the afternoon. After the end of the Christmas mass, people begin to exchange gifts and start celebrating.

On the eve of the holiday, believers observe a particularly strict fast, called Christmas Eve. However, the fast will end in a few hours - after the appearance of the first star in the sky, families sit down for festive table with obligatory meat delicacies.

Among the Catholic customs, which are gradually losing their religious significance for many and becoming attributes of the winter holidays, one can note the Christmas nativity scene, the New Year tree and Santa Claus. All these actions and characters are no longer a rarity in the city on the Neva.

For example, a nativity scene, which reproduces the traditional story of the birth of Jesus Christ, is installed near the Kazan Cathedral. A festive installation covered with a dome is installed in the bowl of the fountain.

Nativity scenes - toy mangers with figures of the baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Magi and other Christmas characters, can most often be found in European countries. This custom originated in medieval Europe and over time, not only took root, but also reached Orthodox Russia.

Christmas tree also has European roots. Initially, the installation of a festive spruce is a pagan ancient German custom. And Santa Claus has long been familiar to Petersburgers.

During the Christmas holidays, fairs are also open in all European cities. This custom also did not bypass St. Petersburg. The Christmas market opened yesterday at Pioneer Square. A wonderful Christmas town has grown here from festively decorated houses, decorated fir trees, painted arches and a stage sparkling with lights.

All guests of the fair will be able not only to relax, choose gifts, witness performances and skits, but also get acquainted with the original Russian and European traditions of celebrating Christmas and New Year.

MOSCOW, December 25 - RIA Novosti. The Nativity of Jesus Christ is one of the main Christian holidays, which is celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Only dates differ (December 25, January 7) and calendar styles (Julian and Gregorian).

Burning candles are a symbol of light, stars that shone in the sky at the hour of the birth of Christ. Among the Christmas traditions is the Christmas wreath, which is usually woven from branches of pine, spruce, fir and decorated with candles, ribbons, wooden figurines. It is hung above the door, on the wall or placed on the Christmas table. Often, four candles are inserted into the Christmas wreath - according to the number of weeks of Advent (Christmas fast) immediately preceding Christmas. Every Sunday, one of these candles is lit at worship.

Luther is also credited with the invention of Christkind (analogous to Santa Claus), who distributes gifts to children on Christmas Day on December 25th. He wanted to keep the custom of giving gifts to children, but since the Protestants did not recognize Catholic saints, Luther replaced Nikolaus with Christkind.

MOSCOW, December 25 - RIA Novosti. The Nativity of Jesus Christ is one of the main Christian holidays, which is celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Only dates differ (December 25, January 7) and calendar styles (Julian and Gregorian).

Burning candles are a symbol of light, stars that shone in the sky at the hour of the birth of Christ. Among the Christmas traditions is the Christmas wreath, which is usually woven from branches of pine, spruce, fir and decorated with candles, ribbons, wooden figurines. It is hung above the door, on the wall or placed on the Christmas table. Often, four candles are inserted into the Christmas wreath - according to the number of weeks of Advent (Christmas fast) immediately preceding Christmas. Every Sunday, one of these candles is lit at worship.

Luther is also credited with the invention of Christkind (analogous to Santa Claus), who distributes gifts to children on Christmas Day on December 25th. He wanted to keep the custom of giving gifts to children, but since the Protestants did not recognize Catholic saints, Luther replaced Nikolaus with Christkind.

RIA News. Olga Semenova

The Nativity of Jesus Christ is one of the main Christian holidays, which is celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants. Only dates differ (December 25, January 7) and calendar styles (Julian and Gregorian).

On the night of December 25, Protestants celebrate Christmas together with Catholics - Lutherans, Anglicans, part of the Methodists, Baptists and Pentecostals, as well as 11 out of 15 local Orthodox churches world, using the New Julian calendar, which so far (until 2800) coincides with the Gregorian.

Each country and each denomination has its own characteristics in the celebration of Christmas. Protestants have them too. Protestantism, along with Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, is one of the three main areas of Christianity. But unlike others, the Protestants decided to live in the manner of the early Christians, rejecting almost everything that had been established by the Church over many centuries. By believing in Christ, Protestants reject church traditions, rituals and some dogmas.

Removed in Protestantism fundamental difference between the priest and the laity, the church hierarchy was abolished. Worship in Protestantism is simplified as much as possible and reduced to preaching, prayer and singing psalms and hymns on mother tongue. A clergyman is deprived of the right to confess and forgive sins, he is accountable to the Protestant community. Many sacraments have been abolished, there is no celibacy. Prayer for the dead, worship of saints and feasts in honor of saints, veneration of relics and icons have been rejected. prayer houses freed from altars, icons, statues, bells. There are no monasteries and monasticism. bible recognized the only source creeds, and sacred tradition is rejected.

The number of different Protestant denominations is in the tens of thousands. Their exact number is almost impossible to calculate. Some Protestant associations are called by different names in different parts Sveta. So, in German-speaking countries, the word "Protestants" is still understood only as Lutherans, in contrast to the Calvinists, who are called the "Reformed Church".

Christmas among Protestants is one of the so-called twelfth holidays. Moreover, it was the Protestants who formed it. modern look. For example, the custom of decorating the Christmas tree was invented by Protestants. Once it was crowned with a figure of Christ, then with an angel or the Star of Bethlehem.

There is a legend that Martin Luther himself was the first to come up with the idea of ​​lighting candles on a Christmas tree.

Burning candles are a symbol of light, stars that shone in the sky at the hour of the birth of Christ. Among the Christmas traditions is the Christmas wreath, which is usually woven from branches of pine, spruce, fir and decorated with candles, ribbons, wooden figurines. It is hung above the door, on the wall or placed on the Christmas table. Often, four candles are inserted into the Christmas wreath - according to the number of weeks of Advent (Christmas fast) immediately preceding Christmas. Every Sunday, one of these candles is lit at worship.

Luther is also credited with the invention of Christkind (analogous to Santa Claus), who distributes gifts to children on Christmas Day on December 25th. He wanted to keep the custom of giving gifts to children, but since the Protestants did not recognize Catholic saints, Luther replaced Nikolaus with Christkind.

Just like Catholics, Protestants, in particular Lutherans, set up a manger for Christmas and play out the scene of the Savior's Birth. It is believed that in this way Bethlehem, as it were, enters houses and churches, becomes closer and more understandable.

Christmas services are held in Protestant churches. After the traditional solemn hymns, the pastor's festive sermon sounds.

On Christmas Day, Protestants greet people with the words “Christ is born!”, receiving in response: “Praise Him!”. They try to celebrate Christmas at home, at the festive table.

Protestants, including Anglicans, do not fast and eat poultry dishes at Christmas - turkey, duck, goose. Seventh-day Adventists (Sabbath-keeping Protestants) are mostly vegetarian and do not consume pork, alcohol, coffee or tea.

French Catholics and Protestants, forgetting about scholastic disputes, on the night of December 25, feast on oysters and traditional goose liver.

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