Christmas Eve: customs

On January 6, Russia celebrates Christmas Eve - the eve of the Nativity of Christ. In church tradition, the Eve of the Nativity of Christ, or Christmas Eve, is called the last day of the Nativity Fast, the day preceding the Feast of the Nativity of Christ.

According to church tradition, Christmas Eve is otherwise called the eve of this great holiday. And the word “Christmas Eve” comes from the name of a dish made from boiled wheat, or rice, with honey - “sochiva”. It was customary to treat yourself to Sochivo on Christmas Eve after the appearance of the first star. The tradition of fasting “until the first star” is associated with the legend about the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced the birth of Christ.

On Christmas Eve, the church ascribed strict fasting until evening service, and on this day it is the first meal that ends the pre-Christmas fast.

What dishes are prepared

It is customary to break the fast with sochi or kutya. This is also done in memory ancient custom, when those preparing for baptism, intending to perform it on the Nativity of Christ, prepared for the sacrament by fasting, and after baptism they ate honey - a symbol of the sweetness of spiritual gifts. On Christmas Eve, the Orthodox cooked kutya, and the Catholics cooked bigilia. Christmas kutya was prepared during the Lenten season. But on the second day of Christmas they prepared “Babina’s porridge” or “Babkina’s kutya”. In ancient times, such porridge was usually brought as a gift to the house where a newborn was born. Unlike the Christmas Lenten kutia, “Babkina porridge” was prepared “rich”.

According to Russian customs, on Christmas Eve the whole family fasted, and only with the first star did everyone sit down at the table, on which, among others, Lenten dishes there must be kutia, as well as compote (uzvar) or jelly; In wealthy families, the table was also decorated with figured marmalade.

In some regions, there is a tradition of baking animal figurines for the holiday. In the evening, closer to midnight, caroling began with songs and carols.

The order of meals was regulated strict rules: appetizers (herring, fish, salads) were served first, then red (slightly warmed) borscht, mushroom or fish soup. To the borscht, mushroom soup ears or pies with mushrooms were served, and among the Orthodox sochni - flour cakes fried in hemp oil.

At the end of the meal, sweet dishes were served on the table: roll with poppy seeds, gingerbread, honey cakes, cranberry jelly, dried fruit compote, apples, nuts.

The meal was non-alcoholic. All dishes were lean, fried and seasoned vegetable oil, without meat base, without milk and sour cream. Hot dishes were not served so that the hostess was always at the table.

Christmas Eve: signs of what not to do

For a long time our ancestors adhered very strictly folk signs At Christmas. After all, it was on this holiday that they could determine the course of events of the coming year.

Clear weather at Christmas means there will be a good harvest in summer and autumn.

If the sky is starry, there will be offspring of livestock, as well as a good harvest of mushrooms and berries.

Snowstorm on Christmas Day - you should expect a good wheat harvest. In addition, the blizzard good sign for a beekeeper, because it portends a good swarming of bees.

But if the holiday turns out to be warm, expect a cold spring.

A thaw at Christmas means a poor harvest of vegetables.

Is it snowing in flakes or is there frost? good harvest of bread.

Our ancestors argued that working and doing household chores on Christmas Day is a sin. After all, this is how you can catch up evil spirits to the house.

Especially bad omen Sewing was considered Christmas. Our ancestors claimed that whoever sews on this great holiday brings blindness to someone in his family.

There is also a sign that many people trust to this day - how you spend Christmas, so will the year.

It is very important that on Holy Eve there is a rich table of 12 Lenten dishes - then there will be prosperity in the house all year long.

You can’t quarrel with your family - then you will live the whole year in disagreement.

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

The last day of the four-week Nativity Fast, a day during which Christians traditionally abstain from eating until the first star appears. This tradition is connected with the historical legend about the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced to the Magi about the birth of Christ.

The name “Christmas Eve” itself comes from the word “sochivo” - this was the name of a special rice or wheat porridge with honey, nuts and raisins. It is this kind of 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 certain ritual, both in terms of organization, time and procedure, and in terms of dishes and food.

Christmas Eve traditions

Since ancient times in Rus' last day There are many good traditions associated with the Nativity Fast. In 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 placed. This was done as a reminder that our Savior was born in a sheep stable, and not in a royal palace.

Another tradition is carols. From a small box - a “den” (translated from Slavic as “cave”), an improvised puppet show, which featured Christmas-themed acts. We walked around the village with the nativity scene in the evening, congratulating our neighbors.

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

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

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

It’s not for nothing that they say that wishes come true on Christmas night. So maybe you shouldn’t revive stupid pagan fortune-telling, but just, on the night before Christmas, look at the sky and try to see a falling star. And if you are lucky and you see a falling star on this Christmas night, ask the born Christ to fulfill your cherished desire.

Don't miss this time, otherwise you will have to wait another whole year. Miracles often happen 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 begin in the evening, after the evening service and the appearance of the first star. Before this, neither food nor drink is consumed throughout the day.

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

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

Dishes for Christmas Eve

The first mandatory dish on Christmas Eve is sochivo - grain of bread soaked in water, honey, broth or gravy. U Eastern Slavs Until the end of the 19th century, this grain was rye, later, mainly wheat, and among wealthy people - rice.
Also obligatory dishes in the ritual feast of Christmas Eve are baked fish, preferably whole (can be replaced with boiled fish), and a thick broth made from whole or halves of various fruits (pears, apples, plums, apricots, figs, quinces, raisins). Vzvar differs from ordinary compote in more high concentration. In addition to the broth, berry jelly is also cooked.

The full Christmas Eve menu is as follows:

1. Sochivo.
2. Rice or wheat kutia with raisins.
3. Baked or boiled whole fish.
4. Infusion or compote of whole fruits or sour berry jelly.

The number of dishes can be expanded to twelve, and the remaining dishes can be nuts, vegetables, Lenten pies and gingerbread. The symbolism of such a table is the birth of Jesus Christ. Grain soaked in water is a symbol of the beginning of life, germination. Compote made from whole fruits or fruits processed into liquid jelly symbolize the full ripening of life and its end.

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.

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

Signs for Christmas Eve

Snowstorm on Christmas Eve - early foliage.
Snowy weather on Christmas Eve means a grain harvest in the new year.
It was not recommended to sweep dirty linen out of the hut during the period from Christmas Eve to January 14th. Once collected, the garbage had to be burned in the yard.
On Christmas Eve, peasant children climbed under the table and “chuckled” like chickens - so that the chickens would have a good time.
Greed and stinginess are absolutely not for this time - this is the time of preparation for a great holiday, preparing purchases and gifts.
Starting on Christmas Eve the winter is coming for frost, and sun for summer.
After 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 InFlora.ru magazine.

Nika Kravchuk

Christmas Eve: is it necessary not to eat until the first star and cook 12 dishes?

How to spend Christmas Eve? Is it possible to eat food before the first star appears in the sky? What does the tradition of preparing 12 Lenten dishes symbolize and does it justify itself? Why is it so important to prioritize: worship services first, and then cleaning and cooking? Read about all this below.

What does it mean not to eat “until the first star”?

Christmas Eve is the evening before the Nativity of Christ. The word “Christmas Eve” itself comes from the name of the dish that was traditionally eaten that evening - sochiva. Sochivo was prepared from soaked wheat grains with the addition of honey, nuts and dried fruits. This dish is also called kutya.

January 6th for everyone Orthodox Christian a special day, the last opportunity to prepare for Christmas. Believers rush to churches and observe strict fasting: the monastery charter presupposes dry eating with abstinence from boiled food and butter.

People say that on this day you are not supposed to eat food at all until the first star rises in the sky. What does it mean? Are there such instructions in liturgical books? To answer these questions, you need to look at the features of services on Christmas Eve.

On the morning of January 6th at Orthodox churches The Liturgy is served, followed by the Vespers. Then a candle is brought to the center of the church, in front of which the priests sing a troparion for the feast of the Nativity of Christ. The candle burning in the middle of the temple symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem, which showed the Magi the way to the Infant God.

According to the Typicon, believers do not eat food until the end of Vespers - in fact, until they light the star candle and sing the Christmas troparion. It was in this understanding that the expression about not tasting food “until the first star” arose, and in fact - until lunch.

But, as experience shows, there are significantly fewer people who come to church on Christmas Eve than those who take the expression literally. Thus, a tradition arose among the people of not sitting down to the table until the “first star” rose in the sky, reminiscent of an amazing sign for the wise men from the East.

So what should you do: eat food after lunch or wait until the evening? Bishop Jonah Cherepanovsky, rector of the Ionin Monastery in Kyiv, advises his flock: if you were at a service, you can calmly come home and sit down to a meal. If you did not carry out the feat of prayer during divine services and exchanged church services to prepare 12 dishes and festive table for Christmas, then at least suffer the feat of fasting. There is only one “but”: strict regulations do not apply to patients, children, elderly people and pregnant women.

Why are 12 dishes prepared?

Folk traditions require preparing 12 Lenten dishes on Christmas Eve. There is even a “pious” explanation: according to the number of apostles. This tradition is especially popular in Ukraine: here they always cook kutya, prepare dumplings, cabbage rolls with mushrooms, borscht and other dishes.

In the evening, the whole family sits down at the festive table and has dinner together. On the one hand, this is a good tradition - it unites relatives, gives a festive atmosphere, and reminds them of the upcoming holiday. But on the other hand, it contradicts the regulations on the severity of fasting. In what sense if there is not a single savory dish on the table? Let's try to explain.

On the last day before Christmas, fasting is the strictest.

The last seven days of the Nativity Fast are the strictest. At this time, even on weekends, fishing is prohibited. If you fast according to the rules, then on Christmas Eve you cannot eat fish, oil, or even thermally processed food - after all, it was not for nothing that our ancestors ate soaked wheat, not boiled wheat with honey and dried fruits.

Another important rule fasting - observe the measure so that food does not distract a person from prayer. But what happens if you sit down at the table, and in front of you are 12 lean, but no less tasty and satisfying dishes? It is unlikely that it will work if the measure is followed. Therefore, the believer will go to the night Liturgy not so much in a prayerful mood as with an overloaded stomach.

How to be here: refuse centuries-old traditions which the whole family loves so much, or should you cook 12 dishes? It's hard to give a definite answer. It is better to choose the lesser of all evils in your case.

What is more important for a believer: a festive table or participation in divine services and communion at the night Liturgy? Do you really want to exchange Christ for everyday chores? Think about this and don’t be upset if you don’t have time to prepare some dishes from the planned menu. Compared to the joy of Christmas, these are only small things.

Take it for yourself and tell your friends!

Read also on our website:

How is the betrothal ceremony different from the wedding? Why were the two ranks separated from each other before? Is there a difference between betrothal and engagement? What is the symbolism wedding rings and is it necessary that men's be silver and women's gold? You will find out the answers to these questions in our article.

Almost every person is familiar with the custom of decorating a New Year tree with a star. But few people think about why and why it is customary to decorate the top of the holiday tree with it. The New Year's star is an invariable attribute of the New Year, New Year's ritual, which is already more than a century old.

The story of the New Year's star

In fact, this is not just a custom, but a symbolic gesture, a tribute to the memory of a great event that happened more than 2000 years ago. Of course, we're talking about about the birth of Jesus Christ. It so happened that New Year It is celebrated in European traditions almost at the same time as Christmas, and it does not matter at all whether it is an Orthodox or Catholic holiday. For Catholics, Christmas is December 25, and for Orthodox Christians it is January 7. According to the old style, Christmas was always celebrated until January 1, so in everything Christendom decorated the Christmas tree with a special toy - a star.

This star is called the Bethlehem star. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and the wise men who were present at this event saw this symbol right above the birthplace of the Savior. From that moment on, the eight-pointed star became a symbol of his Christmas, and later the New Year.

Traditions of the New Year's star

The first and most main tradition- is to decorate the top of the Christmas tree with a New Year's star, thereby symbolizing the appearance of that very iconic star in the sky during Christmas. This tradition is respected in all European countries and Catholic-Orthodox cultures around the world.

As you know, the Magi brought their gifts to the birthday of the baby Jesus, symbolizing their respect for God and for the prophecy associated with Christ. That is why it is no coincidence that the ritual and tradition of placing gifts under the tree with a star on it is no coincidence. This symbolizes bringing gifts to God himself. Thus, the New Year's eight-pointed star reminds us of one of the most important points world history and the history of Christianity in particular.

The New Year's star symbolizes the fulfillment of prophecy and universal joy. Therefore, even among non-religious people, this symbol is associated with well-being, brings love and brings people together. We wish that the New Year's star gives you goodness, happiness and love. Show respect for ancient traditions and remember to press the buttons and

Nativity- a special holiday. And the service on this day is special. Or rather, at night... After all, in many of our churches the Liturgy (and sometimes Great Compline and Matins) is served precisely at night. How not to be afraid of the difficulties of a real “all-night vigil” and to feel the joy of the holiday at a long Christmas service - the abbot of the Kyiv Trinity St. John’s Monastery, Bishop Jonah (Cherepanov) of Obukhov, spoke about this for the Nachalo magazine in an interview with Yulia Kominko.

Why is the Liturgy celebrated at night? How to calculate your strength and properly prepare for standing at night? Is it worth taking children? Is it possible to pray from books with translations and explanations of the service? Where does the expression “ don't eat until the first star", and to whom does this regulation not apply? How many hours before Communion can you eat? If all the days before Christmas are fasting, then when should you devote time to preparing dishes for the festive table? Read the answers to these and many other questions in this article.

Part I. Why do people pray for so long? or Where did the tradition of night services come from?

And the first question in connectionWithSo why do we need such long services?

The history of long services dates back to apostolic times. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Rejoice always, incessantly pray, give thanks in everything.” The book of Acts of the Apostles says that all the believers were together, day after day they gathered in the temple and praised God ( Acts 2.44). From here, in particular, we learn that long services were commonplace in the life of the first Christians.

The Christian community of apostolic times lived in readiness for martyrdom for Christ, in anticipation of His imminent second coming. The apostles lived in accordance with this expectation and behaved accordingly - burning with faith. And this fiery faith, love for Christ was expressed in very long prayers.

In fact, they prayed all night long. After all, we know that the early Christian communities were persecuted by the then pagan authorities and were forced to pray at night in order to go about their normal affairs during the day without attracting attention to themselves.

In memory of this, the Church has always maintained the tradition of long, including night services. By the way, once upon a time services in monastery and parish churches were performed according to the same rite - there was virtually no difference between the parish and monastic typikons (except that special additional teachings were inserted into the monastery services, which are now omitted almost everywhere in monasteries).

For the atheistic 20th century tradition long service in countries in the post-Soviet space were practically lost. And seeing the example of Athos, we are perplexed: why serve for so long a service that can be completed three times faster?

Regarding the Svyatogorsk tradition, I would like to note that, firstly, such long services are not performed constantly, but on special holidays. And secondly, this is one of the wonderful opportunities for us to bring our “fruit of the lips” to God.

After all, which of us can say that he has such virtues that he is ready to lay them before the Throne of God right now? He who is critical of himself and confesses consciously knows that his deeds, strictly speaking, are deplorable, and he cannot bring anything to the feet of Christ. And at least each of us is fully capable of bringing “the fruit of the lips” glorifying the name of the Lord. At least somehow we can praise the Lord.

And these long services, especially on holidays, are precisely dedicated to serving our Lord in some way.

If we talk about the Christmas service, then this, if you like, is one of those gifts that we can bring to the manger of the born Savior. Yes, the most main gift To God is the fulfillment of His commandments of love for Him and love for one’s neighbor. But still, various gifts are prepared for the birthday, and one of these can be a long prayer at the service.

The question, probably, is also how to make this gift correctly, so that it is pleasing to God and useful for us...

Do you feel tired during long night services?

What you have to struggle with at such services is sleep.

Not long ago I prayed on Mount Athos in the Dokhiar monastery during a service on the Feast of the Archangels. The service with short breaks lasts 21 hours, or 18 hours of pure time: it begins at 16.00 the day before, in the evening there is a 1-hour break, and then continues all night until 5 am. Then 2 hours for rest, and by 7 am the Liturgy begins, which ends at 1 pm.

Last year, on the patronal feast day in Dochiara, Vespers and Matins passed for me more or less, and during the Liturgy, sleep overcame me with terrible force. As soon as I closed my eyes, I immediately fell asleep standing up, and so soundly that I even began to dream. I think many people are familiar with this state of extreme need for rest... But after the Cherubim, the Lord gave strength, and then the service went normally.

This year, thank God, it was easier.

What was especially impressive this time was that I didn’t feel any physical fatigue at all, by the grace of God. If I didn’t want to sleep, I could have been at this service for 24 hours. Why? Because all those praying were inspired by a common impulse towards the Lord - both monks and lay pilgrims.

And this is the main feeling that you experience at such services: we have come to glorify God and His Archangels, we are determined to pray and praise the Lord for a long time. We are not in a hurry and therefore we will not rush.

This general state of those present in the church was very clearly visible during the entire service. Everything was very leisurely, everything was very carefully, very detailed, very solemn and, most importantly, very prayerful. That is, people knew what they came for.

Why is such unanimity in prayer not felt during parish services? Because of those present in the church, there are very few who really understand why he is, in fact, in the church. Such people who would ponder the words of liturgical texts and seriously understand the course of the service are, unfortunately, a minority. And the bulk are those who came either because of tradition, or because it is so supposed, or they want to celebrate the holiday in church, but do not yet know the words of the psalm: sing to God wisely. And these people, as soon as the service began, are already shifting from foot to foot, thinking that it would be over soon, why they are singing something incomprehensible, and what will happen next, and so on. That is, the person is completely unaware of the course of the service and does not understand the meaning of the actions being performed.

And those who come to Athos have an idea of ​​what awaits them there. And at such long services, they actually pray very enthusiastically. So, according to tradition, during the holiday, the brethren of the monastery sing on the left choir, and guests sing on the right. Usually these are monks from other monasteries and laymen who know Byzantine chants. And you should have seen how enthusiastically they sang! So sublime and solemn that... if you see it once, then all questions about the need or unnecessaryness of long services will disappear. It is such a joy to glorify God!

In normal worldly life, if people love each other, then they want to be close to each other for as long as possible: they cannot stop talking or communicate. And just like that, when a person is inspired by the love of God, even 21 hours of prayer is not enough for him. He wants and craves communication with God all 24 hours...

- So, How to prepare yourself for long service and spend time in the temple with dignity?

1. If possible, attend all statutory holiday services.

I want to emphasize that you must be present at the festive all-night vigil. During this service, in fact, Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, is glorified. Liturgy is a divine service that remains virtually unchanged due to holidays. The main liturgical texts, the main chants, which explain the event remembered on this day and set us up on how to properly celebrate the holiday, are sung and read in the church precisely during Vespers and Matins.

It should also be said that the Christmas service begins a day earlier - on Christmas Eve. On the morning of January 6, Christmas Vespers are celebrated in churches. It sounds strange: vespers in the morning, but this is a necessary deviation from the rules of the Church. Previously, Vespers began in the afternoon and continued with the Liturgy of Basil the Great, at which people received communion. The whole day of January 6 before this service there was a particularly strict fast; people did not eat food at all, preparing to take communion. After lunch, Vespers began, and communion was received at dusk. And soon after this came the solemn Christmas Matins, which began to be served on the night of January 7th.

But now, since we have become more frail and weak, solemn Vespers is celebrated on the 6th in the morning and ends with the Liturgy of Basil the Great.

Therefore, those who want to celebrate the Nativity of Christ correctly, according to the charter, following the example of our ancestors - ancient Christians, saints, should be, if work allows, on the eve of Christmas, January 6, at the morning service. On Christmas itself, you should come to Great Compline and Matins and, naturally, to the Divine Liturgy.

2. When preparing to go to the night Liturgy, worry in advance about not wanting to sleep so much.

In the Athonite monasteries, in particular in Dokhiar, the abbot of the Dokhiar monastery, Archimandrite Gregory, always says that it is better to close your eyes for a while in the temple, if you are completely sleepy, than to retire to your cell to rest, thus leaving the divine service.

You know that in the churches on the Holy Mountain there are special wooden chairs with armrests - stasidia, on which you can sit or stand, reclining the seat and leaning on special arms. It must also be said that on Mount Athos, in all monasteries, the full brethren are necessarily present at all daily services. Absence from service is a fairly serious deviation from the rules. Therefore, you can leave the temple during the service only as a last resort.

In our realities, you can’t sleep in a temple, but there’s no need for that. On Mount Athos, all services begin at night - at 2, 3 or 4 o'clock. And in our churches services are not daily, liturgies at night are generally rare. Therefore, in order to go out for night prayer, you can prepare in completely ordinary everyday ways.

For example, be sure to sleep the night before the service. While the Eucharistic fast allows, drink coffee. Since the Lord has given us fruits that invigorate us, we need to use them.

But if sleep begins to overcome you during the night service, I think it would be better to go out and make a few circles around the temple with the Jesus Prayer. This short walk will definitely refresh you and give you strength to continue to pay attention.

3. Fast correctly. “Until the first star” means not to go hungry, but to attend the service.

Where did the custom of not eating food on Christmas Eve, January 6, “until the first star” come from? As I already said, before Christmas Vespers began in the afternoon, it went into the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, which ended when stars actually appeared in the sky. After the Liturgy, the rules permitted eating a meal. That is, “until the first star” meant, in fact, until the end of the Liturgy.

But over time, when the liturgical circle was isolated from the life of Christians, when people began to treat divine services rather superficially, this developed into some kind of custom completely divorced from practice and reality. People don’t go to the service or take communion on January 6, but at the same time they go hungry.

When people ask me how to fast on Christmas Eve, I usually say this: if you attended Christmas Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great in the morning, then you are blessed to eat food, as required by the rules, after the end of the Liturgy. That is, during the day.

But if you decide to devote this day to cleaning the premises, preparing 12 dishes, and so on, then, please, eat after the “first star”. Since you didn’t carry out the feat of prayer, at least carry out the feat of fasting.

Regarding how to fast before Communion, if it is at a night service, then according to existing practice, liturgical fasting (that is, complete abstinence from food and water) in this case is 6 hours. But this is not directly formulated anywhere, and there are no clear instructions in the charter how many hours before communion you cannot eat.

On an ordinary Sunday, when a person is preparing for Communion, it is customary not to eat food after midnight. But if you are going to receive communion at the night Christmas service, then it would be correct not to eat food somewhere after 21.00.

In any case, it is better to discuss this issue with your confessor.

4. Find out and agree on the date and time of confession in advance. So as not to spend the entire festive service in line.

The issue of confession at the Christmas service is purely individual, because each church has its own customs and traditions. It is easy to talk about confession in monasteries or those churches where there are a large number of serving priests. But if there is only one priest serving in the church, and there are a majority of them, then it is best, of course, to agree with the priest in advance, when it will be convenient for him to confess you. It is better to confess on the eve of the Christmas service, so that during the service you think not about whether you will or will not have time to confess, but about how to truly worthily meet the coming of Christ the Savior into the world.

5. Do not exchange worship and prayer for 12 Lenten dishes. This tradition is neither evangelical nor liturgical.

I am often asked how to reconcile attendance at services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the tradition of the Christmas Eve feast, when 12 Lenten dishes are specially prepared. I’ll say right away that the “12 Strava” tradition is somewhat mysterious to me. Christmas Eve, like Epiphany Eve, is a fast day, and, moreover, a day strict fasting. According to the regulations, boiled food without oil and wine are allowed on this day. How you can cook 12 different lenten dishes without using oil is a mystery to me.

In my opinion, “12 Stravas” is a folk custom that has nothing in common either with the Gospel, or with the liturgical charter, or with the liturgical tradition Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, in the media on the eve of Christmas large quantities materials appear in which attention is concentrated on some dubious pre-Christmas and post-Christmas traditions, eating certain dishes, fortune telling, festivities, caroling, and so on - all that husk that is often very far from the true meaning of the great holiday of the coming of our Redeemer into the world .

I am always very hurt by the profanation of holidays, when their meaning and significance are reduced to certain rituals that have developed in one area or another. One hears that such things as traditions are needed for people who are not yet particularly churchgoers, in order to somehow interest them. But you know, in Christianity still better for people give immediately good quality food, not fast food. Still, it is better for a person to recognize Christianity immediately from the Gospel, from the traditional patristic Orthodox position, than from some “comics”, even those sanctified by folk customs.

In my opinion, many folk rituals associated with this or that holiday are comics on the theme of Orthodoxy. They have practically nothing to do with the meaning of the holiday or the gospel event.

6. Don't turn Christmas into a food holiday. This day is, first of all, spiritual joy. And it is not good for your health to break your fast with a large feast.

Again, it's all about priorities. If it is a priority for someone to sit at a rich table, then the entire day before the holiday, including when the festive vespers are already being celebrated, the person is busy preparing various meats, Olivier salads and other sumptuous dishes.

If it is more priority for a person to meet the born Christ, then he, first of all, goes to the divine service, and then free time prepares what he has time for.

In general, it is strange that it is considered obligatory on the day of the holiday to sit and consume a variety of abundant dishes. This is neither medical point It’s not good for sight, nor spiritually. It turns out that we fasted throughout Lent, missed Christmas Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great - and all this in order to simply sit down and eat. This can be done at any other time...

I’ll tell you how the festive meal is prepared in our monastery. Usually, at the end of night services (Easter and Christmas), the brethren are offered a short break of fast. As a rule, this is cheese, cottage cheese, hot milk. That is, something that does not require much effort when preparing. And already in the afternoon a more festive meal is prepared.

7. Sing to God intelligently. Prepare for the service - read about it, find translations, texts of the psalms.

There is an expression: knowledge is power. And, indeed, knowledge gives strength not only morally, but also literally - physically. If a person has at one time taken the trouble to study Orthodox worship, to delve into its essence, if he knows that this moment happens in a temple, then for him there is no question of standing for a long time, fatigue. He lives in the spirit of worship, knows what follows what. For him, the service is not divided into two parts, as it happens: “What is in the service now?” - “Well, they’re singing.” - "And now?" - “Well, they’re reading.” For most people, unfortunately, the service is divided into two parts: when they sing and when they read.

Knowledge of the service makes it clear that at a certain moment in the service you can sit down and listen to what is being sung and read. The liturgical regulations in some cases allow, and in some even require, sitting. This is, in particular, the time of reading psalms, hours, kathismas, stichera on “Lord, I have cried.” That is, there are many moments during the service when you can sit. And, as one saint put it, it is better to think about God while sitting than to think about your feet while standing.

Many believers act very practically by taking light folding benches with them. Indeed, so as not to rush to the benches at the right moment to take up space, or not to “occupy” seat place, standing next to them throughout the service, it would be better to take a special bench with you and sit down on it at the right time.

There is no need to be embarrassed about sitting during the service. The Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. Still, at some moments it is better to sit down, especially if your legs hurt, and sit and listen attentively to the service, rather than suffer, suffer and look at the clock to see when all this will end.

In addition to taking care of your feet, take care of food for your mind in advance. You can buy special books or find and print materials about the holiday service on the Internet - interpretation and texts with translations.

I definitely recommend also finding the Psalter translated into yours native language. The reading of the psalms is an integral part of any Orthodox service, and the psalms are very beautiful both melodically and stylistically. In the temple they are read on Church Slavonic language, but even for a church-going person it is difficult to perceive all their beauty by ear. Therefore, in order to understand what is being sung at the moment, you can find out in advance, before the service, which psalms will be read during this service. This really needs to be done in order to “sing to God intelligently” in order to feel all the beauty of psalmody.

Many people believe that you cannot follow the Liturgy in church from a book - you need to pray together with everyone. But one does not exclude the other: following a book and praying, in my opinion, are one and the same thing. Therefore, do not be embarrassed to take literature with you to the service. You can take a blessing from the priest for this in advance in order to cut off unnecessary questions and comments.

8. On holidays, churches are crowded. Have pity on your neighbor - light candles or venerate the icon another time.

Many people, when they come to church, believe that lighting a candle is the duty of every Christian, a sacrifice to God that must be made. But since the Christmas service is much more crowded than regular service, then some difficulty arises with setting the candles, including because the candlesticks are overcrowded.

The tradition of bringing candles to the temple has ancient roots. Previously, as we know, Christians took everything they needed for the Liturgy from home with them: bread, wine, candles for lighting the church. And this, indeed, was their feasible sacrifice.

Now the situation has changed and setting candles has lost its original meaning. For us, this is more a reminder of the first centuries of Christianity.

Candle- this is our visible sacrifice to God. She has symbolic meaning: We must before God, like this candle, burn with an even, bright, smokeless flame.

This is also our sacrifice for the temple, because we know - from Old Testament, that people in ancient times were required to pay tithes for the maintenance of the Temple and the priests serving under it. And in the New Testament Church this tradition was continued. We know the words of the apostle that those who serve the altar are fed from the altar. And the money that we leave when purchasing a candle is our sacrifice.

But in such cases, when churches are overcrowded, when whole torches of candles are burning on candlesticks, and they are being passed around and passed on, perhaps it would be more correct to put the amount that you wanted to spend on candles in a donation box than to embarrass your brothers by manipulating candles and sisters praying nearby.

9. When bringing children to the night service, be sure to ask them if they want to be in church now.

If you have small children or elderly relatives, then go with them to the Liturgy in the morning.

This practice has developed in our monastery. At night at 23:00 Great Compline begins, followed by Matins, which turns into the Liturgy. The liturgy ends around half past five in the morning - thus, the service lasts about five and a half hours. This is not so much - the usual all-night vigil every Saturday lasts 4 hours - from 16.00 to 20.00.

And our parishioners who have small children or elderly relatives pray at night at Compline and Matins, after Matins they go home, rest, sleep, and in the morning they come to Liturgy at 9.00 with small children or with those people who, for health reasons, could not attend the night service.

If you decide to bring your children to church at night, then, it seems to me, the main criterion for attending such long services should be the desire of the children themselves to come to this service. No violence or coercion is acceptable!

You know, there are things of status for a child, which are criteria for adulthood for him. Such, for example, as the first confession, the first visit to the night service. If he really asks that adults take him with them, then in this case this needs to be done.

It is clear that a child will not be able to stand attentively for the entire service. To do this, take some kind of soft bedding for him, so that when he gets tired, you can put him in a corner to sleep and wake him up before communion. But so that the child is not deprived of this joy of the night service.

It’s very touching to see when children come to the service with their parents, they stand joyful, with sparkling eyes, because night service for them it is very significant and unusual. Then gradually they subside and turn sour. And now, as you pass through the side aisle, you see children lying side by side, immersed in the so-called “liturgical” sleep.

As long as the child can bear it, he can endure it. But you shouldn’t deprive him of such joy. However, I repeat once again, getting into this service should be the desire of the child himself. So that Christmas would be associated for him only with love, only with the joy of the born baby Christ.

When we come to church, we often worry that we didn’t have time to light the candles or didn’t venerate some icon. But that's not what you need to think about. We need to worry about whether we often unite with Christ.

Our duty in worship is to pray carefully and receive Holy Communion as often as possible. Mysteries of Christ. The temple, first of all, is the place where we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is what we must do.

And, indeed, attending the Liturgy without communion is meaningless. Christ calls: “Take, eat,” and we turn away and leave. The Lord says: “Drink from the Cup of Life, all of you,” and we don’t want to.

But does the word “ All"is there another meaning? The Lord does not say: drink 10% from me - those who were preparing. He says: drink from me, everyone! If we come to the Liturgy and do not receive communion, then this is a liturgical violation.

What basic condition is necessary to experience the joy of a long all-night service?

It is necessary to realize WHAT happened on this day many years ago. That “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” That “no one has ever seen God; The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed.” That an event of such cosmic proportions occurred that had never happened before and will not happen after.

God, Creator of the universe, Creator of the infinite cosmos, Creator of our earth, Creator of man as a perfect creature, Almighty, commanding the movement of the planets, all space system, the existence of life on earth, Whom no one has ever seen, and only a few in the entire history of mankind have been privileged to behold only part of the manifestation of His some kind of power... And this God became a man, a baby, completely defenseless, small, subject to everything, including , and the possibility of murder. And this is all for us, for each of us.

There is a wonderful expression: God became man so that we could become gods. If we understand this - that each of us has received the opportunity to become God by grace - then the meaning of this holiday will be revealed to us. If we realize the scale of the event we are celebrating, what happened on this day, then all the culinary delights, caroling, round dances, dressing up and fortune-telling will seem to us trifle and husk, completely not worth our attention. We will be absorbed in the contemplation of God, the Creator of the universe, lying in a manger next to the animals in a simple stable. This will exceed everything.

Download the text of the service in PDF format: “Eves of the Nativity of Christ: Royal Hours and Vespers with Liturgy”

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