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Desiring to save the human race, God became Man and entered human history. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary during 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 righteous Joseph, as descended from the family of King David, came to Bethlehem (the city of David) to enter their names on 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 we even trace the course of modern history and reckoning 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.
Troparion of the Nativity of Christ
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, to bow 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.
Kontakion of the Nativity of Christ
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"
Coming Christmas Eve, followed by Nativity- one of the most joyful and bright Christian holidays. Western Christians already celebrated Christmas on December 25, 2016, and denominations living according to the Julian calendar, including the Russian Orthodox Church, celebrate this holiday January 7, 2017.
Read about the history of the holiday, the customs of celebrating Christmas in Russia, signs and fortune-telling in the materials Federal News Agency: and .
We remind you that it is advisable to congratulate relatives, friends and relatives on Christmas, even if they are not religious people - in Russia this holiday has long become universal, celebrated, in fact, at the state level, in addition, this day is an official day off and part of the New Year holidays.
You can congratulate acquaintances and friends on Christmas - 2016 using short SMS messages, it is also now fashionable to post the corresponding statuses in social networks.
To do this, we offer options for funny and serious short Merry Christmas greetings for email, sms messages and statuses in social networks. And remember - the options we have proposed are by no means a dogma, but just a reminder of how important it is not to miss the opportunity to heartily congratulate loved ones.
***
The star of goodness and magic lit up -
Merry holy Christmas.
May God save and people help,
Let the starlight in the soul not fade away,
May the house be filled with happiness and wealth.
Love, health, peace! Merry Christmas!
***
Merry Christmas,
Let miracles enter the house
With the smell of spruce!
Merry Christmas!
We wish you good health,
At the heart of lightness, warmth,
We want to believe and love
Give your love to your family.
We wish you joy and light.
Merry Christmas to you... and the whole planet!
Merry Christmas SMS 2017
***
Christmas song, warmth,
And with a lot of wonderful big wishes
This holiday will come both in the heart and in the house -
And the best reason for joy will be!
The house will be filled with a wonderful fairy tale,
Love and hope will settle in it.
And the holiday, illuminating hearts with kindness,
Christmas morning will give a dream.
***
On Christmas night
Let's guess a little
And fashionable boots
We leave from the threshold
Let's look in the mirrors
And let it be the answer
Us the image of the groom
And a happy ending wedding!
Merry Christmas greetings - 2017 to mom and grandma
***
Mommy baked all day
Cooked, covered -
And it's time to celebrate
And there was no strength at all!
Come on baby shake it up
After all, Christmas is here!
Today is a holiday, have fun!
To become happy!
***
Granny, out of the kitchen!
After all, the holiday is already coming,
And sometimes we need rest
There's enough on the table!
I hasten to congratulate you on Christmas,
I wish dreams come true
I want to wish you good health
Don't worry, trust me!
Funny funny congratulations on the holiday of Christmas
***
Christmas Eve -
Time for great miracles
Think soon
luxury Mercedes,
handsome man
Love and all things
You are the happiest
Should be in the world!
***
The New Year's holiday subsided:
Festive hours do not strike,
Olivier is already sour
The fireworks have died down for a long time.
But a new holiday comes -
Christmas Day.
He brings joy to the mountains,
Lots of happiness and kindness!
***
I wish you happiness on Christmas
Peace, joy and passion.
May success lead you
And hide from worries.
There is not much money -
Remember, counting money.
Also, don't be discouraged
Know the measure of all things!
***
Let no devil in the world
Your brain won't freeze.
And on this bright holiday of Christmas
Not a bit of your image will not wet.
***
Accept congratulations
On a glorious Christmas Eve!
I wish without a doubt
Don't let your head hurt!
At the table you be an example
Pour and drink
But keep the fun in moderation
Don't forget anyway!
Christmas is the most significant Catholic holiday in the entire calendar. Neither the New Year, nor any other event can overshadow the significance and grandeur of this day - the day on which, according to legend, Jesus Christ was born. Catholic Christmas has an ancient history, its own peculiarities of celebration and traditions, which are honored by every Catholic in any country. We learn about all the intricacies of the celebration of Catholic Christmas in 2017 from this article.
Date of Catholic Christmas in 2017
According to Catholic traditions, every year Catholic Christmas celebrated on December 25 including in 2017. This Catholic holiday is a public and one of the most revered holidays of the year in more than 145 countries around the world.
history of the holiday
One of the most ancient holidays for believers - Christmas - first appeared in the fourth century AD. According to ancient tradition, preparations for this event begin a month in advance, more precisely 28 days in advance. This period is called the month of Advent. It is worth noting that Catholics do not have to fast, as Orthodox Christians do. The only obligatory fasting day that all Catholics honor is. On this day, you must visit the church and refrain from eating meat food. Priests and especially zealous admirers of traditions spend the entire Advent in a similar regime, but the majority of believers fast only on the day before Christmas.
How to celebrate Catholic Christmas 2017
On the eve of the holiday Catholics come to church to attend the solemn service. After that, many go home, but some stay all night to have time to take communion and confess. It is customary to spend the whole night in prayers for repentance.
Christmas morning meets again in the church. Interestingly, in Russian-speaking countries, Catholic morning masses are often held in foreign languages, and then they are repeated in Russian. 
At the end of the service, each Catholic goes home to celebrate this celebration in the circle of relatives and friends.
Christmas attributes
Mandatory attributes of Catholic Christmas are: spruce, Christmas log, gift exchange. Also, many families in the courtyards of their houses arrange small cradles, symbolizing the moment of the birth of Christ. Around it are placed figurines of the Mother of God and the Magi.
Celebration traditions
The tradition of burning a Christmas log has been around since pagan times. Previously, a real log was taken into the house, watered with wine, sprinkled with grains and cereals, and then burned. Now on the Christmas table you can see a cake in the form of a log, which is simply eaten at the end of the feast. 
A good tradition on Catholic Christmas has become the exchange of gifts and wishes. For a Russian person, such actions are more common on the New Year, however, in the West, the advent of a new calendar year is celebrated modestly. As we have Santa Claus, so the Catholics Santa Claus comes at Christmas to give gifts to the kids.
Christmas is one of the main holidays in Christianity. On this day, believers celebrate the birth of the son of God, Jesus Christ, by the Virgin Mary (Our Lady). In Orthodoxy, Christmas is the second most important holiday after Easter. Christmas in Orthodoxy refers to the twelfth (twelve most important) master's (in honor of Jesus Christ) non-passing (always celebrated on the same day) holidays. Christmas is preceded by a strict forty-day Advent fast.
History of the Feast of the Nativity
The history of the events of the Nativity of Christ is reflected in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. All Christian denominations interpret Christmas events in the same way.
It was in ancient Rome under the emperor August. Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph They were supposed to take part in the mandatory census for all inhabitants of the Roman Empire. Joseph and Mary were descendants of the king David, who was a native of Bethlehem, therefore, according to the rules approved by Augustus, the holy family was ordered to go to this city to participate in the census.
The city turned out to be overcrowded with guests and pilgrims, and Mary, who was already on demolitions, could not find a place in the hotel. And then the child began to ask to go outside, and the young mother had to give birth in a cave adapted for a barn in which cattle were sheltered from the weather. Childbirth, as you know, went well, even despite the absence of a midwife.
The newborn Jesus was the first to come to bow to the shepherds, informed of the joyful event by an angel. And after the shepherds, the magi came, who found the treasured cave by the bright star that lit up in the sky and showed them the way. The Magi brought gifts to Jesus - gold, frankincense and myrrh, symbolizing the royal status of the divine baby.
On the eighth day after his birth, according to Jewish tradition, Jesus was circumcised, and on the fortieth day a sacrifice was made in his honor in the Jerusalem temple.
Having learned about the birth of Jesus, and having learned that the baby will become the Messiah (Savior), the king of Judea Herod decided to destroy it. In order not to be mistaken, Herod ordered that all babies under the age of two be killed. However, the virgin Mary and Joseph managed to save the child: an angel of God warned them of the impending massacre, and they fled to Egypt, where they remained until the death of Herod.
Christmas in Russia
In Russia, Christmas has been celebrated since the end of the 10th century, the holiday came along with Christianity, which was introduced by Prince Vladimir. The celebration of Christmas was originally held according to Byzantine traditions.
Europeanization of Christmas took place at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries, when the first crib theaters were brought from Poland to Russia, in which puppet shows about the birth of Jesus were played. And then the Germans, of whom there have been a great many in Russia since the time of Peter the Great, spread their tradition of decorating the Christmas tree for Christmas. And at the beginning of the 20th century, Russia also had its own Santa Claus - the Christmas Father Frost.
After the revolution, Christmas underwent the most severe, as they would say now, upgrade, but, unlike other church holidays, it still survived, albeit in an atheistic version.
After 13 years of bans, the tradition of New Year trees and Santa Clauses was revived in the USSR. Grandfather Frost found a granddaughter - a completely pagan Snow Maiden, and indeed the holiday became defiantly anti-religious: a five-pointed star replaced the Christmas star on the tree, and even with portraits Lenin-Stalin in the middle, Christmas decorations have also become ideologically consistent. Later, the top of the Christmas tree began to be decorated with a more neutral silver pike.
After the collapse of the USSR, Orthodox Christmas returned to Russia, becoming a day off and peacefully coexisting with the secular Soviet New Year.
Christmas divination and carols
In addition to church customs of celebrating Christmas, there are also folk traditions that still have pre-Christian roots. In particular, lovers of antiquity still love caroling at Christmas: mummers in costumes and masks enter houses on Christmas night and sing praises to Christ or good wishes-carols to the owners, receiving food and money as a reward.
Here are some examples of Christmas carols:
***
carol, carol,
Christmas Eve!
Good aunt,
The pie is sweet
Don't cut, don't break
Give it quickly.
***
Today an angel descended on us
And he sang: "Christ is born!"
We came to glorify Christ
And congratulate you on the holiday.
***
Don't give me cheesecakes -
You'll get it on top!
Don't give me a pie -
I'll take the cow by the horns.
***
carol, carol
Open up the gate
Get out the chests
Give patches.
Though the ruble
At least a penny
Let's not leave home like this!
Give us some candy
Or maybe a coin.
Don't regret anything
Christmas is coming!
From Christmas to Epiphany (January 19), Christmas time comes, when young girls love to tell fortunes about their betrothed. It is believed that during the holy week, while Christ has not yet been baptized, evil spirits walk the earth and try not to do much harm. Therefore, at this time, you can turn to her for advice and help in heart and other matters. This case is not encouraged by the church, but it is not too condemned either.
Christmas omens
- If in the first three days of Christmas time there is frost on the branches - to a good harvest of bread.
- If there is a thaw at Christmas, spring will be late and unfriendly.
- At Christmas, the day is warm - dark bread will be born.
- On Christmas night there are a lot of stars in the sky - in the summer there will also be a lot of berries in the forest.
A couple of years ago, on the eve of Christmas, French sociology students conducted a survey among their peers walking around Paris. There was only one question: "What do we celebrate at Christmas?" The suggested responses might seem like a joke: there were "at Christmas they celebrate the end of the Christmas sales" and "at Christmas they celebrate the arrival of the "Père Noël" (Father of Christmas) with gifts", "Christmas is a holiday in honor of the installation of the Christmas tree" and " Christmas is like a New Year's rehearsal", "Christmas is the beginning of the twelve-day winter holidays from December 25 to January 6" and even "Christmas is a holiday associated with the release of a new Christmas comedy film". Only one answer mentioned God: "Christmas is the birthday of Christ."
Of course, the survey could be considered a student joke, if not for the frighteningly small number of respondents who remembered Christ on this great holiday. Firmly believing that this is impossible among our youth, we nevertheless decided to briefly, concisely state what the essence of the Christmas holiday is and how to spend it correctly. Let's get started. Moreover, those who have long fallen under the +18 category can read the text.
1. What do we celebrate on Christmas Day?
Incarnation. That is, the birth of God in the human race. Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Savior.
2. What is the difference between New Year and Christmas?
Two winter holidays and those standing next to each other on the calendar have completely different meanings. New Year - the beginning of a conditional period of time invented by people, the beginning of a new calendar year. By celebrating this day, we pay tribute to human institutions. This date is not so difficult to shift, which was done in 1918, when Lenin signed the "Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic." Celebrating the Nativity of Christ, we re-experience an event of a completely different significance - the birth of Jesus Christ. The advent of the Savior into our world is a turning point in the history of mankind.
But since the events underlying NG and RH are completely incomparable in significance, then the traditions that have become attached to these holidays are also incomparable in their depth. The Soviet tradition of celebrating the New Year can only be attributed to Olivier salad, champagne, the permanent Blue Light and a Christmas tree that migrated here from Christmas. Orthodox Christmas traditions have deep roots and symbolism. About them later, first about the very birth of the Savior.
3. How did the birth of Jesus happen?
We remember that nine months before the birth of Christ, and hence the Nativity of Christ, an event takes place called the "Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos", when the Archangel Gabriel brings the Good News to the Mother of God (hence the "Annunciation") that she will become the Mother of God : "Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with you, blessed are you among women." Mary was embarrassed by these words, but the Angel continues: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for You have found grace with God, You will give birth to a Son and call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the son of the Most High, and His Kingdom will have no end." The name Jesus means "Savior". Mary, bewildered, asks the Angel: "How will it be when I don't know my husband?" And the Angel answers: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and the one who is born will be called the Son of God." Thus begins the history of our salvation, the history of the coming of God into our world, the history of the Incarnation.
At that time, Judea was conquered by the Roman Empire and entered its eastern provinces. In order to streamline the taxation system, the autocratic emperor of the Roman Empire Octavian Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD) decides to conduct a census of his eastern provinces. Moreover, the Jews must correspond according to their place of origin. Both Elder Joseph, who became engaged to Mary and took care of her, and the Virgin Mary herself, were descendants of the famous biblical king David (died about 970 BC), who came from Bethlehem. The descendants of King David were deprived of the throne in the VI century BC. e. and for a long time already lived in the same way as the rest of the Jews, not standing out among them in any way. However, the prophets long before the birth of Christ announced that the Savior, the Messiah would come from the lineage of David, and that is why we focus on such an important fact. So, since the Virgin Mary and Joseph come from the family of King David, and their distant ancestor was a native of Bethlehem, then the expectant Mary, along with Joseph, had to make a long journey from the Galilean city of Nazareth, where they live, to Bethlehem - a city for them stranger. Census, how can one disobey the emperor's decree?
Due to the influx of people, there is no place for the Holy Family in the hotels of Bethlehem, and they stop outside the city, in a cave - here shepherds drive cattle in bad weather. In this cave at the Virgin Mary at night the Baby is born - the Son of God, Christ the Savior of the world. Mary swaddles her Son and puts it in a manger - where they usually put fodder for livestock. And the animals warm the Divine Infant with their breath. As it is sung on these holidays in temples, mangers have become "a receptacle for the incapable God." On the one hand, incomprehensible in His Majesty God, but, at the same time, a helpless Infant. In this inseparable unity of divine nature with human nature lies the mystery of the incarnation. A mystery that we, people, are not given to know, but which we can feel - with our hearts.
4. How did the world know about the birth of the Savior, how did the world perceive it?
The Bethlehem shepherds are the first to know about the birth of the Savior. That night they are pasturing their flocks in the field, when suddenly an Angel of God appears before them: “Do not be afraid!” he says, “I proclaim to you great joy, which will be not only for you, but for all people: now I was born in the city David's (that is, in Bethlehem) Savior, here is a sign for you: you will find the Infant in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
But the shepherds were not the only ones who bowed to the Divine Infant. The Mother of God and Joseph, together with the Infant Jesus, were still in Bethlehem, when the wise men and astrologers came to Jerusalem from the far east. They, too, have been waiting for a long time for the birth of the One Who will become the Messiah - the Savior. In Jerusalem, outlandishly dressed aliens from the east begin to ask: "Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star rise, and we came to worship Him!" Hearing this, the hypochondriac and cruel king of Judea Herod "was agitated, and with him all Jerusalem." From the connoisseurs of Holy Scripture, the frightened Herod learns that the prophets foreshadowed the birth of the King of the Jews, the Savior, in the line of David, in the city of Bethlehem. Suspicious Herod does not even think that the kingdom of the newborn Lord of Israel will be "not of this world," that it is not the kingdom of the earth, but the Kingdom of Heaven. It's all too complicated for the cruel impostor Herod. And Herod is indeed a monster - he ordered the execution of his wife and children only on suspicion that they intend to deprive him of power.
So, having heard that a possible competitor has already been born, Herod calls to himself the unsuspecting Magi, finds out from them the time of the birth of the Messiah and sends them to Bethlehem with an insidious mission: "Go, scout carefully about the Baby and, when you find it, inform me so that I may go and worship Him."
The Magi are on their way to Bethlehem, and a new star shows them the way.
So, led by a star, the magi go to Bethlehem. And the star stopped over the place where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy, and entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary, His Mother, and fell down and worshiped Him; and, opening their treasures, brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. And, having received a revelation in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their country by another way. and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod wants to seek the Child in order to destroy Him ... "
Thus, with homelessness and wanderings, the life of Christ begins.
When the Savior was born, people reacted differently to this event. Some, like magicians, with a pure heart, went to meet Him in order to rejoice. Others, like Herod, decided to destroy Him. There were also indifferent people who did not let the Mother of God into their house to spend the night. They didn't care, they were incapable of mercy, compassion. With the tacit consent of such people, evil is done. And those, and others, and third are among us. And each of us daily faces a choice: with whom is he? Where is he? With Christ, or for Herod? Or maybe he just took refuge in his cozy little world and would not let someone else's misfortune and pain in there, and, therefore, he would not let the Lord in either.
5. Traditions of celebrating the Nativity of Christ
First, the feast of the Nativity of Christ itself begins with expectation. And the main thing in this expectation is the fast, which lasts from November 28 to January 6. Fasting prepares the spirit and body for the perception of the very event of the Nativity of Christ, for participation in it. Just as the Magi went to Bethlehem and expected to see the born Christ, prepared for this meeting, brought him gifts, so we, while fasting, make a spiritual path and bring our spiritual gifts to the Lord. This is the anticipation of the holiday. And there is also the approach of the holiday. The approximation lies in the fact that on the eve of January 6, a day of very strict fasting takes place, when juicy is prepared - a dish of wheat and honey. On this day, they do not eat "until the first star" in memory of the Star of Bethlehem, which showed the Magi the way to the birthplace of the Savior. Christmas Eve is in preparation - people are preparing for Confession and Communion, in order to take communion on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, they are preparing a Christmas meal.
Secondly, realizing how important the external side of events is for us people, the Church prepares us for the holiday and special Christmas traditions. An evergreen Christmas tree is placed in the houses - a symbol of eternal life, which Christ gave us.
The star that crowns our Christmas trees reminds us of the Bethlehem star that lit up when Jesus was born, the star that led the Magi to the Divine Infant, showed them the way.
On Christmas Eve, it is customary to put a burning candle on the windows. There is also deep meaning. A candle is a symbol of the human soul that burns before God. It burns and lights the way for others. A lit candle in the window before Christmas shows that Christ is expected in this house. Because the meaning of our celebration is the birth of Christ in our heart.
And, finally, when we give gifts for Christmas, we become like the magi - the wise men of the East, who brought their gifts to the Divine Infant: gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts of the Magi were also deeply symbolic: gold, as for the King, frankincense, as for God, and myrrh, fragrant ointment used at burial, as for a mortal man.
6. What is the meaning of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ?
The mystery of the Incarnation is inaccessible to the human mind. But this greatest, Divine mystery of the incarnation is connected with two other mysteries close to the heart of everyone: the secret of birth and the secret of love.
Everyone knows the joy that we experience when a person is born, each of us, at least once, came into contact with the secret of love. That is why the events of the Nativity of Christ, for all their incomprehensibility, are close to everyone's heart, and the series of events of this holiday is understandable even to the smallest children. The Savior is born in the human race, this is not some abstract God sent to us, who has no kinship and connection with people. God takes human flesh. He, born of the Holy Spirit, accepts our entire psychophysical world. Because in order to save a person, it was necessary to know him to the end, it was necessary to go through the entire earthly path of a person - from birth, through suffering, to death. And God goes this way, and does it out of love for us.
7. Why is the Christmas holiday needed?
God comes into our world in the silence of the Bethlehem night, and the very fact of His birth is already our approach to God, because, according to Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh: "Every person, by the very fact that he is a person, is attached to the mystery of Christ." From now on, man is not alone in this world. “Christ became Man so that all of us, all without a trace, including those who have lost all faith in themselves, know that God believes in us, believes in us in our fall, believes in us when we ourselves have lost faith in each other. friend and in himself, he believes in such a way that he is not afraid to become one of us." “God became Man so that man could become God,” this is how the holy martyr of the 2nd century, Irenaeus of Lyon, formulated the great mystery of the Incarnation.