Christmastide - what is this holiday and how is it celebrated

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The Russian people have always loved noisy holidays that have come from ancient times. The favorite period of both children and adults is Christmastide. This is a magical time when dreams come true, the main thing is to believe in a miracle. This holiday has its own history, signs and traditions. We will tell you how it is celebrated.

What holiday is it

Every year on January 7, all Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas. Christmastide begins the day before and lasts until Epiphany, the day on which the ritual of blessing the water is held. For 12 days, people are guessing, performing various rituals.

The history of the appearance of the holiday goes back to the 5th century. The celebration began on Christmas Eve and lasted for two weeks. The tradition of festivities came to us from Greek Christians who lived in Russia. But to a greater extent these were pagan rituals, among which the most famous were mummers, fortune-telling, which have survived to this day.

The priests did not support such behavior, and in order to get rid of sins, it was decided to swim in an ice-hole cut in a pond in the shape of a cross.

In 451, at the Fourth Ecumenical Council, it was decided to allocate 12 days for Christmastide: the beginning - before Christmas, the end - on the eve of Epiphany. According to the adopted Charter, on these days it was forbidden to perform weddings, sing songs, and arrange dances in the streets. But many violated the established prohibitions and followed pagan customs.

In a number of regions of Russia, the celebration still lasts for several days after Epiphany.

Celebration traditions

Christmas days are a time rich in their own traditions. These days there is a transfer of knowledge from the older generation to the young.

The main Christmas traditions include:

1. Dressing up. Young people dressed up in unusual costumes (most often gypsies, ladies, Baba Yagas, beggars), put on masks, and then started dancing and having fun. The mummers also went home and caroling, wishing everyone happiness and prosperity.
2. Fortune-telling is an opportunity to see the future. This tradition was a popular pastime among young people. All fortune telling has come to us since pagan times.
3. Christmas time is usually divided into two parts: the "holy" and "terrible" week. It was a time of transition from the old year to the new one. It is believed that during the 12 days of the celebration, the spirits of the departed visit the earth. In some regions, it was believed that on Christmastide days, the gates of hell were opened, and demons descended to earth to celebrate Christmas.

Compliance with traditions is an important moment in the celebration of Christmastide. The most popular among them:

• on the first day of Christmas and at Christmas, it is customary to wear only new clothes;
• women should not work, and men should not go hunting and fishing;
• on Christmas night it is forbidden to guess, but you can do it on the rest of the Christmas days, and every evening. People believed: everything that they guessed will definitely come true;
• you can not use foul language, especially at the table;
• at Christmas every house is open to guests.

Rituals

Christmas time is also rich in ceremonies. On the eve of the twelve-day period, ceremonial meals were held in each house. After dinner, food was left on the table. It was believed that deceased relatives come at night and have supper.

Rituals, that is, certain actions, rituals adopted during the celebration of Christmastide, have survived to this day. Here are a few of them:

• glorification of Christ - young people participated in it, in rare cases adults. During the ceremony, they tried to recreate the arrival of the Magi. The peasants went from house to house with a Christmas star and sang songs, congratulating their fellow villagers on the Bright holiday. For this, the owners gave money or treats;
• on Christmastide days, people go to church, hold services, receive communion. It is customary to visit hospitals, orphanages, make charitable contributions;
• caroling - the mummers visited houses, starting their rounds from the edge of the village. They stopped near the first house and asked the owners if they could call a carriage. After permission was obtained, the carolers began to sing a song and ask for food. Most often, the owners of the house provided eggs, tea, sugar, beer and money. In response, the carolers sang a song, wishing the owners well-being. After visiting all the houses in the village, the young people went to the ransomed hut. Products received during caroling were put on a common table, gifts were shared;
• fortune-telling - could be done any day. But the most truthful was fortune-telling on the night of the old New Year (January 14), on Epiphany and Christmas Eve. The girls wondered using wax, tin, melted them and looked at the resulting shape. These days, it was customary to wonder if the girl would get married in the coming year.

On the third day after Christmas, the adults started to work, and the youth celebrated Christmastide for 12 days.

Signs on Christmastide

Our ancestors also treated signs with great responsibility during this twelve-day holiday period. Here are a few of them:

• tea was poured at the Christmas table - it means great success awaits;
• during the period from January 7 to January 19, you need to observe nature. If the sky is clear, starry, it is snowing, the year will be rich in harvest. There is a lot of frost on the trees - the year will be rich and satisfying;
• if on Christmas day there is a young month in the sky, then the year will be unsuccessful financially;
• to find a gold thing - to wealth;
• if on the night of Christmas a person loses any personal thing, then, most likely, next year he will face losses;
• during this period, you cannot hunt, as trouble may happen;
• you can not sweep the litter out of the hut. It needs to be collected on a scoop and burned, then the year will be successful and prosperous.

In Russia, especially in rural areas, they remember what Christmas is, they know how to celebrate it, they honor traditions and rituals. The history of the twelve-day holiday period and the traditions associated with it are passed down from generation to generation.

Summarize

1. Christmastide lasts 12 days from 6 to 18 January.
2. These days it is customary to carol, guess and glorify Christ.
3. On Christmastide it is customary to visit, give gifts, have fun.
4. The customs and traditions of celebrating Christmastide have survived to this day, which need to be preserved for the future generation.