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In 2020, traditionally, Christmas time will be celebrated from Christmas until Baptism. If you look at it, it’s not even a holiday, but a few days between the great Christian holidays, in which people glorify the birth of Jesus Christ, hold old rites and honor old traditions. Although this was not always the case, but first things first.
When will be celebrated
The dates of some holidays vary from year to year, but this does not apply to Christmas time. Their date is fixed, and therefore unchanged. It is possible to calculate independently what number will be Christmas time or Kudesa. It is enough to know the date of Christmas and Baptism. They begin to celebrate Christmas time on Christmas Eve - Christmas Eve (January 6 after the rising of the first star) and continue 12 days until the late evening of January 18 (Christmas Eve).
Important! In 2020, the date of Svyatkov does not change. People will have fun and walk from January 6 to 18.
It is worth noting that now traditions are not honored as they were in the old days, especially in big cities. Nowadays, celebrations are held only on certain days - at Christmas, on Generous Evening and Vasily (January 13 and 14). Although for believers this is a special period with certain customs and restrictions.
History of occurrence
Christmas time has a long history and pagan roots. The first mention of folk festivals in winter with changing clothes and fortune-telling dates back to the IV century. It is believed that our ancestors held a feast for several days in honor of one of the sky gods. They held various ceremonies so that the harvest in the coming year was rich. It was believed that evil spirits walked around during this period, and therefore people dressed up with costumes, walked the streets, shouted, sang songs loudly and laughed to scare away evil spirits.
After the baptism of Rus, it was a difficult task to eradicate the tradition of festivities. It was decided to “modernize” the holiday for Christianity. In this regard, at the Christmas time, they began to glorify the birth of God's Son. Since 12 days people had fun from the heart, did not limit themselves to food and other earthly pleasures, the celebration period ended with Baptism. It was believed that water helped to cleanse the body and soul, to recognize sins and repent of them. In general, Christmas time after the adoption of Christianity has changed significantly, although now in some traditions pagan roots are visible.
Customs and traditions
At Christmas time in churches and churches, services are held, in which they glorify Jesus Christ, rejoice at His birth. Every believer must attend at least one service throughout the period. Be sure to remember the dead relatives during the holidays. In churches they light candles for the repose of the soul, order a requiem.
Christmas time is celebrated on a grand scale in the early days. It is believed that tables in this period should be rich and generous, so that the whole year will be successful. On Christmas Eve, when Kudes begins, the housewives prepare the Lenten dishes, since there is still a Christmas Lent. Be sure to serve kutia (cereal porridge with dried fruits and honey), pancakes, cakes and other pastries, as well as kissel and Uzvar.
For Christmas and Generous evening, women prepare a variety of dishes from meat, fish and vegetables. According to a long tradition, if the family lost relatives in the past year, additional cutlery is put on the table. At Christmas time, the souls of the dead descend to earth, so they need to provide a warm welcome.
Important! In the Holy days, you should abandon the hard work, which can be transferred to later.This does not apply to cooking, cleaning and other household chores. You’ll have to go to work, too, because after Christmas the official weekend ends.
Believers must give alms to the needy. If there are poor people among acquaintances, they are sure to bring treats and help in other ways to arrange a real holiday for them.
Carols
The tradition of caroling appeared in Russia. Adults and children dressed in costumes of fairy-tale heroes, animals, goblin and other evil spirits, walked from house to house and sang carols. It is believed that the rite was dedicated to the glorification of the god Kolyada. After the adoption of Christianity, carols began to sing songs about the birth of Jesus Christ, and sometimes even staged small theatrical performances. Groups of people began to wear a star that symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem, and also put on angel costumes. The mummers are necessarily given treats - sweets and other sweets, as well as money.
Fortunetelling
Christmas time is a special period in which the future can be predicted. Previously, girls always wondered between Christmas and Baptism in order to find out about her betrothed, his character, hair and eye color. In ancient times, unmarried beauties often gathered in the same house and performed various rites. Fortune-telling on Christmas time is possible on hair, wax, grain, ringlet and in other ways. Fortune telling was necessarily accompanied by songs, jokes and fun.
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