Names

Why is Christmas celebrated on different days? Orthodox and Catholic Christmas - what's the difference? What is Advent

One of the warmest, brightest and most beloved holidays, by right, is considered Christmas, which, as it happened, was divided into two branches - catholic and orthodox. In this case, I am not talking about other confessions, but only about Christianity.

At Christmas, such wafers are broken off piece by piece and eaten both before the festive meal and during congratulations to each other on the holiday. Moreover, it is necessary to break off a piece from the host from another person, which symbolizes unity, mutual forgiveness and love for one's neighbor.

On Christmas Eve, the day before Christmas, after the evening service, the family gathers at the table, on which there should be at least 12 Lenten dishes. On Christmas itself, 12 dishes are also served on the table, but already, far from lean. The type of meat served for dinner varies depending on the traditions of a particular country.

There are differences in the service itself. So, in Orthodoxy, one night Christmas service is held, in which Great Compline, Matins and Liturgy are combined. And Catholics serve three Christmas masses separately - at night, in the morning and in the afternoon. This symbolizes the birth of the Savior in the bosom of the Father, in the womb of the Virgin and in the soul of every person.

But back to the holiday table.

First of all, it must be said that in many families there is still a tradition put some hay or straw under the tablecloth, which symbolizes the memory of the manger in which Jesus Christ was born.

The same life-sized nurseries are being built on the streets of the city in the most visited places by local residents and guests of the city. Figures of Christ, the Virgin, Joseph are also placed there. Feeders for animals and other utensils, which recreates the atmosphere of the nativity scene.

I will not speak for other countries, I will say what is customary to put on the Christmas table in Latvia.

Christmas table menu in Latvia

First of all, this carp, which is considered a symbol of happiness and prosperity. Its dried scales are put into purses and pockets so that the new year will bring a lot of money.

A popular dish is boiled pork head with boiled pearl barley. You can just bake a piglet:

You can, of course, replace the pork head with a fried piece of pork served with stewed cabbage.

At Christmas it is also customary to serve boiled gray peas with pieces of fried meat and fatty bacon, which is washed down with yogurt or kefir. I recently posted this recipe on my food blog. Bread and salt». It was called - "Gray peas with bacon in a potato basket".

Moreover, all the peas cooked for Christmas should be eaten by morning, otherwise many tears will be shed in the new year.

It is considered a special Christmas dish. Sausage, of course, is not for everyone, its composition can already be judged by one name.

Piparkukas - an indispensable dish on the Christmas table in Latvia . This is a specific cookie, the name of which translates as peppered cookies. . But this does not mean at all that it is some kind of spicy or bitter, the name of the liver is given because of the content in it of a certain amount of pepper, ginger and other spices that give the baking a piquant taste:

Well, one more, no less important difference is connected with gifts. It is customary for Catholics to distribute gifts Santa Claus (Salavecis- in the Latvian interpretation) and precisely on Christmas night. I won’t talk about the gifts themselves, it really depends on the economic situation of the country where the good old wizard lives.

But, as an option, you can buy a gps-navigator yourself - after all, men are also children, only big ones!

In Russia, we all know very well that Santa Claus is on this distribution and he comes to the children on New Year's Eve.

Those are the differences. I’m afraid that I didn’t remember everything, but I’m also afraid that you will read this article “diagonally” (and I would not like that at all), because. it turned out to be very big. If anyone has something to add, I will be happy to talk with you on this topic.

And I would like to end my post with simple words:

Merry Christmas, Christians!

Peace to you, goodness and earthly happiness!

That's all for now!

Catholics and Protestants living according to the Gregorian calendar, as well as local Orthodox churches of the world that adhere toNew Julian calendar, meet on the night of December 24-25, the feast of the Nativity of Christ.

Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays, established in honor of the birth of the baby Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Christmas is celebrated in many countries around the world, only the dates and calendar styles (Julian and Gregorian) differ.

The Roman Church established December 25 as a date for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ after the victory of Constantine the Great (c. 320 or 353). Already from the end of the IV century. the whole Christian world celebrated Christmas on this very day (with the exception of the Eastern churches, where this holiday was celebrated on January 6).

And in our time, Orthodox Christmas "lags behind" the Catholic one by 13 days; Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25th, while Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

This happened due to a confusion of calendars. Julian calendar introduced in 46 BC emperor Julius Caesar, adding one more day in February, was much more convenient than the old Roman one, but still turned out to be not clear enough - the "extra" time continued to accumulate. For every 128 years, one unaccounted day ran. This led to the fact that in the 16th century one of the most important Christian holidays - Easter - began to "come" much earlier than the due date. Therefore, Pope Gregory XIII undertook another reform, replacing the Julian style with the Gregorian one. The purpose of the reform was to correct the growing difference between the astronomical year and the calendar year.

So in 1582 in Europe, a new Gregorian calendar appeared, while in Russia they continued to use the Julian.

In Russia, the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1918 However, the church did not approve of this decision.

In 1923 On the initiative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a meeting of the Orthodox Churches was held, at which a decision was made to correct the Julian calendar. The Russian Orthodox Church, due to historical circumstances, was unable to take part in it. Having learned about the conference in Constantinople, Patriarch Tikhon nevertheless issued a decree on the transition to the "New Julian" calendar. But this caused protests in the church people and the decision was canceled less than a month later.

Together with the Russian Orthodox Church, on the night of January 6-7, the feast of the Nativity of Christ is celebrated by the Georgian, Jerusalem and Serbian Orthodox Churches, Athos monasteries living according to the old, Julian calendar, as well as many Catholics of the Eastern rite (in particular, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) and part of Russian Protestants.

All the other 11 Local Orthodox Churches of the world celebrate Christmas, like Catholics, on the night of December 24-25, since they do not use the "Catholic" Gregorian calendar, but the so-called "New Julian", which so far coincides with the Gregorian. The discrepancy between these calendars in one day will accumulate by the year 2800 (the discrepancy between the Julian calendar and the astronomical year in one day accumulates over 128 years, the Gregorian - over 3 thousand 333 years, and the "New Julian" - over 40 thousand years).

Christmas is the brightest holiday for believing Christians. In the 11th century, it was divided into two parts: Orthodox and Catholic. Each of the churches celebrates Christmas Eve on different days: Orthodox - on the night of January 6-7, Catholics - on the night of December 24-25. What other differences exist between Orthodox and Catholic Christmas?

1. Catholic and Orthodox Christmas are celebrated in different ways: the first from December 24 to 25, the second - from January 6 to 7. This shift in dates was due to the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

2. There is no fasting among Catholics, as such. There is the so-called Advent - the time of waiting for the holiday. Zealous Catholics during the month before Christmas try to devote more time to prayers and attending church, communicating with their families. And some even limit themselves in food - do not eat meat.

For the Orthodox, the Nativity Fast is the last multi-day fast of the year, lasts for forty days, and therefore is called the Forty Days in the Church Charter, just like Great Lent. Since the conspiracy for fasting falls on the day of remembrance of St. Apostle Philip (November 14 old style), then this post is called Filippov.

You can not eat meat, eggs, dairy products. On weekends you can fish.

3. A goose with apples is considered a traditional Orthodox Christmas dish by the Orthodox. At the same time, Catholics have a lot of different dishes (although some have goose on the menu), which they prepare for Christmas. For different countries are different. And in Portugal they are different even for different regions.

4. At Christmas, Catholics give gifts to everyone. We give them for the New Year, and even their tree is called "Christmas" - "Christmas tree", and not "New Year's", as we say.

The protagonist of Catholic Christmas is, as a rule, not a newborn Savior, but Santa Claus. It is from Santa that children, hanging beautiful socks over the fireplace, are waiting for gifts. All Christmas miracles are connected with the actions of a funny fat man who laughs funny and loves to play pranks. By the way, not all Catholic priests support this almost pagan cult.

For Orthodox Christians, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. This is a purely spiritual, church holiday.

5. In the Orthodox Church tradition there is one nightly Christmas service, in which Great Compline, Matins and Liturgy are combined. And in the Catholic Church, three Christmas masses are served separately - at night, in the morning and in the afternoon. This symbolizes the birth of the Savior in the bosom of the Father, in the womb of the Virgin and in the soul of every person.

6. Catholics have one important concept that surprisingly accurately characterizes the mood that embraces people on the days before Christmas - Christmas Spirit (literally, "the spirit of Christmas"). This is the time when everyone believes in miracles, when bad people suddenly become kind and affectionate, when you feel like in a fairy tale. This is a time of peace, joy and love.

Orthodox Christmas is 13 days behind the Catholic one. This happened due to the confusion of calendars: in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new, "Gregorian" calendar, which was defined as "new style". The old Julian calendar became known as the old style. The difference between the new and the old style increases by 1 day every hundred years and in the 20th century. is 13 days.

While the new Gregorian calendar appeared in Europe, the Julian calendar continued to be used in Russia. When in 1918 the government introduced the Gregorian calendar in the Soviet Union, the church did not approve of this decision.

In 1923, at the initiative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a meeting of the Orthodox Churches was held, at which a decision was made to correct the Julian calendar - thus, the "New Julian" calendar appeared.

The Russian Orthodox Church, due to historical circumstances, was unable to take part in it. Upon learning of the conference in Constantinople, the Patriarch…

Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays, established in honor of the birth of the baby Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. But why is the same event celebrated on different days? ... Although Russian and Catholic Christmas are happy to celebrate "ours" as well. I asked my relatives, friends - what's the difference? And it turned out - that few people know =)
But in fact, the holiday is the same, and the discrepancy in date and style ((Julian and Gregorian).

And in our time, Orthodox Christmas "lags behind" the Catholic one by 13 days; Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25th, while Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

This happened due to a confusion of calendars. The Julian calendar, introduced in 46 BC….

Catholics and Protestants living according to the Gregorian calendar, as well as local Orthodox churches of the world adhering to the New Julian calendar, celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Christ on the night of December 24-25.

The Roman Church established December 25 as the date for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ after the victory of Constantine the Great (c. 320 or 353). Already from the end of the IV century. the whole Christian world celebrated Christmas on this very day (with the exception of the Eastern churches, where this holiday was celebrated on January 6).

And nowadays...

And in our time, Orthodox Christmas "lags behind" the Catholic one by 13 days; Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25th, while Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

This happened due to a confusion of calendars. The Julian calendar introduced in...

Why don't the dates of Christmas coincide?

Christmas is a great holiday established to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays and a public holiday in more than 100 countries around the world.

The first information about the celebration of Christmas by Christians dates back to the 4th century. The question of the real date of the birth of Jesus Christ is controversial and ambiguously resolved among church authors.

According to one of the modern hypotheses, the choice of the date of Christmas occurred due to the simultaneous celebration by early Christians of the Incarnation (the conception of Christ) and Easter. Accordingly, as a result of adding nine months to this date (March 25), Christmas fell on the day of the winter solstice.

Orthodox Christians in Russia celebrate Christmas on January 7, while the date of Catholic Christmas is December 25. Why do holiday dates differ by 13 days? This happened due to the adoption of different calendars: in 1582, the pope ...

Mood song:

As you know, in Catholic countries Christmas is celebrated on December 25, and in (most) Orthodox countries on January 7. This is due to the fact that Orthodox churches have not yet switched to the Gregorian calendar, according to which the whole world lives. Orthodox still live according to the Julian.

In the Julian calendar, leap years are all years that are multiples of 4 (average length of a year = 365.25 days). In the Gregorian year, multiples of 100, but not multiples of 400, are not leap years (average length of a year = 365.2425 days).

Different countries switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian in different ways, the Swedes even somehow happened on February 30 because of the forgetfulness of the authorities. Wikipedia has a lot of fun facts about the transition, read it.

Here are a couple of quotes from there:

In many churches, according to the creators, on the day of the vernal equinox, the Sun should fall into a certain place, for example, in St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome - this is a mosaic.
…

05.03.2015

In fact, the feast of the Nativity of Christ is celebrated by both Orthodox and Catholics on December 25, the difference is only in the style of the calendar - new or old. Orthodox continue to traditionally use the chronology, adopted back in the period when Jesus was born, in determining church holidays. This calendar was adopted on January 1, 45 BC. Julius Caesar, and for this reason is called Julian. The Roman Catholic Church introduced many changes into Christian doctrine, which created differences and even contradictions in religious rites with the Orthodox (orthodox) branch of Christianity.

So, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII, having succumbed to the conviction of "scientists", mainly Jesuits, that the Julian calendar, approved as appropriate for execution by the Council of Nicaea in 325, was "outdated" by several minutes, or rather by 11 minutes and a few seconds, and by the middle of the 16th century, a difference of 10 days “formed”. Dad gave instructions to correct the calendar, and people ...

Christmas is one of the main spiritual Orthodox holidays, which is celebrated on December 25 by Catholics and on January 7 by Orthodox.

Both religions celebrate Christmas Eve - the evening before Christmas night (Jesus was born at night - hence another legend about the Star of Bethlehem.) The name in Russian comes from the word sochivo - wheat grains moistened with berry juice or honey. The feast of Christmas itself is the date of breaking the fast - liberation from fasting and indulgence in gluttony.

What is the difference between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas?

the date

The discrepancy between the celebration of the Nativity of Christ by the Western and Eastern churches is explained by the different systems of chronology adopted by them. After the new Gregorian calendar was compiled in the West, Catholics and Protestants began to celebrate Christmas two weeks earlier than the Orthodox. We draw the attention of readers to the fact that the date is actually the same, and the difference is in the calendar.

The Catholics...

Catholics invented and adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582. Pope Gregory XIII did it. There was a reform plan before him, but before him they did not dare.

This was done in order to ensure that the astronomical days of the vernal equinox corresponded to the calendar ones. And they gradually diverged, since the length of the year in the Julian calendar did not exactly correspond to the real length of the year (in the Gregorian, the inaccuracy is much less).

The date of the spring equinox is the defining date for the celebration of Easter.

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon, which occurs no earlier than the spring equinox. This is due to the sequence of gospel events.

This is where the problems begin.

The fact is that initially each local church and even individual communities themselves determined the specific date for celebrating Easter. Why is that?

Pay attention to the word full moon in the verbal formula of Paschalia. Jews, like others...

Why do Catholics and Orthodox celebrate Christmas on different days?

the unknown about the known

Catholics and Protestants living according to the Gregorian calendar, as well as local Orthodox churches of the world adhering to the New Julian calendar, celebrated the feast of the Nativity of Christ on the night of December 24-25. Orthodox, as you know, will celebrate it from 6 to 7 January.

Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays, established in honor of the birth of the baby Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Christmas is celebrated in many countries of the world, only the dates and calendar styles (Julian and Gregorian) differ.

The Roman Church established December 25 as the date for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ after the victory of Constantine the Great (c. 320 or 353). Already from the end

4th century the whole Christian world celebrated Christmas on this very day (with the exception of the Eastern churches, where this holiday was celebrated on January 6).

And nowadays...

Let's start with the fact that the differences are in the details, and the similarities are in the essence of this great and bright holiday. The Savior has appeared to the world! It doesn't matter what year or what day. The entire Christian world - Orthodox and Catholic - glorifies this event, rejoices in it and becomes, albeit for a while, kinder and more merciful.

When and where did Christmas start?

There are several versions of when exactly Jesus Christ was born. There is a theory that it was not even in winter, but at the end of spring - May 20th. The culprit for the emergence of this theory, so unusual for the philistine understanding, is Clement of Alexandria. According to his very ancient writings, the baby Jesus was born on May 20, according to the current calendar style.

Fact: The birth date of the miraculous baby fluctuates between 12 BC and 12 BC. e. and 7 AD

Historians unanimously agree on one fact: Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in a manger, that is, in a barn in which livestock is kept. The baby's mother is Maria. And the father -…

Can an Orthodox Christian Celebrate Catholic Christmas?

How does an Orthodox person relate to Catholic Christmas? Can it be celebrated?

Everyone has the same Christmas. But Catholics celebrate it according to the Gregorian calendar, and we, the Orthodox, according to the Julian. On December 25, the Orthodox still have a Christmas fast.

Do not celebrate Christmas on December 25 on purpose, when there is no special reason for it. But, for example, if there are Catholics in your family, why not rejoice with them on the Savior's birthday. Or if you find yourself in a Catholic country: there is no need to shy away from general rejoicing, because people glorify Christ. But there is no need to abandon your tradition in favor of the Catholic one - we have January 7 to celebrate the Nativity of Christ together with almost the entire Orthodox world.

It is important to determine: what, in fact, is Christmas for us? It's not just rollercoaster rides and gifts under the tree. This is primarily worship and Communion as ...

Christmas is celebrated on December 25 not only by Catholics, but also by Orthodox Christians in a number of countries around the world, Lutherans and other Protestant denominations. The Russian Orthodox Church and a number of other churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th. IA "Amitel" found out why this happened. The fact is that Catholics and Orthodox, celebrating Christmas, use different calendars of the chronology. Catholics - Gregorian, Orthodox - Julian. However, any calendar is imperfect. The discrepancy between astronomical time and calendar time has always been a "stumbling block".

The Catholic Church carried out a reform with the restoration of the date of the spring equinox - March 21. The author of the project was an Italian physician, mathematician and astronomer Alogius Lilio, but the introduced calendar is called Gregorian, after the name of Pope Gregory XIII, who carried out this reform.

The Pope threw out 10 days from the year (from October 4 to October 14), and also introduced a rule according to which in the future out of every 400 years from the calendar of the calendar for ...

Christmas is one of the main holidays of Christianity.
But different countries celebrate it in different ways. Why and how is Catholic Christmas different from Orthodox?

In fact, there is only one Christmas, and it is celebrated at the same time - December 25th. But according to different calendars...
When since Soviet times we were told about Catholic and Orthodox Christmas, in our head it was mixed with the mention of the Old and New styles. Especially no one delved into this, and Christmas as a public holiday was never celebrated in the memory of the modern generation, like, for example, New Year.
It was a full day's work.

Yes, there were divine services in the church, drinking with a candle, but it was somehow all frivolous and superficial.
At the same time, in Western films, we saw the importance attached to Christmas as a holiday. The holiday is not so much religious as family.
We laughed at their comedies and didn't quite understand why they celebrate it...

What is the "correct" date for Christmas?

December 25 is called “Catholic Christmas” in Russia, which is not entirely true - after all, on the same day, all the Local Orthodox Churches that switched to the New Julian calendar and numerous Protestants celebrate Christmas. Perhaps it is time for the Russian Church to switch to a new style and celebrate Christmas together with the entire Western world?

Despite the fact that the Roman Catholic Church and a number of Local Orthodox Churches - Constantinople, Hellas, Cyprus and others - celebrate Christmas on the same day, December 25, Catholics and Orthodox live according to different calendars. The Roman Catholic Church and various Protestant denominations follow the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII on October 4, 1582 to replace the old Julian one: the day after Thursday, October 4 became Friday, October 15. Orthodox Local Churches, with the exception of the Russian, Serbian, Georgian, Jerusalem and Holy ...

Christmas is, without a doubt, one of the main spiritual holidays, regardless of religion. But still there is Catholic and Orthodox Christmas. If we know for sure that the dates of these holidays are different, then everything else is a little more complicated. Therefore, we decided to tell you the difference between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas.

Difference between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas

the date

The difference in the dates of Christmas between Catholics and Orthodox is explained quite simply. Western and Eastern churches adopted different systems of reckoning. After the new Gregorian calendar was compiled in the West, Catholics and Protestants began to celebrate Christmas two weeks earlier than the Orthodox. But it is believed that the date of Christmas is the same for everyone, the difference is only in the calendar.

worship

Here the differences between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas are more significant. In Orthodoxy, one divine service is accepted, in which Great Compline, Matins and Liturgy are combined. But Catholics on Christmas have three festive masses: at night, in the morning and in the afternoon.

The meaning of the holiday

Orthodox Christmas is, of course, one of the most important religious holidays of the year. But, it is rather a spiritual holiday, which is preceded by a very strict fast. And also, in Orthodoxy, Easter is considered more important than Christmas itself.

Catholic Christmas is rather not a spiritual, but a family holiday, when it is customary to sit solemnly at the table. Fasting before this is not as strict as in Orthodoxy, and Easter is no more important. Roughly speaking, it is more important for Orthodox people that Jesus was resurrected, and for Catholics that he was born.

The main character of the holiday

Of course, we all know that in Orthodoxy they honor Jesus Christ, who was born on this day. But the Catholics are a little more interesting. The main characters of their Christmas are St. Nicholas and Santa Claus, who give gifts to children. By the way, it is believed that Santa enters the house through the chimney and leaves presents in socks by the fireplace. Some Catholics consider these traditions to be pagan, so they are not treated very well.