The Nativity of Jesus Christ is one of the main Christian holidays, which is celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants. Only dates differ (December 25, January 7) and calendar styles (Julian and Gregorian).
On the night of December 25, Protestants celebrate Christmas together with Catholics - Lutherans, Anglicans, part of the Methodists, Baptists and Pentecostals, as well as 11 of the 15 local Orthodox churches in the world that use the New Julian calendar, which so far (until 2800) coincides with the Gregorian.
Each country and each denomination has its own characteristics in the celebration of Christmas. Protestants have them too. Protestantism, along with Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, is one of the three main directions of Christianity. But unlike others, the Protestants decided to live in the manner of the early Christians, rejecting almost everything that had been established by the Church over many centuries. Believing in Christ, Protestants reject church traditions, rituals and some dogmas.
In Protestantism, the fundamental difference between the priest and the laity has been removed, and the church hierarchy has been abolished. Worship in Protestantism is simplified as much as possible and reduced to preaching, prayer and singing psalms and hymns in the native language. A clergyman is deprived of the right to confess and forgive sins, he is accountable to the Protestant community. Many sacraments have been abolished, there is no celibacy. Prayer for the dead, worship of saints and feasts in honor of saints, veneration of relics and icons have been rejected. Prayer houses have been freed from altars, icons, statues, and bells. There are no monasteries and monasticism. The Bible is recognized as the only source of dogma, and sacred tradition is rejected.
The number of different Protestant denominations is in the tens of thousands. Their exact number is almost impossible to calculate. Some Protestant associations are called differently in different parts of the world. So, in German-speaking countries, the word "Protestants" is still understood only as Lutherans, in contrast to the Calvinists, who are called the "Reformed Church".
Christmas among Protestants is one of the so-called twelfth holidays. Moreover, it was the Protestants who shaped its modern look. For example, the custom of decorating the Christmas tree was invented by Protestants. Once it was crowned with a figure of Christ, then with an angel or the Star of Bethlehem.
There is a legend that Martin Luther himself was the first to come up with the idea of lighting candles on a Christmas tree.
Burning candles are a symbol of light, stars that shone in the sky at the hour of the birth of Christ. Among the Christmas traditions is the Christmas wreath, which, as a rule, is woven from pine, spruce, fir branches and decorated with candles, ribbons, and wooden figurines. It is hung above the door, on the wall or placed on the Christmas table. Often, four candles are inserted into the Christmas wreath - according to the number of weeks of Advent (Christmas fast) immediately preceding Christmas. Every Sunday, one of these candles is lit at worship.
Luther is also credited with the invention of Christkind (analogous to Santa Claus), who distributes gifts to children on Christmas Day on December 25th. He wanted to keep the custom of giving gifts to children, but since the Protestants did not recognize Catholic saints, Luther replaced Nikolaus with Christkind.
Just like Catholics, Protestants, in particular Lutherans, set up a manger for Christmas and play out the scene of the Savior's Birth. It is believed that in this way Bethlehem, as it were, enters houses and churches, becomes closer and more understandable.
A Christmas service is held in Protestant churches. After the traditional solemn hymns, the pastor's festive sermon sounds.
On Christmas Day, Protestants greet people with the words “Christ is born!”, receiving in response: “Praise Him!”. They try to celebrate Christmas at home, at the festive table.
Protestants, including Anglicans, do not fast and eat poultry dishes at Christmas - turkey, duck, goose. Seventh-day Adventists (Sabbath-keeping Protestants) are mostly vegetarian and do not consume pork, alcohol, coffee or tea.
French Catholics and Protestants, forgetting about scholastic disputes, on the night of December 25, feast on oysters and traditional goose liver.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
Catholic Christmas falls on December 25 every year. The traditions and customs of this holiday are carefully observed by Catholics and Protestants.
Already on December 25, the Catholic Church and believers will celebrate Christmas. This great holiday is dedicated to important events that took place more than two thousand years ago. Everyone remembers the story of the Virgin Mary, whom the Lord God chose as the Mother of his Son. The miraculous birth of the Divine Infant has become not just an important, but a central date in the religious world.
Why do Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25th?
If earlier the Christian Church was united, then since 1054 it was divided into Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. Since ancient times, Catholics and Protestants began to count days according to the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox Church continued to honor traditions and used the Julian calendar, so to this day Russia celebrates Christmas on January 7th.
Now it is difficult to say which of the two systems of calculus is the most accurate. The Orthodox Church does not speak out on this matter. Catholics also do not give an answer to this question, but simply continue to celebrate Christmas, as is customary in the Catholic Church, on December 25th.
Catholic Christmas Traditions
Advent is an important period of preparation for Christmas. 4 weeks before the holiday, Catholics observe fasting, do good deeds and attend church every day. If the children at this time obey the elders and help them, then they receive paper hearts or straw, which they subsequently hang on the Christmas tree.
Now it is difficult to imagine the house of a Catholic without a nativity scene, which depicts the moment of the birth of Jesus Christ. Previously, such figurines could only be seen in the church, but now people make them from wood or wax and install them in their homes. Nativity scenes are necessarily decorated with outfits, greenery and give them color to make them look more natural and festive.
Catholics begin to celebrate Christmas on the evening of December 24th. First they go to church, attend services and say prayers. Upon returning home, families begin to decorate the Christmas tree, set up a nativity scene, and prepare a festive dinner. It is customary to celebrate the holiday with the family, so most often on the night of December 24-25, the streets are empty.
On Christmas Eve, that is, December 24, it is forbidden to eat until the first star, which believers call Bethlehem. After that, unleavened bread, fish, kissels and homemade cakes are served on the table. The meal is necessarily accompanied by numerous congratulations and wishes.
Catholics always leave one seat at the table free. Thus, they show that they are ready to accept and feed any intruder. There is an opinion that this place is considered to be a reminder of deceased relatives.
After the end of the Christmas mass, people begin to exchange gifts and start celebrating. It usually starts after midnight on December 25th and lasts until January 1st. During this period, you can visit Christmas markets on the streets, as well as witness performances and skits based on biblical stories.
The most common dish on the Christmas table is the turkey, and almost all Catholics in the world cook it. However, in some countries this is considered a bad omen, as happiness can fly out the window. Therefore, instead of poultry, they cook fish, pork or any other meat.
On Christmas night, there should be a lot of dishes on the table, but overeating is highly discouraged. After dinner, the family can get busy opening presents, chanting, or walking around the city at night, decorated in Christmas style.
Already on December 25, Catholics and Protestants will celebrate Christmas. In Russia, initially actively preparing for the New Year. Despite the fact that this holiday has no religious significance, traditions and important prohibitions are also associated with it. The site site team wishes you happiness and success in 2018, and don't forget to press the buttons and
24.12.2017 05:43
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Each country and each denomination has its own characteristics in the celebration of Christmas. Protestants have them too. Protestantism, along with Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, is one of the three main areas of Christianity. But unlike….
The Nativity of Jesus Christ is one of the main Christian holidays, which is celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants. Only dates differ (December 25, January 7) and calendar styles (Julian and Gregorian).
On the night of December 25, Protestants celebrate Christmas together with Catholics - Lutherans, Anglicans, part of the Methodists, Baptists and Pentecostals, as well as 11 of the 15 local Orthodox churches in the world that use the New Julian calendar, which so far (until 2800) coincides with the Gregorian.
Each country and each denomination has its own characteristics in the celebration of Christmas. Protestants have them too. Protestantism, along with Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, is one of the three main directions of Christianity. But unlike others, the Protestants decided to live in the manner of the early Christians, rejecting almost everything that had been established by the Church over many centuries. Believing in Christ, Protestants reject church traditions, rituals and some dogmas.
In Protestantism, the fundamental difference between the priest and the laity has been removed, and the church hierarchy has been abolished. Worship in Protestantism is simplified as much as possible and reduced to preaching, prayer and singing psalms and hymns in the native language. A clergyman is deprived of the right to confess and forgive sins, he is accountable to the Protestant community. Many sacraments have been abolished, there is no celibacy. Prayer for the dead, worship of saints and feasts in honor of saints, veneration of relics and icons have been rejected. Prayer houses have been freed from altars, icons, statues, and bells. There are no monasteries and monasticism. The Bible is recognized as the only source of dogma, and sacred tradition is rejected.
The number of different Protestant denominations is in the tens of thousands. Their exact number is almost impossible to calculate. Some Protestant associations are called differently in different parts of the world. So, in German-speaking countries, the word "Protestants" is still understood only as Lutherans, in contrast to the Calvinists, who are called the "Reformed Church".
Christmas among Protestants is one of the so-called twelfth holidays. Moreover, it was the Protestants who shaped its modern look. For example, the custom of decorating the Christmas tree was invented by Protestants. Once it was crowned with a figure of Christ, then with an angel or the Star of Bethlehem.
There is a legend that Martin Luther himself was the first to come up with the idea of lighting candles on a Christmas tree.
Burning candles are a symbol of light, stars that shone in the sky at the hour of the birth of Christ. Among the Christmas traditions is the Christmas wreath, which, as a rule, is woven from pine, spruce, fir branches and decorated with candles, ribbons, and wooden figurines. It is hung above the door, on the wall or placed on the Christmas table. Often, four candles are inserted into the Christmas wreath - according to the number of weeks of Advent (Christmas fast) immediately preceding Christmas. Every Sunday, one of these candles is lit at worship.
Luther is also credited with the invention of Christkind (analogous to Santa Claus), who distributes gifts to children on Christmas Day on December 25th. He wanted to keep the custom of giving gifts to children, but since the Protestants did not recognize Catholic saints, Luther replaced Nikolaus with Christkind.
Just like Catholics, Protestants, in particular Lutherans, set up a manger for Christmas and play out the scene of the Savior's Birth. It is believed that in this way Bethlehem, as it were, enters houses and churches, becomes closer and more understandable.
A Christmas service is held in Protestant churches. After the traditional solemn hymns, the pastor's festive sermon sounds.
On Christmas Day, Protestants greet people with the words “Christ is born!”, receiving in response: “Praise Him!”. They try to celebrate Christmas at home, at the festive table.
Protestants, including Anglicans, do not fast and eat poultry dishes at Christmas - turkey, duck, goose. Seventh-day Adventists (Sabbath-keeping Protestants) are mostly vegetarian and do not consume pork, alcohol, coffee or tea.
French Catholics and Protestants, forgetting about scholastic disputes, on the night of December 25, feast on oysters and traditional goose liver.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
MOSCOW, December 25 - RIA Novosti. The Nativity of Jesus Christ is one of the main Christian holidays, which is celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Only dates differ (December 25, January 7) and calendar styles (Julian and Gregorian).
Burning candles are a symbol of light, stars that shone in the sky at the hour of the birth of Christ. Among the Christmas traditions is the Christmas wreath, which, as a rule, is woven from pine, spruce, fir branches and decorated with candles, ribbons, and wooden figurines. It is hung above the door, on the wall or placed on the Christmas table. Often, four candles are inserted into the Christmas wreath - according to the number of weeks of Advent (Christmas fast) immediately preceding Christmas. Every Sunday, one of these candles is lit at worship.
Luther is also credited with the invention of Christkind (analogous to Santa Claus), who distributes gifts to children on Christmas Day on December 25th. He wanted to keep the custom of giving gifts to children, but since the Protestants did not recognize Catholic saints, Luther replaced Nikolaus with Christkind.
In the Vatican's Basilica of St. Peter's at midnight local time, the Christmas mass will begin, which will be performed by Pope Benedict XVI. In Bethlehem, the festive service will be held by the head of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem, Patriarch Fuad Tual.
The first mention of the celebration of Christmas dates back to the 4th century. The holiday is a symbol of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.
Christmas is celebrated not only by the Catholic and Protestant churches, but also by the religious trends associated with them - those who follow the Gregorian calendar in church chronology. So, together with the Catholics, Lutherans, the Anglican Church and part of the Protestant denominations celebrate Christmas. This holiday has its own traditions in every country.
Christmas is the most solemn holiday in Catholicism with three church services celebrated at midnight, at dawn and in the afternoon.
Since 1978, after the election of Pope John Paul II, in the Vatican, after a long break, all-night Christmas masses were resumed. They were adopted by the Christian Church from the 5th century, but the tradition ceased in Western Europe from the 18th century, but such all-night Christmas services continued in Poland. Pope John Paul II, a Pole by nationality, returned the all-night Christmas service to the Vatican, and then this tradition was continued by his successor, Benedict XVI. Catholics celebrate Christmas for eight days, from December 25 to January 1, dedicating each day to one of the saints or an important event.
On December 24, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, Catholics observe a particularly strict fast, called Christmas Eve, since on this day they eat sochivo - wheat or barley grains boiled with honey. By tradition, the Christmas Eve fast ends with the appearance of the first evening star in the sky, after which solemn Christmas services are performed in all Catholic and Protestant churches around the world, the presence of which is mandatory for Catholics.
Four weeks before this event, Advent begins among Catholics: priests put on purple cassocks - this coloring symbolizes repentance. Each Divine service of the four Sundays of Advent is thematic: the first is dedicated to the coming of Christ at the end of time; the second and third reflect the transition from the Old to the New Testament; on the third Sunday, John the Baptist who predicted the coming of Christ is remembered; the fourth is devoted to the gospel events immediately preceding Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, Catholics begin the vigil - the all-night service. In some European countries, these three masses are called angelic, pastoral and royal - according to the gospel readings, which tell about the worship of the Infant, respectively, by angels, shepherds and kings.
In more than 140 countries, this is a public holiday during which the majority of the population does not work.
The main symbols of Christmas
No Christmas is complete without gifts and Santa Claus. The image of the good-natured old man became popular after the American artist Thomas Nast used this character for his political cartoons in 1863. Later, the artist created many drawings that were intended for children. Gradually, the image of Santa was supplemented with various details. So, Santa had a bag of presents for next Christmas. Then, he developed a habit of sneaking into the house through the chimney to leave presents for the children. From the drawings it followed that Santa lives at the North Pole, and keeps a special book where he writes down the actions of good and bad children.
Saint Nicholas is the prototype of Santa Claus. Another integral tradition of Christmas is connected with this saint - hanging stockings for gifts in the house. According to legend, Nicholas, passing by the house of an impoverished nobleman, noticed the stockings of his daughters hung by the fireplace to dry, and threw small bags of gold into the chimney, which, falling right into the stockings, became the dowry of the girls.
The tradition of decorating a festive tree appeared among the Germanic peoples, in whose rituals spruce - an evergreen plant - was a symbol of life and fertility. With the spread of Christianity among the peoples of Central and Northern Europe, a spruce tree decorated with multi-colored balls acquires a new symbolism: they began to install it in houses on December 24, when, according to Western tradition, the day of Adam and Eve is celebrated, as a symbol of the tree of paradise with abundant fruits.
At the end of the 19th century, thanks to German settlers, this tradition appeared in America. In ancient times, colored paper, sweets and apples were used as decorations for the festive tree, symbolizing the Garden of Eden. It is believed that the founder of the Protestant church, Martin Luther, suggested using candles to decorate fir trees in order to try to reproduce the light of stars through the branches of fir trees, which struck him with its beauty.
Another Christmas plant is mistletoe. There are many signs associated with mistletoe. And each nation is different. For example, in Scandinavia, mistletoe was a symbol of peace. Representatives of different nations believed that mistletoe was able to protect the house from thunder and lightning, heal wounds or scare away evil spirits. The most common tradition associated with Christmas is the English custom of kissing under a branch of mistletoe.
The celebration of Christmas ends on January 1, when the Day of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated with special solemnity.
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