What do Russians do for Christmas Eve?
Many Russians attend a Christmas mass on Christmas Eve. After dark, once the fast is broken, families sit down for a celebration meal. Traditionally, various pickled items are served, including gherkins, pickled mushrooms, sauerkraut, and pickled apples.
Why does Russia celebrate Christmas on January 7th?
Orthodox Christians in Russia celebrate Christmas on January 7, because the Russian Orthodox Church, one of the largest autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches in the world, use the Julian, rather than Gregorian calendar. Currently, the difference between the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar is 13 days.
How do Russian Orthodox celebrate Christmas?
The main way of celebrating Orthodox Christmas is just visiting (or inviting) relatives with symbolic gifts. In Russia, there are state holidays from January 1-8, and it’s customary to spend these days meeting loved ones.
What do they call Christmas in Russia?
| Christmas in Russia | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Рождество Христово |
| Observed by | Russia |
| Significance | in memory of the birth of Jesus |
| Celebrations | Christmas tree decorations, church services |
What are the traditions of Christmas in Russia?
In Russia, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th. Many Russian Christmas traditions originated with the pagan culture that predated Christianity in Russia. Long-standing Russian Christmas customs include caroling, fortune-telling, and following a strict Nativity Fast for forty days leading up to Christmas Eve.
When do they say Merry Christmas in Russia?
In Russia as a whole, the official national celebration dates for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are December 31 to January 10. People who celebrate Christmas in Russia do say “Merry Christmas” to others to commemorate the holiday. In Russian, this is pronounced as C рождеством (s rah-zh-dee-st-VOHM).
Why do they not eat on Christmas Eve in Russia?
They don’t eat anything all day until the first star of the evening appears in the sky (the star symbolizes the star that led the Magi to Jesus in the manger at his birth). Granted, with the shorter days in Russia this time of year, they don’t actually go all that long without eating, just enough to get hungry for Christmas Eve dinner.
When do they celebrate Christmas in the Soviet Union?
In the early Soviet days, Christmas was not celebrated in Russia, and even the other religious celebrations were discouraged. Despite all the discouragement, the Christmas in Russia was celebrated on 25th December by the Soviet regime. All the traditional customs of the Christmas Eve was re-adopted in Russia after the October revolution.