Christmas service time. When is it better to go to the temple - before or after the rising of the Star of Bethlehem? What is done on Christmas in the church: how to fast, celebrate
I want to emphasize that it is imperative to be at the festive All-Night Vigil. During this service, in fact, the Christ who was born in Bethlehem is glorified. The liturgy is a divine service that practically does not change in connection with the holidays, and the main liturgical texts, the main hymns that explain the event remembered on this day and set us up on how to properly celebrate the holiday, are sung and read in the church precisely during Vespers and matins.
It should also be said that the Christmas service begins the day before - on Christmas Eve. On the morning of January 6, Christmas Vespers are celebrated in churches. It sounds strange: Vespers is in the morning, but this is a necessary deviation from the Rule of the Church. Vespers used to begin in the afternoon and continue with the Liturgy of Basil the Great, at which people took communion. The whole day of January 6 before this service was a particularly strict fast, people did not eat food at all, preparing to take communion. After dinner, Vespers began, and Communion was already at dusk. And soon after this came the solemn Christmas matins, which began to be served on the night of January 7th.
But now, since we have become weaker and weaker, solemn Vespers is celebrated on the 6th in the morning and ends with the Liturgy of Basil the Great.
Therefore, those who want to celebrate the Nativity of Christ correctly, according to the charter, following the example of our ancestors - ancient Christians, saints, should, if work permits, on the eve of Christmas, on January 6, at the morning service. On Christmas itself, you should come to Great Compline and Matins and, of course, to the Divine Liturgy.
2. When preparing to go to the night Liturgy, worry in advance about not being so sleepy.
In the monasteries of Athos, in particular in Dohiar, the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Gregory, always says that it is better to close your eyes for a while in the temple, if you completely overcame a dream, than to retire to rest in a cell, thus leaving the service.
You know that in the temples on the Holy Mountain there are special wooden chairs with armrests - stasidia, on which you can sit or stand, reclining the seat and leaning on special handrails. It must also be said that on Athos, in all the monasteries, the brethren in full force are necessarily present at all divine services of the daily circle. Absence from duty is a fairly serious deviation from the rules. Therefore, leaving the temple during the service is possible only as a last resort.
In our realities, you can’t sleep in the temple, but this is not necessary. On Athos, all services begin at night - at 2, 3 or 4 o'clock. And in our churches, services are not daily, liturgies at night are generally a rarity. Therefore, in order to go out for a night prayer, you can prepare in completely ordinary everyday ways.
For example, be sure to sleep the night before the service. While Eucharistic fasting allows, drink coffee. Since the Lord has given us such fruits that invigorate, then we need to use them.
But if sleep begins to overcome during the night service, I think it would be more correct to go out, make several circles around the temple with the Jesus Prayer. This short walk will definitely refresh and give strength to continue to be in the attention.
3. Fast properly. “Until the first star” means not to starve, but to attend the service.
Where did the custom of not eating food on Christmas Eve, January 6, "until the first star" come from? As I have already said, before Christmas Vespers began in the afternoon, passed into the Liturgy of Basil the Great, which ended when stars really already appeared in the sky. After the Liturgy, the charter permitted the eating of a meal. That is, “up to the first star” meant, in fact, until the end of the Liturgy.
But over time, when the liturgical circle was isolated from the life of Christians, when people began to treat worship services rather superficially, this grew into some kind of custom completely divorced from practice and reality. People do not go to the service, and do not take communion on January 6, but at the same time they are starving.
When I am asked how to fast on Christmas Eve, I usually say this: if you were present in the morning at Christmas Vespers and at the Liturgy of Basil the Great, then it is blessed to eat food, as it should be according to the Rule, after the end of the Liturgy. That is, during the day.
But if you decide to dedicate this day to cleaning the premises, preparing 12 dishes, and so on, then, please, eat after the “first star”. Since you did not bear the feat of prayer, at least bear the feat of fasting.
Regarding how to fast before Communion, if it is at a night service, then according to current practice, the liturgical fast (that is, complete abstinence from food and water) in this case is 6 hours. But this is not directly formulated anywhere, and there are no clear instructions in the charter how many hours before communion one should not eat.
On an ordinary Sunday, when a person is preparing for Communion, it is customary not to eat food after midnight. But if you are going to take communion at the nightly Christmas service, then it would be right not to eat food somewhere after 21.00.
In any case, it is better to coordinate this issue with the confessor.
4. Find out about the date and time of confession and agree in advance. In order not to spend the entire festive service in line.
The issue of confession at the Christmas service is purely individual, because each church has its own customs and traditions. It is easy to talk about confession in monasteries or those churches where there are a large number of serving priests. But if there is one priest serving in the church, and there are a majority of them, then it is best, of course, to agree with the priest in advance, when it is convenient for him to confess you. It is better to go to confession on the eve of the Christmas service, so that during the service you think not about whether you will have time or not, but about how to really worthily meet the coming of Christ the Savior into the world.
5. Do not exchange worship and prayer for 12 Lenten meals. This tradition is neither evangelical nor liturgical.
I am often asked how to connect the presence at the services on Christmas Eve and Christmas with the tradition of a feast on Christmas Eve, when 12 Lenten dishes are specially prepared. I will say right away that the tradition of "12 straves" is somewhat mysterious for me. Christmas, like Epiphany Christmas Eve, is a fast day, and a day of strict fasting. According to the charter, boiled food without oil and wine are put on this day. How you can cook 12 different Lenten dishes without using oil is a mystery to me.
In my opinion, the “12 Straves” is a folk custom that has nothing in common with either the Gospel, or the liturgical rule, or the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, in the media on the eve of Christmas, a large number of materials appear in which attention is focused on some dubious pre-Christmas and post-Christmas traditions, eating certain dishes, fortune-telling, festivities, caroling and so on - all that husk, which is often very far away. from the true meaning of the great feast of the advent of our Redeemer into the world.
I am always very hurt by the profanation of holidays, when their meaning and significance are reduced to one or another ritual that has developed in a particular locality. We have to hear that such things as traditions are needed for people who are not yet particularly churched in order to somehow interest them. But you know, in Christianity it is still better to give people good-quality food right away, and not fast food. Still, it is better for a person to recognize Christianity immediately from the gospel, from the traditional patristic Orthodox position, than from some kind of “comics”, even if consecrated by folk customs.
In my opinion, many folk rituals associated with a particular holiday are comics on the topic of Orthodoxy. They have practically nothing to do with the meaning of the holiday, or with the gospel event.
6. Don't turn Christmas into a culinary feast. This day is, first of all, spiritual joy. And it is not good for health to leave the fast with a plentiful feast.
Again, it's all about priorities. If it is a priority for someone to sit at a rich table, then all day on the eve of the holiday, including when the festive vespers are already being performed, the person is preparing various meats, salads, Olivier salads and other magnificent dishes.
If it is more important for a person to meet the born Christ, then he, first of all, goes to worship, and already in his free time he prepares what he has enough time for.
In general, it is strange that it is considered obligatory on the day of the holiday to sit and absorb various plentiful dishes. It is neither medically nor spiritually useful. It turns out that we fasted throughout Lent, missed the Christmas Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great - and all this in order to just sit down and eat. You can do it at any other time...
I will tell you how the festive meal is prepared in our monastery. Usually, at the end of the night services (on Easter and Christmas), the brethren are offered a small breaking of the fast. As a rule, it is cheese, cottage cheese, hot milk. That is, something that does not require special efforts in preparation. And in the afternoon, a more festive meal is being prepared.
7. Sing to God intelligently. Prepare for the service - read about it, find the translation, the texts of the psalms.
There is a saying: knowledge is power. And, indeed, knowledge gives strength not only in moral terms, but also literally - in the physical. If a person at one time took the trouble to study Orthodox worship, to delve into its essence, if he knows what is happening in the church at the moment, then for him the issue of standing for a long time, fatigue is not worth it. He lives in the spirit of worship, he knows what follows what. For him, the service is not divided into two parts, as it happens: “What is in the service now?” - "Well, they sing." - "And now?" - "Well, they read." For most people, unfortunately, the service is divided into two parts: when they sing and when they read.
Knowledge of the service gives an understanding that at a certain moment of the service, you can sit down and sit and listen to what is being sung and read. The liturgical charter in some cases allows, and in some even orders to sit. This is, in particular, the time of reading psalms, hours, kathisma, stichera on "Lord, cry out." That is, there are many moments of service when you can sit. And, in the words of one saint, it is better to think about God while sitting than standing about your feet.
Many believers act very practical, taking light folding benches with them. Indeed, in order not to rush to the benches to take seats at the right time, or not to “occupy” the seats, standing next to them for the entire service, it would be better to take a special bench with you and sit down on it at the right time.
Do not be embarrassed by sitting during the service. The Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. Still, at some moments it is better to sit down, especially if your legs hurt, and sitting attentively listen to the service, than to suffer, suffer and look at the clock when it all ends.
In addition to taking care of your legs, take care of food for the mind in advance. You can buy special books or find and print materials about the festive service on the Internet - interpretation and texts with translations.
I also recommend that you also find the Psalter translated into your native language. The reading of psalms is an integral part of any Orthodox worship, and the psalms are very beautiful both melodically and stylistically. In the temple they are read in Church Slavonic, but even a church-going person finds it difficult to perceive all their beauty by ear. Therefore, in order to understand what is being sung about at the moment, you can find out in advance, before the service, which psalms will be read during this service. This really needs to be done in order to “sing with understanding to God,” in order to feel the beauty of psalmody.
Many believe that it is impossible to follow the Liturgy in the church from the book - you need to pray together with everyone. But one does not exclude the other: follow the book and pray, in my opinion, this is one and the same thing. Therefore, do not be embarrassed to take literature with you to the service. You can take a blessing from the priest for this in advance in order to cut off unnecessary questions and comments.
8. Temples are overcrowded on holidays. Have pity on your neighbor - put candles on or venerate the icon another time.
Many, coming to the temple, believe that lighting a candle is the duty of every Christian, that sacrifice to God that must be made. But since the Christmas service is much more crowded than the usual service, there is some difficulty with setting candles, including because the candlesticks are overcrowded.
The tradition of bringing candles to the temple has ancient roots. Previously, as we know, Christians took everything necessary for the Liturgy from home with them: bread, wine, candles to light the church. And this, indeed, was their feasible sacrifice.
Now the situation has changed and the setting of candles has lost its original meaning. For us, this is more a reminder of the first centuries of Christianity.
The candle is our visible sacrifice to God. It has a symbolic meaning: before God, like this candle, we must burn with an even, bright, smokeless flame.
This is also our sacrifice for the temple, because we know - from the Old Testament, that people in ancient times necessarily paid tithes for the maintenance of the Temple and the priests serving at it. And in the New Testament Church this tradition was continued. We know the words of the apostle that those who serve the altar eat from the altar. And the money that we leave by purchasing a candle is our sacrifice.
But in such cases, when the temples are overcrowded, when whole torches of candles burn on candlesticks, and they are all passed and passed, it may be more correct to put the amount that you wanted to spend on candles in the donation box than to embarrass brothers with manipulations with candles and sisters praying nearby.
9. When bringing children to the night service, be sure to ask them if they want to be in the temple now.
If you have small children or elderly relatives, then go with them to Liturgy in the morning.
This practice has developed in our monastery. At night at 23:00, Great Compline begins, followed by Matins, which passes into the Liturgy. The liturgy ends at about half past five in the morning, so the service lasts about five and a half hours. This is not so much - the usual all-night vigil every Saturday lasts 4 hours - from 16.00 to 20.00.
And our parishioners with small children or elderly relatives pray at night at Compline and at Matins, after Matins they go home, rest, sleep, and in the morning come to the Liturgy by 9.00 with small children or with those people who, for health reasons, could not attend the night service.
If you decide to bring the children to the temple at night, then, it seems to me, the main criterion for attending such long services should be the desire of the children themselves to come to this service. No violence or coercion is allowed!
You know, there are status things for a child, which are the criteria of adulthood for him. Such, for example, as the first confession, the first visit to the night service. If he really asks adults to take him with them, then in this case this must be done.
It is clear that the child will not be able to stand attentively for the entire service. To do this, take some kind of soft bedding for him, so that when he gets tired, you can put him in a corner to sleep and wake him up before communion. But so that the child is not deprived of this joy of night service.
It is very touching to see when children come with their parents to the service, they stand joyful, with sparkling eyes, because the night service is very significant and unusual for them. Then gradually they subside, turn sour. And now, passing through the side aisle, you see children lying side by side, immersed in the so-called "liturgical" dream.
How much the child can stand - so much can stand. But to deprive him of such joy is not worth it. However, I repeat once again, getting into this service should be the desire of the child himself. So that Christmas would be associated for him only with love, only with the joy of the born baby Christ.
10. Be sure to take communion!
Coming to the temple, we often worry that we didn’t have time to light candles or didn’t venerate some kind of icon. But that's not what you need to think about. We need to worry about how often we unite with Christ.
It is our duty at divine services to pray attentively and, as often as possible, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The temple, first of all, is the place where we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is what we must do.
And, indeed, attending the Liturgy without communion is meaningless. Christ calls: “Take, eat,” and we turn away and leave. The Lord says, "Drink from the Cup of Life, all of you," and we don't want to. Does the word "everything" have any other meaning? The Lord does not say: drink 10% of me - those who were preparing. He says: drink from me all! If we come to the Liturgy and do not take communion, then this is a liturgical violation.
INSTEAD OF AFTERWORD. What basic condition is necessary to feel the joy of a long all-night service?
It is necessary to realize WHAT many years ago happened on this day. That "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." That “no one has ever seen God; The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed. That an event of such a cosmic scale took place, which has never happened before, and will not happen after.
God, the Creator of the universe, the Creator of the infinite cosmos, the Creator of our earth, the Creator of man as a perfect creature, the Almighty, who commands the movement of the planets, the entire cosmic system, the existence of life on earth, Whom no one has ever seen, and only a few in the entire history of mankind have been able to see only part of the manifestation of some kind of His power… And this God became a man, a baby, completely defenseless, small, subject to everything, including the possibility of murder. And this is all for us, for each of us.
There is a wonderful expression: God became a man so that we become gods. If we understand this - that each of us got the opportunity to become a god by grace - then the meaning of this holiday will be revealed to us. If we are aware of the scale of the event we are celebrating, what happened on this day, then all culinary delights, caroling, round dances, dressing up and fortune-telling will seem to us a trifle and a husk that is completely not worth our attention. We will be absorbed in the contemplation of God, the Creator of the universe, lying in a manger next to the animals in a simple barn. This will exceed everything.
It is already well known that on this holiday it is customary to give gifts and congratulate each other with beautiful cards. Some have heard of the special turkey Christmas dinner in the Western countries. But there is another, very important and purely church ritual, which certainly marks this event - the Christmas liturgy. The meaning of this action is determined both by the general meaning of Christmas itself, and by the liturgical church rite. Therefore, it is necessary to start talking about each of these elements separately.
Christmas - the history, meaning and significance of the holiday
As the name implies, Christmas is a day. In fact, the date of this event is somewhat arbitrary in the church calendar, since, firstly, this event was not originally celebrated in the church. Secondly, when it was nevertheless accepted, it was combined together with the baptism of Christ and the episode of the visit by the Eastern magi to the baby Jesus shortly after his birth. This united holiday was called Theophany, or, in Russian, Epiphany. And it was celebrated on January 6th. And thirdly, a little later, these events were nevertheless smashed to different dates, as a result of which the memory of Christmas began to fall on December 25 - the day of the winter solstice (at that time).
It was not accidental, but it has nothing to do with the event of the birth of Christ. The fact is that the winter solstice is a major pagan holiday, on which many solar deities of various pantheons were revered. The Christian authorities of the empire, in order to block the ancient pagan traditions, for the purpose of evangelism, connected this date with the birth of Christ - the Sun of Truth, as Christians call it, obviously, opposing the "false" from their point of view solar gods. Since then, the date has changed one more time - during the change of the Julian calendar to the Gregorian. Thirteen days difference between them determines that today Christmas in Russia is celebrated on January 7th. This situation is relevant for those churches that adhere to the Julian calendar in their inner life.
Christmas itself marks the idea of the Incarnation. Christians believe that God himself became a man in the person of Jesus, and his birth from an earthly woman and at the same time a virgin is a great miracle. Believers see in this event the fulfillment of prophecies about the coming of the Messiah - a divine messenger who will save the world. That's why it's so important to them.
Liturgy - definition of the concept
The word "liturgy" itself is translated from Greek as "common cause". In pre-Christian times, they designated public services and duties of the aristocracy for the maintenance of the needs of the city. In the Christian Church, this term began to be called the main divine service, during which the central sacrament, the Eucharist, was performed. The leitmotif of the entire ceremony was the idea that the bread and wine offered on the altar were mysteriously transubstantiated into the flesh and blood of Christ (outwardly remaining bread and wine), which the faithful then partake of. This sacrament was established by Jesus himself during the so-called and he was commanded to reproduce it during the meetings of the disciples, that is, Christians. Without participation in this ritual, it is believed that it is impossible to receive the salvation that God offers in Christ. That is why regular service and participation in the liturgy is so important for believers.
Over time, the churches developed a huge variety of rites of the liturgy. Some of them no longer exist. Others, having developed, continue to be used to our time.
Liturgy rites used in the ROC
As for the practice of the modern Russian Church, three rites of the liturgy are generally accepted in it today: John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and the liturgy of the presanctified gifts, which is used only during Great Lent. The most frequent, so to speak, daily, is the liturgy of the A rank of Basil the Great, which is used only ten times a year. The Christmas Liturgy is one of them. But only if the eve, that is, the eve of the holiday itself, falls on Saturday or Sunday. Otherwise, on the day of the holiday, the Christmas liturgy of John Chrysostom is served, and Basil the Great - on the eve.
Features of serving the liturgy at Christmas
Like any festive ceremony, the service dedicated to the day of the birth of Jesus Christ has its own characteristics. The first thing that distinguishes the Christmas liturgy is the text. So, instead of everyday psalms, festive antiphons are sung at the service. Instead of the so-called Trisagion, it is sung, “They are baptized into Christ, clothed in Christ, alleluia.” Similarly, “It is worthy to eat” is replaced by “Magnify, soul ... Love us, then ...”. The last thing that distinguishes the Christmas liturgy is the text of the biblical readings, that is, the gospel and the apostolic letter, which on this day tell about the adoration of the Magi and the incarnation of God, respectively. The scale of the feast also emphasizes the timing of the celebration of the Eucharist. If on all other days it leaves early in the morning, then in this case the night is the usual time when the Christmas liturgy is served. How long it lasts is a difficult question. It depends on the singing, on the number of people taking communion and on local traditions. If in some parishes they are packed in two hours, then in a number of monasteries the service can stretch almost all night.
Nativity and Christmas Liturgy: 2015
The last thing worth noting is the dates of the celebration in the current year, 2015. Since, as already mentioned, one part of the churches adheres to the Gregorian calendar, and the other to the Julian one, it turns out that some have already celebrated Christmas this year on January 6th. For others, the Christmas liturgy will be served at the very end of 2015 - December 25th. As for the Russian Orthodox Church, it is among the churches that have already celebrated.
Cathedral of Christ the Savior. January 6: confession will begin at 8 am, the first all-night vigil will begin at 5 pm, the second all-night vigil will begin at 23 pm, after the end of the all-night vigil, the night liturgy of Basil the Great will take place. On January 7, the second liturgy will be held at the Transfiguration Church at 9 am. Saint Nicholas in Khamovniki. An all-night vigil will take place on January 6 at 17:00. On January 7 at 00.00 a solemn liturgy and confession will take place. Temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky. An all-night vigil will take place on January 6 at 17:00. On January 7 at 00:00 a divine liturgy will take place, at 7 am - an early liturgy, at 10 am - a late liturgy. The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Tushino. On January 6, at 17:00, an all-night vigil will be held, confession will begin at 23:00. On January 7 at 00.00 the beginning of the liturgy will take place, at 8.40 the late liturgy will take place. The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in Yasenevo (Litovsky Boulevard, building 7a). On January 6, at 17:00, the All-Night Vigil will begin, the rule for Holy Communion is at 23:00. On January 7 at 00.00 the beginning of the festive liturgy will take place, the late liturgy will begin at 8.40.
When to go to church on Christmas, what time?
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on the night of January 6-7. Christmas is the second most important holiday after Easter. On this night, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia usually leads a festive Christmas service in the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior, where thousands of believers will gather. The Christmas holiday, according to the teachings of the Church, symbolizes the reconciliation of man with God. Christmas heralds the redemptive feat of Christ and the renewal of human nature, struck by the fall of the forefathers.
Christmas service
The Christmas service begins on Christmas Eve. On the morning of January 6, Christmas Vespers are celebrated in churches. It sounds strange: Vespers is in the morning, but this is a necessary deviation from the Rule of the Church. Vespers used to begin in the afternoon and continue with the Liturgy of Basil the Great, at which people took communion. After dinner, Vespers began, and Communion was already at dusk. And soon after this came the solemn Christmas matins, which began to be served on the night of January 7th.
Christmas service in the church on the night of January 7
According to the charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the holiday is preceded by a multi-day Christmas fast, which begins on November 28 and lasts 40 days - through January 6, inclusive. On Christmas Eve, January 6, many pious believers do not eat food at all, and by 22.00 they go to the temple Compline, Matins and Divine Liturgy. Only when the first star appears - the symbol of the Star of Bethlehem - can you taste Sochivo (a fasting dish, which is most often prepared from wheat or rice with honey and fruits). Hence the name of this day - Christmas Eve.
What can you cook for Christmas
Don't turn Christmas into a culinary feast. This day is, first of all, spiritual joy. And it’s not good for health to leave the fast with a plentiful feast. Again, it’s all about priorities. If it is a priority for someone to sit at a rich table, then all day on the eve of the holiday, including when the festive vespers are already being served, the person is preparing various meats, Russian salads and other magnificent dishes. If it is more important for a person to meet the born Christ, then he, first of all, goes to worship, and already in his free time he prepares what he has enough time for. In general, it is strange that it is considered obligatory to sit and eat various plentiful dishes on the day of the holiday. It is neither medically nor spiritually useful. It turns out that we fasted throughout Lent, missed the Christmas Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great - and all this in order to just sit down and eat. After all, this can be done at any other time ... I will tell you how the festive meal is prepared in our monastery. Usually, at the end of the night services (on Easter and Christmas), the brethren are offered a small breaking of the fast. As a rule, it is cheese, cottage cheese, hot milk. That is, something that does not require special efforts in preparation. And already in the afternoon a more festive meal is being prepared.,
05.01.2014
January 6 - Eve of the Nativity of Christ, or Christmas Eve,- the last day of Advent, the eve of the Nativity of Christ.
On January 6, Orthodox Christians are especially preparing for the upcoming holiday, the whole day is filled with a special festive mood.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, at the end of the Liturgy and the evening after it, a candle is brought to the center of the church and the priests sing the troparion to the Nativity of Christ in front of it.
The services and fasting of Christmas Eve have a number of features, so it is on these days that many questions come to our site about how to spend Christmas Eve correctly.
Most frequently asked questions:
When does the night service begin on the feast of the Nativity of Christ?
Night worship begins, as a rule, at 23:00 on January 6. After the Vespers, the Liturgy begins, where many believers receive communion.
— How can I find out the schedule of Christmas services in the churches of the city of Togliatti?
You can find out the schedule of Christmas services by calling all the churches of the city of Togliatti, posted on the websites of the deaneries of the portal "Orthodox Togliatti": central deanery, Tikhonov Deanery, Preobrazhenskoye Deanery, Neva Deanery.
As a rule, believers try to celebrate the Nativity of Christ at the nightly festive liturgy. But in many churches, the Vespers and Liturgy are also served at the usual time - 17 pm and in the morning.
In this regard, people often ask, is it not a sin for a young man, not weak, without children, to go to the service not at night, but in the morning?
Solemn night services contribute to a deeper prayerful experience and perception of the Holiday.
To visit a night service or a morning one - you need to watch it according to your strength. Meeting the holiday at night is, of course, a special joy: both spiritual and spiritual. There are very few such services a year; in most parish churches, night liturgies are served only at Christmas and Easter - especially solemn services are traditionally performed at night.
- How to fast on Christmas Eve, until what time should you refrain from eating food?
Christmas Eve- the name comes, it is believed, from the word "sochivo" (the same as "kolivo" - boiled grains of rice or wheat).
It is supposed to eat “sochivo”, or “kolivo”, on the eve of the holiday only after the liturgy, which is combined with the vespers. Thus, part of Christmas Eve passes in complete non-eating.
- What does "post to the first star" mean?
The tradition of not eating food until the first evening star is associated with the memory of the appearance of a star in the East (Matthew 2:2), which announced the birth of Christ, but this tradition is not prescribed by the charter.
Indeed, the Typicon prescribes fasting until the end of Vespers. However, the Vespers service is connected with the Liturgy and is served in the morning.
Therefore, we fast until the moment when a candle is brought to the center of the temple and a troparion to the Nativity of Christ is sung in front of the candle.
- Is the measure of abstinence the same for those who work and those who do not work on this day?
It is obvious that people in the temple are fasting, many commune on this day. It would be good if those who cannot be in the service in the temple, who work, honor this day with a more strict fast. We remember that, according to the Russian proverb, "A full belly is deaf to prayer." Therefore, a more strict fast prepares us for the coming joy of the holiday.
How long is fasting before communion?
Those who take communion at the night Liturgy on January 7, according to church tradition, eat food for the last time at least six hours before the time of Communion, or from about 6 pm.
And here the point is not in a specific number of hours, that you need to fast for 6 or 8 hours and not a minute less, but in the fact that a certain border is established, a measure of abstinence that helps us to comply with the measure.
Many questions come from sick people who cannot fast, asking what they should do?
Sick people, of course, must fast to the extent that this is consistent with the intake of medicines and with the prescriptions of doctors. This is not about putting a weak person in a hospital, but about strengthening a person spiritually. Illness is already a difficult post and a feat. And here a person should already try to determine the measure of fasting according to his own strength. Any thing can be brought to the point of absurdity. For example, imagine that a priest who comes to give communion to a dying person asks when the person last ate?!
- At the Christmas Liturgy, many take communion. And people are somewhat embarrassed: you have just received communion, the books of the holy fathers say that in order to retain grace, you need to try to protect yourself from talking, especially laughter, and try to spend time after communion in prayer. And then a festive feast, even with brothers and sisters in Christ… People are afraid of losing their prayerful mood.
The apostle Paul commanded us to “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks to the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). If we meet the holiday with joy, prayer and gratitude to God, then we fulfill the apostolic covenant.
Of course, this issue must be considered individually. Of course, if a person feels that he is losing his fertile mood after a noisy celebration, then perhaps he should sit down at the table for a while, leave earlier, preserving spiritual joy.
– Is it obligatory to attend the evening service on the very day of the holiday - the evening of the Christmas holiday?
This is for everyone to decide for themselves. After the night service, you need to recuperate. Not everyone, due to age, health and spiritual level, is able to go to the temple and take part in the service. But we must remember that the Lord rewards for every effort that a person makes for Him.
The evening service on this day is not long, especially spiritual, solemn and joyful, the Great Prokeimenon is proclaimed at it, so, of course, it’s good if you can visit it.
— Issues related to the Orthodox tradition of eating at Christmas.
The foundations for celebrating Christmas Eve were established by the Orthodox Church as early as the 4th century. According to tradition, on Christmas Eve it is customary to refuse food until the first star. This tradition is connected with the legend of the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced the birth of Christ, but it is not recorded in the charter of the church.
For the Orthodox, the Christmas meal began with a reception of kutya. The order of eating was determined by strict rules: appetizers were served first, then red borscht, mushroom or fish soup. For borscht, mushroom soup, ears or pies with mushrooms were served, and for Orthodox sochni - flour cakes fried in hemp oil. At the end of the meal, sweet dishes were served on the table: gingerbread, roll with poppy seeds, honey cakes, apples, nuts, cranberry jelly, dried fruit compote.
