Today, unfortunately, the great church holiday is forgotten on Christmas Eve. What is it now units know. And in the days of our great-grandmothers he was praised more than the Nativity of Christ. We will tell you about how we prepared for this day and how our distant ancestors noted it.
What is Christmas Eve before Christmas?
Where did the name of this holiday come from? It turns out that the word “sochi” is a dish that was specially prepared that day for treating all the household. For this, the hostess soaked scalded cereal grains (wheat, barley, lentils, rice) in seed juice (poppy, almond or nut). The dish was lean. They did not put oil in it. Allowed only the addition of a spoonful of honey to make the meal more nutritious. Sometimes it was replaced with kutya. Fortunately, people used that day in imitation of the biblical prophet Daniel. This parable refers to the Old Testament times. The pagan Julian the Apostate, wanting to pacify himself over the fasting believers, ordered all food on the market to be sprayed with the blood of animals sacrificed to idols. Then the prophet Daniel ordered his novice youths to eat soaked grains and dried fruits. Thus, believers were able to avoid the adoption of a defiled pagan meal.
When is it celebrated?
Our distant ancestors loved Christmas Eve very much. When he begins, everyone knew, from small to large. The holy tradition of his celebration was honored and passed down from generation to generation. It is noteworthy that many years ago, Christmas Eve was celebrated not once a year, but several. So, on December 24 (according to the old style), or on January 6 (according to the new), people celebrated the eve of the Nativity of Christ. It is this day today that is commonly called Christmas Eve. But they also observed this tradition on the eve of the Epiphany - January 5 (old style), or January 18 (new), and on the Annunciation, and on Saturday of the first week of Lent.
Christmas Eve in different countries.
Many states today celebrate this great church holiday. The Russian Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches honor him on January 6 (according to the Julian calendar). From January 7 to January 19 - Christmas time (when Christmas Eve has already ended). What is this, they now know, perhaps, only in the villages. How these two consecutive weeks are held will be described below. Countries that live on the Gregorian calendar celebrate Christmas Eve on December 24th. It is noteworthy that the name of this holiday in different states is different. So, in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina it is Badnyak, or Badnidan, in Slovenia - Sveti večer, in Bulgaria - Bad nights, in Ukraine - Svyatovechir.
Orthodox Christmas Eve
It is known that this holiday is preceded by a strict Christmas post, which lasts from November 28 to January 6. On Christmas Eve it is customary for the Orthodox not to eat until the first star. Her appearance is associated with the legend of the Star of Bethlehem, which heralded the birth of the holy baby. In the evening, people did not gather at the table and did not sit down to dinner. This could be done with the appearance of the first light in the sky. After that, our ancestors covered the table with a snow-white tablecloth, laid a bunch of hay on it in memory of the manger where the Savior was born, and set twelve fasting dishes - according to the number of disciples of Jesus Christ. They ate sympathetically and praised the Lord.
Catholic tradition
Not all countries observe strict fasting, preparing to celebrate Christmas Eve. The traditions of the Catholic Church say that this is considered a good rule, but not binding. In the countries of Europe on Christmas Eve they gather, as a rule, by a wide family circle at the festive table, laden with lean dishes. The main figure here is the father of the family. Before the meal begins, he reads a passage from the Gospel of the Nativity. Then those present taste the gifts of the generous home. As a rule, they always leave free space at the table and put the device in case someone else joins the celebration.
Catholics also have a tradition of exchanging cachets - rye bread with figurines. Break the bread, and those who are treated to a piece should say good wishes to those present.
Epiphany Eve. What it is?
Many good, but, unfortunately, today our ancestors observed the already forgotten rites. As mentioned above, Christmas Eve people celebrated Christmas Eve not only before Christmas, but also before the day of the blessing of water - Baptism. His traditions were associated with him. For example, such as seeing off deceased relatives and the expulsion of all evil spirits. To do this, the boys went to the Epiphany Eve in some provinces in the yards with brooms, hit them at the gates and shouted that there was urine. It was believed that in this way they drove off evil spirits. All relatives gathered for a meal on this holiday. Be sure to cook kutia, dried fruit compote or jelly, baked pancakes, cooked pea porridge. They put a lighted candle on the table and put some food on a saucer for relatives who had gone to another world. In many ways, the Epiphany Eve resembled Christmas.
Christmas time
January 7 - right after Christmas Eve - people celebrated Christmas. And then the Christmas time began, which was called “time from star to water”, that is, from the appearance of the first light in heaven on Christmas Eve to the consecration of water at Baptism. The very word "Christmas time" means "holy days." Since ancient times in Russia during this period no weddings were played, but time was spent very merrily: in songs, dances, festivities, dressing up and satirical performances.
Boys and girls from different villages had fun. They dressed in beasts and mythological animals, went home in the evenings and sang songs, praising the owners, trying to beg them to treat themselves. This custom is called caroling. Christmas time is a time of rampant evil spirits and the arrival of the souls of deceased relatives on earth. Many villages of Russia had their own traditions associated with this. For example, on the streets of Central and Southern Russia, bonfires made of straw were burned on Christmas Eve near the huts so that deceased relatives could come and “warm themselves”. Often linden brooms were thrown at them so that the dead could have a bath in the bathhouse. And on Christmas Eve they sometimes put kutya, pancakes and jelly - traditional treats during the funeral of the deceased. This was done so that deceased relatives could share a meal with the living. During the Christmas time, young people arranged fortune-telling, performed magical rites, and uttered conspiracies.
How to make a poke?
Our great-grandmothers knew what to cook on Christmas Eve. These ancient Christmas recipes are not forgotten. And today, any housewife, if desired, can cook oily. Here is the recipe for this dish:
• 1 faceted glass of wheat grains;
• 100 g of poppy;
• 100 g of walnut kernels;
• 1 or 2 tablespoons of liquid honey;
• a little sugar.
Put the grains of wheat in a wooden mortar and grind with a pestle until the shell of the grains moves away. In this case, you need to add a little warm boiled water to the mass. Then the husk is removed by washing the grains. Wheat is poured with water, put on fire and boiled until cooked. It turns friable porridge. In a wooden mortar, poppy is ground in the same way until poppy milk appears. Add it to the porridge, put honey, sugar there and mix thoroughly. At the end, crushed walnut kernels are put into the mass. Well done.
How did you prepare for the holiday?
As previously described, strict abstinence from fast food was preceded by such a holiday as Christmas Eve. When this post begins, we know November 28th. For five weeks it was forbidden to eat animal products: meat, fish, milk, eggs, ghee, cottage cheese, kefir and sour cream. But everything was allowed lean: boiled potatoes with pickled mushrooms or cucumbers, steamed turnips, cereals on the water, lean bread, kvass.
Before Christmas Eve, they cleaned the house, trying to look into all corners. And then hotly heated the bath, washed and changed clothes. People believed that both body and mind should be kept clean. Therefore, before sitting at the festive table, they lit candles at the icons in the house and said a
prayer of thanks to the Lord.Signs on Christmas Eve
• For a holiday, a wax candle was put on a table with a white tablecloth and lighted it with the words: “Burn, a candle, a righteous sun, shine on the sweethearts in paradise and for us living, gray mother earth, our cattle, our cornfields.” If the light burns merrily, then the year will be prosperous and fruitful, if it blinks and trembles, you will have to tighten your belts more tightly.
• In the evening, they looked out the window: if the night is clear and starry, the summer will be generous with the harvest of berries, and the year will be good for offspring of livestock.
• If a snowstorm breaks out before the Christmas Eve, the bees will swarm well.
• What is the number of Christmas Eve? January 6. The height of the Russian winter. It was expected that in the courtyard at this time, frost would rage. However, this is not always the case. Suddenly, a thaw could begin. And if suddenly drops happen on a holiday, then you should not wait for a good harvest from your garden. But buckwheat will certainly be good.
• For the holiday of frost on the trees - to good bread.
Church festive service
How does the church celebrate Christmas Eve? Orthodox people still have a tradition to go to church after an evening meal in order to make an all-night vigil. There, at this time, a service is being made, consisting of the Great Hours with reading passages from the Gospel and a brief accomplishment of the Fine. It goes as follows: the clergy read prayers on pulpit and clothe themselves. Then comes the time of the Great Vespers, with the reading of the Paremias and Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, at the end of which the Great Blessing of the Water is performed.
And here is how the Catholic Christmas Eve is celebrated in the church. Here, as usual, on the morning of December 24th, Mass is celebrated according to the rank of Advent, and the eve of Christmas begins dark after midnight. In some countries in Europe and Poland, this service is called a “shepherd.”
We talked about the great church holiday, which precedes Christmas, which is called Christmas Eve. What is it, how it was noted, what significance it had in the religions of different countries - all the necessary information can be found in this article.