The word сочельник meaning “Christmas Eve” comes from the word сочиво (sochiva). The day before Christmas is called Сочельник (Sachel’nik), which means Christmas Eve. It’s customary to serve on a festive table, pork dishes such as aspic or холодец (Khaladets) in Russian, homemade sausages, and ragout. On this holy day, a great number of people attend celebratory church services, make confessions, and receive communion. ![]() In Russia, It’s not customary to give each other presents for Christmas, there is no Santa Claus, and people don’t especially decorate a Christmas tree. In Russian, Jesus Christ is called Иисус Христос (Iisus Khristos).Ĭhristmas in Russia is a warm, family-centric holiday which most Russian people try to spend at home. As is the same in all Christian nations, Christmas in Russia is a celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ. Keep reading.Ĭhristmas, or as it’s known in Russian Рождество (Razdestvo), is actually observed in Russia on January 7. If you don’t already know, you’ll find out a bit later. Now, before we go into more detail, I’ve got a question for you – why is Christmas in Russia celebrated on January 7 and not on December 25? If you want to impress native Russian speakers with culturally-appropriate Christmas phrases and vocabulary, RussianPod101 will teach you the most important ways to wish someone a ‘Merry Christmas’ in Russian!ĭid you know that in Russia people don’t give presents for Christmas? Let’s discuss how people celebrate Christmas in Russia. In some countries, Christmas is not even a public holiday! However, many countries have adapted Christmas and its religious meaning to tally with their own beliefs, or simply in acknowledgment of the festival’s importance to other cultures. It takes place on December 25th and is usually celebrated with much food and fanfare! However, not all cultures celebrate Christmas. I want to be wiser this Advent, giving more and perhaps saying less, so that Christmas might truly be "merry" for those whom the Babe of Bethlehem came to serve.Christmas is the annual commemorative festival of Christ’s birth in the Western Christian Church. ![]() One of that nation's largest retailers is Tang Department Stores.Īs I rounded the corner in the city's hectic commercial district I came face to face with the life-sized images of three kings riding three camels laden with gifts for the one whose star they had seen in the East.Ībove the scene were the simple words "Wise Men Still Seek Him." It is in the going and giving to the least, the left and the lost, done by a myriad of organizations like the Joy Fund, Angel Tree, Operation Blessing and the Salvation Army that the significance of "Merry Christmas" can best be found.Ī few years ago, I found myself far from home, half way around the world in Singapore during the Christmas season. The reality is that our world today needs the message and the ministry of these words more than ever.Īnd if we fail to live out that ministry as we convey those words, the real message of those first angels is at best confused and at worst compromised.Ĭhristmas is "merry" because "unto us a Savior is born!" That Savior gave costly gifts of compassion, sacrifice, service and selflessness. On the first Christmas, a broken and hurting world was greeted with "fear not" and the promise of "peace on earth and good will to all." The grinch-like behavior of anger, protest and boycott may have done more to steal the "merry" from Christmas than spread and preserve its joy. Unfortunately, some of the phrases strongest defenders last year, and I was among them, failed to exhibit the very spirit that this message intends to convey. However, my greater hope is that the essential elements that make these words meaningful are not overshadowed this year. Please don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the return of this declaration of greeting and giving. The words "Merry Christmas" have returned to the lips of retailers across the country.Īfter the hue and cry of last year's reactions to the decision by many of the nation's largest shopping chains to remove the greeting, we are once again hearing that familiar refrain.Īnd the nation's merchants are reporting, in the words of the yuletide classic It's a Wonderful Life, that it may be their merriest Christmas ever. Some of that politically correct hysteria has calmed down a bit this year. ![]() Last year, stores and communities threw out the phrase "Merry Christmas" in favor of the more generic phrase "Happy Holidays."
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