In December, Catholics traditionally celebrate the Nativity of Christ. On what date in 2021 does this holiday fall, and will Ukrainians rest on this day?
Autumn is coming to an end, and many Ukrainians are already looking forward to the holidays. A Holidays in December 2021 there will be enough: here is the Day of Hugs, and St. Andrew's Day, and the Day of St. Nicholas. Many of our fellow citizens consider Catholic Christmas to be the most important date of the last month of the year. According to statistics, every tenth inhabitant of our country considers himself to be Catholics. When Do Western Rites Celebrate Christmas? Why does this day for Orthodox and Catholics fall on different dates? Will there be a day off on Catholic Christmas in Ukraine, and what must be done on this day? Read in our material.
Catholic Christmas: holiday date
Different churches celebrate Christmas on different calendars / istockphoto.com
The Nativity of Christ is one of the great (twelve) church holidays, which is celebrated "in number." That is, every year it falls on the same date (unlike, for example, Easter, the date of which changes every year). The Orthodox Church celebrates this day on January 7, but the Catholic Church - 13 days earlier, on December 25. Where did such discrepancies come from? Couldn't Jesus have been born twice? Which Christmas date should be considered correct?
In fact, there is no "correct" date for the holiday. No Christian source indicates the day when Jesus was born. There are two versions of why Christmas began to be celebrated at the end of the year. According to the first of them, the early Christians in March celebrated the day of the Incarnation or the Immaculate Conception (now this holiday has not survived). If you add 9 months of pregnancy to March, the birth of Jesus Christ just falls in December.
The second version is based on the fact that the ancient Romans celebrated the Day of the Sun on December 25. It was one of the most important pagan holidays of the Roman Empire, so the church was afraid to prohibit it. Instead, they decided to "change the concept" and time this day to coincide with the birth of the son of God - as the only and true sun of the Christian faith.
It turns out that it is still correct to celebrate the Nativity of Christ at the end, and not at the beginning of the year? Why, then, does the Orthodox Church celebrate this day on January 7? It's all about the different chronology systems used by representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox faiths. Until the 16th century, the whole world lived according to the Julian calendar, which was once introduced by Julius Caesar. However, this calendar turned out to be imperfect, because in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII reformed the chronology and introduced the Gregorian calendar.
Gradually, all countries of the world, including the Catholic Church, switched to the Gregorian calendar. However, the Orthodox Church decided "not to lose its identity" and remained on the Julian calendar. The difference between the two calendars for today is 13 days. Therefore, Catholic Christmas is a “new style” holiday, and Orthodox Christmas is “old style”.
Will there be a day off in Ukraine
There will be an official day off in Ukraine on Catholic Christmas / istockphoto.com
Ukrainians may well celebrate Christmas twice: at the end of December and at the beginning of January. Moreover, both dates are recognized as public holidays in our country. In 2018, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law, according to which December 25 is included in the national calendar of holidays, and will be marked with an additional day off. This year, December 25 falls on Saturday, so the day off is traditionally postponed to Monday next week. Accordingly, we will rest from 25 to 27 December inclusive.
Traditions of celebrating Christmas among Catholics
Catholics cook turkey and Christmas cake for the holiday / istockphoto.com
Both Orthodox and Catholics begin to celebrate Christmas in Christmas Eve - this is the evening on the eve of Jesus' command to the light. Since the Christmas fast still lasts on this day, the dishes on the table should be lean. According to tradition, there should be 12 of them - according to the number of apostles of Jesus Christ. You can sit down at the table no earlier than the first star appears in the sky - in memory of the Star of Bethlehem, which showed the Magi the way to the cradle of Jesus.
Christmas Eve is an important family holiday for Catholics. On this day, the whole family should gather at the table, from the oldest representatives of the family to the smallest. Each of the family members should try each of the 12 dishes: this will bring health, luck and prosperity for the whole year ahead. The festive dinner ends with breaking the plate (or wafers) - this is a thin crust made of unleavened and unsalted dough. Translated from Latin, its name means "sacrificial gift". All the participants in the feast break off a small piece for themselves and make a wish.
According to Western tradition, it is on Christmas night that Santa Claus comes to the children and leaves gifts under the tree or in pre-prepared fabric boots. Therefore, the kids before going to bed prepare milk and cookies for Santa: if the treat has disappeared, then all wishes will come true. It is also customary to exchange gifts among adults on this day. If Christmas Eve is a family evening, then Christmas dinner is usually spent in a large company and with friends. The main attribute of the festive table this evening is Turkeybaked in cranberry sauce and Christmas cake.
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