Christmas in Great Britain and Russia

• The Nativity Play

A Nativity play is a play, usually performed at Christmas, which recounts the story of the Nativity (birth) of Jesus.

Many primary schools and Sunday schools in the UK put on a Nativity play. Schoolchildren in costume act as the human and angel characters, and often as the animals and props. The infant Jesus is sometimes represented by a doll, but sometimes played by a real baby. Every year parents of young children dread the note from the school to say what role their child will play. Why do the dread it? Because they have to make the costume, and it's a very competitive thing. Parents are judged on the quality of the costume, children are judged on the role they get to play and how many lines they get to speak. If you're interested I got to play the star - not one line.

In the UK, increasing secularism and sensitivity in multicultural areas has led many schools to end the performance of Nativity plays, or significantly alter their content, causing others to complain about excessive political correctness. Another controversial topic is taking photographs or filming the play. Some schools have banned this because of fears of inappropriate use of the images. However, some canny schools then sell DVDs of the play.

• The Nativity Scene

A nativity scene, or crèche, is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Sometimes the scene is a static, three dimensional scene, but there are so called "living nativity scenes" in which real humans and animals participate.

A typical nativity scene consists of figures representing the infant Jesus, his mother Mary, and Mary's husband, Joseph. Some nativity scenes include other characters from the Biblical story such as the shepherds, the Magi, and angels. The figures are usually displayed in a stable, cave, or other structure.

Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223 (a "living" one) intending thereby to cultivate the worship of Christ. The scene's popularity inspired communities throughout Christendom to stage similar pantomimes and eventually to create elaborate and ever more elaborate static exhibitions with wax, wooden and even ivory and precious metal figurines garbed in rich fabrics set against intricate landscapes. 
 
 

1.2 CHRISTMAS IN RUSSIA 

Thirteen days after Western Christmas, on January 7th, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates its Christmas, in accordance with the old Julian calendar. It's a day of both solemn ritual and joyous celebration

After the 1917 Revolution, Christmas was banned throughout Russia, along with other religious celebrations. It wasn't until 75 years later, in 1992, that the holiday was openly observed. Today, it's once again celebrated in grand fashion, with the faithful participating in an all-night Mass in incense-filled Cathedrals amidst the company of the painted icons of Saints.

Christmas is one of the most joyous traditions for the celebration of Eve comes from the Russian tradition. On the Eve of Christmas, it is traditional for all family members to gather to share a special meal. The various foods and customs surrounding this meal differed in Holy Russia from village to village and from family to family, but certain aspects remained the same.

An old Russian tradition, whose roots are in the Orthodox faith, is the Christmas Eve fast and meal. The fast, typically, lasts until after the evening worship service or until the first star appears. The dinner that follows is very much a celebration, although, meat is not permitted. Kutya (kutia), a type of porridge, is the primary dish. It is very symbolic with its ingredients being various grains for hope and honey and poppy seed for happiness and peace.

Once the first star has appeared in the sky, the festivities begin. Although all of the food served is strictly Lenten, it is served in an unusually festive and anticipatory manner and style. The Russians call this meal: "The Holy Supper." The family gathers around the table to honor the coming Christ Child. A white table-cloth, symbolic of Christ's swaddling clothes, covers the Table. Hay is brought forth as a reminder of the poverty of the Cave where Jesus was born. A tall white candle is place in the center of the Table, symbolic of Christ "the Light of the World." A large round loaf of Lenten bread, "pagach," symbolic of Christ the Bread of Life, is placed next to the Candle. 

The meal begins with the Lord's Prayer, led by the father of the family. A prayer of thanksgiving for all the blessings of the past year is said and then prayers for the good things in the coming year are offered. The head of the family greets those present with the traditional Christmas greeting: "Christ is Born!" The family members respond: "Glorify Him!" The Mother of the family blesses each person present with honey in the form of a cross on each forehead, saying: "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, may you have sweetness and many good things in life and in the new year." Following this, everyone partakes of the bread, dipping it first in honey and then in chopped garlic. Honey is symbolic of the sweetness of life, and garlic of the bitterness. The "Holy Supper" is then eaten (see below for details). After dinner, no dishes are washed and the Christmas presents are opened. Then the family goes to Church, coming home between 2 and 3 am. On the Feast of the Nativity, neighbors and family members visit each other, going from house to house , eating, drinking and singing Christmas Carols all the day long.

• The "Holy Supper"

Some people fast (don't eat anything) on Christmas Eve, until the first star has appeared in the sky. People then eat 'sochivo' or ‘kutia’. It is the most important ingredient is a special porridge called kutya. It is made of wheatberries or other grains which symbolize hope and immortality, and honey and poppy seeds which ensure happiness, success, and untroubled rest. A ceremony involving the blessing of the home is frequently observed. The kutya is eaten from a common dish to symbolize unity. Some families used to throw a spoonful of kutya up to the ceiling. According to tradition, if the kutya stuck, there would be a plentiful honey harvest.

Kutia is sometimes eaten from one common bowl, this symbolizes unity. In the past, some families like to throw a spoonful of sochivo up on the ceiling. If it stuck to the ceiling, some people thought it meant they would have good luck and would have a good harvest!

The Russian word for Christmas Eve 'sochelnik', comes from the word 'sochivo'.

Some Orthodox Christian Russian also don't eat any meat or fish during the Christmas Eve meal/feast.

Other popular Christmas Eve foods include beetroot soup (borsch) or vegan potluck (solyanka) served with individual vegetable pies (often made with cabbage, potato, or mushroom); salads often made from vegetables like gherkins, mushrooms or tomatoes, and also potato or other root vegetable salads.

Sauerkraut is main dish in the Christmas Eve meal. It can be served with cranberries, cumin, shredded carrot and onion rings. It might be followed by more pies or porridge dishes such as buckwheat with fried onions and fried mushrooms.

Dessert is often things like fruit pies, gingerbread and honeybread cookies and fresh and dried fruit and more nuts.

'Vzvar' (meaning 'boil-up') is often the end of the meal. It's a sweet drink made from dried fruit and honey boiled in water. Vzvar is traditionally at the birth of a child, so at Christmas it symbolizes the birth of the baby Jesus.

Following the meal, prayers might be said and people then go to the midnight Church services. They often don't wash the dishes until they get home from Church - sometimes not until 4am or 5am!

Christmas Eve dinner is meatless but festive. Traditionally, the "Holy Supper" consists of 12 different foods, symbolic of the 12 Apostles. Although there was also some variation in the foods from place to place and village to village, the following is a good summary of what was typically served. It comes to us from Elizabeth Kontras, who celebrated the Feast of the Nativity in the traditional Russian way with her babishka (Grandmother) and zeddo (Grandfather) in Monessen, Pennsylvania until their passing in the 1970-1980's. The twelve foods are:

1) Mushroom soup with zaprashka; this is often replaced with Sauerkraut soup

2) Lenten bread ("pagach")

3) Grated garlic

4) Bowl of honey

5) Baked cod

6) Fresh Apricots, Oranges, Figs and Dates

7) Nuts

8) Kidney beans (slow cooked all day) seasoned with shredded potatoes, lots of garlic, salt and pepper to taste

9) Peas

10) Parsley Potatoes (boiled new potatoes with chopped parsley and margarine)

11) Bobal'ki (small biscuits combined with sauerkraut or poppyseed with honey)

12) Red Wine

It was once common practice, on Christmas Eve, for groups of people masquerading as manger animals to travel from house to house, having themselves a rousing good time, and singing songs known as kolyadki . Some kolyadki were pastoral carols to the baby Jesus, while others were homages to the ancient solar goddess Kolyada, who brings the lengthening days of sunlight through the winter. In return for their songs, the singers were offered food and coins, which they gladly accepted, moving on to the next home.

• Ded Moroz and yolka

The origin of Santa Claus is in St. Nicholas. He was born in Asia Minor at at the Greco-Roman city of of Myra in the province of Lycia, at a time when the region was entirely Greek in origin. Due to the suppression of religion during the Soviet regime, St. Nicholas was replaced by Ded Moroz or Grandfather Frost, the Russian Spirit of Winter who brought gifts on New Year's. He is accompanied by Snyegurochka, the Snowmaiden, who helps distribute the gifts.

The Christmas tree (Yolka) is yet another tradition banned during the Soviet era.To keep the custom alive, people decorated New Year's trees, instead. Since ornaments were either very costly or unavailable, family trees were trimmed with homemade decorations and fruit. Yolka comes from the word which refers to a fir tree. The custom of decorating Christmas trees was introduced to Russia by Peter the Great, after he visited Europe during the 1700's.

• Why January 7?

In ancient times, many, mostly unreliable methods had been used to calculate the dates according to either the lunar or solar cycles. By Roman times, the calendar had become three months out with the seasons, so in 46 BC, Julius Caesar commissioned the astronomer, Sosigenes to devise a more reliable method. This, we know as the Julian Calendar and was used widely for 1500 years. The month of his birth, Caesar had named Quintilis, but the Roman Senate later re-named it Julius (July) in his honour. In those days, February had 30 days every 4 years.

However, this calendar was still 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the solar year, so that by the year 1580, the calendar had accumulated 10 days off again. In 1582, therefore, Pope Gregory XIII corrected the difference between the sun and calendar by ordering 10 days dropped from October, the month with the least Roman Catholic Feast days. His calendar, we know as the Gregorian Calendar, which is used in almost all of the world today. Pope Gregory made further changes to keep the calendar in line, which on average is only 26.3 seconds longer than the solar year. The Gregorian Calendar is so accurate that it will take until the year 4316 to gain a whole day on the sun.

That year, 1582, October 5th became October 15th and was immediately adopted in most Roman Catholic nations of Europe. Various German states kept the Julian Calendar until 1700. Britain and the American Colonies didn't change until 1752, but Russia and Turkey did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until the early 1900's.

So, January 7th by the Georgian Calendar would have been December 25th by the old Julian Calendar and is therefore why it is still Christmas Day for the Russian Orthodox Church. Many Russians will have celebrated along with the rest of us and will then celebrate again on the Orthodox date.

• New Year Eve instead of Christmas

Few people in Russia remember, but when the communists took power in 1917 they banned the open expression of religion. While it was easy to pray at home, the Russian people were concerned about giving up their traditional Christmas celebration.

They re-invented the New Year's holiday tradition to include a decorated tree, and introduced a character called "Grandfather Frost." Known as "Ded Moroz," Grandfather Frost looked very much like the western "Santa Claus" or "Pere Noel" - except he wore a blue suit.

Actually, Ded Moroz was a character that existed in the pagan culture, centuries earlier. For a time, Christmas was all but forgotten. In fact, it was generally celebrated only in small villages, where the citizenry was far from the prying eyes of the Party. 'Father Frost' brings presents to children. He is always accompanied by his Grandaughter (Snegurochka). On New Year's eve children hold hands, make a circle around the Christmas tree and call for Snegurochka or Ded Moroz. When they appear the star and other lights on the Christmas tree light up! Ded Moroz carries a big magic staff. The traditional greeting for Happy New Year is 'S Novym Godom'.

Each era finds it’s characteristic order of things the only possible and correct. And the first holiday of the year - New Year's Eve did not escape this relationship. Much of what seems familiar and natural, and sometimes very ancient, in fact, by historical standards appeared recently. New Year's Eve for the modern Russians is winter, snow, children's holidays, the New Year tree with toys, Father Frost (russian Santa Claus) ... But is it so ancient tradition?

Over the centuries of Russian history, New Year's changed his position repeatedly. Before the rule of Peter the Great, it had started on March 1, then , from the XV century, it had started on September 1 (and until now the Orthodox Church celebrates an old style holiday “novoletie” on the first day of September). Celebrating the new year in winter in the Russian tradition was introduced by Peter I, who is known in the history of Russia as a great reformer. This custom, along with many others, he had brought from Europe, where the beginning of the year it was customary to celebrate on the first of January.

Christmas tree - it would seem an essential attribute of the winter holidays - also arrived in Russia together with the Peter’s reforms. By the middle of the XIX century Christmas tree has become familiar to the townspeople, although in the villages it was not yet known. But this tree was not yet New Year - it was called Christmas tree, and was decorated with sweets, toys, intended as a gift for guests, and candles, and the crown of her eight-crowned Christmas star - silver or gold.

At the beginning of XX century, after the October revolution, all traditional holidays were declared the bourgeois relics, including the New Year, Christmas and New Year Tree. Only in 1930, the New Year Tree had received a permission to return. But the star on the tree became red and five-point. Gradually, natural treats were replaced by a sham - toys. Toys, with time, had become more complex, but the most popular toill nowadays are the balls - a reminder of apples, not stars, not the bells or other toys. The candles were replaced by electric lights. Even the trees have become synthetic. However, a live trees are still very popular, despite of the inconvenience of peeling off pine needles. That is, how a Russian New Year Tree looks today.

Most Russians consider the New Year as their main holiday of the year. Catholic and Orthodox Christmas are much less important. for the Russians. However, more recently, on 7 January - Orthodox Christmas Day was declared as an official state holiday and public day-off.

Since the mid XX century, most Russians celebrate the New Year at home, meeting with family or guests at the dinner table. New Year's holiday menu, has its own traditions and canons too. The main feast at the holiday table is the large number of salads and snacks, as well as traditional pickles and marinades. Beautifully decorated snacks are placed in the center of the table, so that every guest could try what he likes. Russian salads are significantly different from their European counterparts - many of them are made from the boiled vegetables and mayonnaise. The most favorite salad of Russians and the main dish on New Year's table is, of course, Olivier. It is made from boiled beef or chicken, with boiled potatoes, carrots, onions, pickles, boiled egg, green peas and mayonnaise. Many housewives substitute meat for sausage or ham in this salad. This is due to the fact that in Soviet times, in the stores it was not always possible to buy meat.

There is no special tradition for drinks on New Year's table, with the exception of the traditional glass of champagne at midnight.

On the day before the new year, TV channels show the best and most interesting movies, both Russian and foreign manufacture, and during the New Year's night, the main Russian television channels show the special TV shows, where the most famous artists, musicians and TV presenters congratulate Russians on holiday. Many companies and businesses give their employees a day off or reduced working hours in this day, to give people the opportunity to make a New Year treat.

Russians, traditionally present gifts to the family members, relatives, friends and colleagues for the New Year, and never for the Orthodox Christmas.

10 minutes before the New Year, television shows the President of the Russian Federation. In his speech, he sums up briefly the results of the year and congratulates the country with a holiday. After that, all TV channels broadcast the Kremlin chimes - the main clock of Russia, that, by their bells, herald the beginning of next year.

After midnight, many Russians take off to the streets, salute and congratulate each other. In recent years, it has also become very fashionable to launch fireworks. Walking and celebration continues until 2 - 4 am. From 1 to 10 January the country has the New Year holidays.

Russian Christmas and New Year's gifts, cards and postcards often depict Snegurochka as Father Christmas's beautiful granddaughter and helper

Christmas Gifts Russian Style: Snegurochka is Father Christmas's Little Helper

In the Russian Christmas tradition, Snegurka, or Snegurochka (Snow Maiden, or Snow Girl), is Father Christmas' granddaughter: a fair maiden that travels with him in the sledge (drawn by horses or an invisible force, not reindeer) and helps him hand out gifts to children.

While Snegurochka as a folk tale character dates back at least a thousand years, she is a very recent addition to Russia's winter season. In Old Slavic folklore, Snegurka, or Snow Girl, figures as a snow sculpture that comes alive to be the adoptive daughter to a childless peasant couple. She then melts away when challenged by other village children to jump over the bonfires on St. John's night.

In the mid-19th century when folklore studies took Europe by storm, Russia made no exception and turned to its own roots and mythology. In 1873, a leading playwright A. N. Ostrovski wrote The Winter Tale, or Snegurochka -- a theater play set in pagan Russia. The story portrayed Snegurochka as the daughter of Father Frost and his wife Springtime: a faerie maiden who wished to fall in love with a human and then melted away, overwhelmed by the feeling, when her mother granted her her wish.

Russian Christmas Cards and Decorations Depicted Snegurochka and Father Christmas

Although Russians started celebrating Christmas in 1700, complete with the tree, gifts and fireworks, Father Christmas, or Father Frost, first appeared in Russia in 1910 - without Snegurochka by his side yet, although the play was often performed at Christmas parties and tree decorations, as well as Christmas cards and postcards depicting her were produced.

Christmas was still celebrated in the first Soviet years, but as Joseph Stalin came to power, he banned all religious holidays in 1926, including children's Christmas parties. The Xmas tree and the figure of Father Frost were ridiculed as "obsolete", and folk tales, including Snegurochka, were branded as "damaging for children's mental development".

Today, Christmas is celebrated again, on January 7. But, to date, New Year's remains the bigger event.

• Why do Russians Orthodox people celebrate Christmas on January 7th? Why not on December 25th?

Well, the reason is that the Russian Orthodox Church still lives according to the old Julian Calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian Calendar, which is adopted by most countries in the world (and by the Russian government). When in the end of 1917 the Bolshevik government decided to adopt Gregorian calendar, the Russian Orthodox church decided not to follow the rules set by the incresingly oppresive civil authorities. Part of the reason was to protest against the Bolsheviks and their interference in church affairs. Another reason, perhaps, was to stick to the older rules, the ways in which generations of Russian Christians were praising the Lord, observing holidays, etc.