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Christmas Eve is the most magical time in the life of any believer. Families gather to celebrate this joyful holiday together. We will talk about the most famous signs and traditions on Christmas Eve that our ancestors followed.
The history of folk signs on Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve it is customary to prepare for Christmas, spiritually and physically. Believers strive to clear their thoughts in order to meet the holiday in a better mood, and they also prepare a table at which all family members sit down on the evening of January 6. This day is filled with many rituals of varying degrees of superstition that arose in Our Country a long time ago. Many of them we continue to follow to this day.
What to do on Christmas Eve
We have collected the main recommendations that will tell you what you can do on the eve of Christmas:
- Gather the whole family for a festive dinner. Christmas is usually celebrated with friends and family. There should be 12 dishes on the table – according to the number of apostles. It should certainly be juicy – porridge made from cereals, nuts and dried fruits.
- Look out for the first star. Before dinner, the whole family went out into the courtyard to meet the first star that lit up in the sky – it was believed that it was a reflection of Bethlehem and a messenger of the imminent birth of Christ.
- Put up a Christmas tree in the house. A decorated tree is one of the attributes of Christmas Day. The top of the Christmas tree was decorated with a star, which symbolized Bethlehem.
- Visit a church. On Christmas Eve, after the meal, believers went to the festive service to celebrate Christmas in the temple.
- caroling Although holiday carols came to us from pre-Christian times, the church does not forbid them. In the old days, young men and girls went from house to house, sang songs glorifying Christ, and the owners, who opened the doors to carolers, were obliged to treat them. In some regions of Our Country, this tradition is still in use.
What Not to Do on Christmas Eve
Vocal and unspoken prohibitions that are customary to follow on Christmas Eve:
- Eat before sunset. January 6 is the last and most strict day of the Filippov fast. On the eve of Christmas, believers abstain from food throughout the day, until the first star lights up in the sky. Only after that the family sits down at the table.
- Wear dark clothes. To celebrate Christmas in black is a bad omen. On this day, it is customary to dress in light, new and clean clothes.
- Quarrel and quarrel. You should not loudly sort things out on such a joyful holiday.
- Do household chores. On Christmas Eve, the house should be clean, but you should prepare in advance – on January 6 and 7, it is better to postpone cleaning, washing, sewing and other household chores. The only exception is the preparation of dishes for the festive table.
- Guessing. The Orthodox Church has a quite definite opinion about fortune-telling – all such rituals are from the evil one, and their conduct at any time, and especially on the eve of Christmas, is a grave sin for a believer.
- Deny hospitality. On Christmas Eve it is customary to welcome everyone, even uninvited guests. They believed whoever did not open the doors of his house for a traveler and treat him would not be happy all year.
weather signs
Folk signs of the weather, characteristic of January 6, will tell you what to expect from next year:
- Clear day – to a rich harvest in the summer.
- A snowstorm on Christmas Eve means that there will be a lot of honey this year.
- Thaw on January 6 – do not wait for the harvest of cucumbers and millet in the summer.
- Black paths in the snow are visible – buckwheat will be born well.
- Snow fell – expect good news this year.