December 25 — Catholic Christmas: traditions, differences from Orthodoxy
Christmas is one of the main religious holidays among Christians of all faiths. Catholics, Protestants and many local Orthodox Churches celebrate it on December 25th. Izvestia tells us what are the differences between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas and how it is celebrated in Europe.
What date is Catholic Christmas celebrated in 2025?
Catholics and Protestants celebrate Christmas on December 25th. The date is fixed and does not change from year to year. Some local Orthodox churches also celebrate the Savior's birth on the same day. These include the churches of Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, as well as Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.
The Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the Churches of Jerusalem, Serbia, and Georgia, follow a different tradition — they celebrate Christmas on January 7.
Why do Catholics and Christians celebrate Christmas on different days?
The difference in the dates of Christmas for both Orthodox and Catholic Christians is due to the use of different calendars. A number of local Orthodox churches live according to the Julian calendar, which is now called the "old style," while the Catholic Church focuses on the Gregorian calendar. The difference between them is 13 days.
However, until the end of the 16th century, there was no such division — all Christian churches lived according to the Julian calendar and celebrated Christmas on December 25. However, in 1582, on the instructions of Pope Gregory XIII, a new system of chronology was developed, called the Gregorian calendar.
Initially, the difference between the two calendars was only 10 days, but every 128 years the gap increases by one day. In Russia, the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1917, when the "lag" from Europe was already 13 days. Nevertheless, the Russian Orthodox Church refused to switch to the "new style" and still adheres to the Julian calendar. Therefore, Christmas is celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church on January 7.
What are the differences between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas?
From a religious point of view, the prerequisites of the holiday are the same for all Christians — both Catholics and Orthodox believers celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. However, representatives of different faiths have different attitudes towards the holiday.
For Catholics, Christmas is the most important church celebration of the year. They celebrate it much more widely and on a larger scale than the Orthodox. In the Russian Orthodox Church, Easter, the Resurrection of Christ, is considered the main day of the liturgical year.
The liturgical traditions also vary. For Catholics, the central event of the holiday is the Christmas Mass. It can be an evening service on the night of December 25th or a morning service on the day of the holiday itself. In different countries, services are held in local languages and with different liturgical features. However, they share a common structure: reading the Christmas Gospel and singing holiday hymns. The Nativity scene is also blessed.
The Orthodox celebration begins with a night service, it takes place on the night of January 6-7. The celebration is preceded by a long Christmas fast. After the service, the faithful gather for a festive meal in the family circle.
Catholic Christmas Traditions on December 25th
Unlike Orthodox Christians, Catholics do not observe strict fasting before Christmas. However, they also have a period of spiritual preparation for the holiday — Advent. It starts four weeks before the celebration. It is a time of prayer, repentance and purification. Each week is dedicated to a separate topic: the first is hope, the second is peace, the third is joy, and the fourth is love.
Advent is associated with one of the most popular modern New Year and Christmas traditions — Advent calendars. They first appeared in the 1850s to make it easier to count down the days until Christmas. In the 1920s, cardboard calendars with windows in which small objects could be placed were invented. Today, people buy them as gifts not only for Christmas, but also for other winter holidays.
A few days before the celebration, it is customary to decorate a Christmas tree. The prototype of modern Christmas trees appeared in Strasbourg in 1605. There, the trees were decorated with apples, which could be a reference to the heavenly fruit. According to another version, the tradition is connected with the ancient customs of the Germanic peoples — they considered the fir tree to be the "queen of the forests" and decorated it during pagan rituals.
The culmination of the holiday comes on Christmas Eve — the evening and night from December 24 to December 25. Solemn divine services are held in churches, and believers gather at a festive table with their loved ones. Different countries have their own traditional Christmas dishes. In France it is a sweet sponge cake, in Sweden it is turkey, and in Italy it is fish.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself, it is customary to exchange gifts. In Europe and the USA, Santa Claus, not Santa Claus, brings them to children. According to legend, for those who have behaved well all year, the wizard puts a gift under the Christmas tree or in a special stocking, and for those who have behaved badly — a coal. Santa's assistants are considered to be Christmas elves. They first appeared in 1812 in the fairy tale of the brothers Grimm "The Elves and the Cobbler". Magical creatures helped the master to cope with pre-holiday orders.
Another integral part of the celebration of Catholic Christmas is the performance of carols. They are sung in city squares, at home, on the stages of theaters and concert halls. Since 1918, the famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Songs has been held at King's College Cambridge, where Christmas carols are combined with the reading of Biblical passages.
It is difficult to imagine a European Christmas without fairs. You can buy souvenirs, participate in contests and try seasonal treats. Caramel apples are popular in France, and Viennese waffles are popular in Austria. Traditional drinks are punch and warming mulled wine with various additives.
Earlier, Izvestia shared postcards and congratulations on St. Nicholas Day.
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