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Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Eve

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Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Eve


06.01.2024


Photo credit: mos.ru (CC BY 4.0)

Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas Eve on Saturday, January, 6. Long services are held in churches; Christmas Eve is characterized by a particularly strict fast. Solemn services in honor of the Nativity of Christ will open on January, 6 at about 11 p.m., TASS reports.

In the church calendar, Christmas Eve ends the long Nativity fast. The name of the holiday comes from the sochivo dish, which decorates the table of Orthodox believers that evening.

The celebrations leading up to Christmas include a long morning service. It includes the Royal Hours, Great Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. On this day, the church remembers all the blood relatives of Jesus Christ.

On the night of January 6-7, the Divine Liturgy in honor of Christmas will be held in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, led by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. The country's leading federal television channels will broadcast it live.

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