Photo credit: K. Bryullov. Fortune telling Svetlana. 1853 / mos.ru (CC BY 4.0)
Orthodox believers celebrate Christmastide, a special festive period that begins after the Nativity of Christ and lasts about two weeks until the Epiphany. The church history of Christmastide dates back centuries. On these days in Rus' it was customary to carol and tell fortunes, and after Christmastide - to get married, Izvestia reports.
There are different opinions about the day that Christmastide begins. Some believe that Christmastide begins on January, 6 at dusk, others celebrate this holiday from January, 7. During Christmastide, Orthodox believers rejoice at the birth of Jesus Christ.
In ancient times, Christmas and Epiphany were celebrated on the same day, but in the 4th century, important events of the church calendar were separated on different days, and the time between them began to be called Christmastide.
In modern Russia it is customary to meet with friends, exchange gifts, and help the poor. A family lunch with kutya, sbiten, nut cookies and other dishes is served on the Christmas table.
Christmas traditions in Rus' have both church and pagan traditions; to please the latter, mass festivities and fortune telling were held. In the era of Peter the Great, Christmastide was celebrated very noisily, and the emperor himself, according to some sources, loved to carol.
Caroling is one of the most famous and widespread Christmas traditions. Children and teenagers sang songs in honor of Christ and the Virgin Mary, moving from house to house with a pole with a star in their hands. For this, the owners of the houses treated them to sweets.
Christmastide is closely connected with the tradition of marriage; it was customary to get married after the end of the festive period, since matchmaking was part of the program of festivities.
Russkiy Mir
