New calendar Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

Orthodox Christians following the new calendar celebrate today, December 25, the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christmas is one of the 12 Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, which are the main holidays of the liturgical year. Protopope Ioan Ciuntu, parson of the Saint Teodor of Sihla Cathedral in Chisinau told Info-Prim Neo that the birth of any child in any family brings joy, as does any living being that springs from the earth or comes into life, and when we think about the Nativity we are excited because this is our change through birth and rebirth. “The Nativity of the Lord marks the beginning of the Christian age of new laws replacing the old one, replacing the principle “an eye for an eye” with “love thy neighbor as yourself”. All the messages and parables coming from Jesus Christ laid the foundations for the law based on love. Through the Nativity of the Lord the laws that once didn’t offer the women equal dignity with men were changed radically. For example, in the parable of the sinful woman, when everybody had a stone in hand ready to throw it at the woman, the Messiah told them “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. It’s true that the Messiah changed social life for the better and where we find love, benefaction, compassion and tolerance, there we meet Christ”, said the priest. [On Christmas we must forgive] Ioan Ciuntu says that on this day it is important to respect first the church dogmas and then the traditions. Such a holiday must make us think about spiritual preparation. After a fast that everyone respected according to his or her health state, Christians must come to church with fairness and good will, casting aside the earthly worries. “Besides the festive clothes and table, we enter the holiday with the Royal Clocks, which tell us about the strict fasting day before Christmas. We must celebrate, but this doesn’t mean to stuff ourselves with foods and drinks until we get dizzy. We must celebrate by leaving aside all the troubles of earthly life, with serene thoughts and all our goodwill, so as to make those around us melt the ices of unfriendliness. The Christmas holiday has always brought peace and goodness. That’s why the Church’s message on this day is “Glory to God, peace on earth and goodwill among people”. According to Ioan Ciuntu, the holiday won’t bring a rich table for everyone. There are poor families and if some of us have spare money, it would be good to give for charity, to help those poor and in need, those in retirement asylums, in orphanages or bedridden, to make them feel the help of society. If some of us have to go to work on this day, the first thing they must do is say the morning prayer thanking God for everything, then go an light a candle at the church for their own and their close ones’ good health. In the fasting days, one must purify his soul through confession and communion in order to celebrate the holiday with a clean soul. [The carol- a song of love and praise for God] Priest Ioan Ciuntu said that carols are like a confession of love for God. “When two people are in love and they tell each other hundreds of times they love each other, none of them is annoyed. So are the carols. God isn’t annoyed if we praise him numerous times and everyone is happy to receive carolers again and again. The word has great power and can hit harder than a slap or a bullet. It knows no distance and works directly in our heart and soul. It is true that it can hurt if it is harsh, but it can also ease the suffering of those in pain”. The parson of the Saint Teodora of Sihla Cathedral said that in the period until the Epiphany the people are free from fasting. In the eve of the Epiphany, there is a strict fasting day, like in the eve of Christmas. “We mustn’t quarrel about the calendar. God is one for all and is kind to all. Rain falls both on the believer and on the non-believer. We must be tolerant”, concluded Ioan Ciuntu. [Christmas traditions are the basis of collective solidarity] Researcher Varvara Buzila, scientific director of the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History, says that through multiple significations Christmas marks in the folk calendar the beginning of the 12 day cycle of feasting through which passage is made from the old year into the new one, the time of birth and renovation of the calendar. It is also the period in which the farmer is preparing for the next agrarian cycle. A practice specific to Christmas is the butchering of the pig. In the traditional Romanian community, a few days before the feasting cycle, the pig is butchered on the Ignat day. According to Varvara Buzila, the butchering of the pig on the Ignat day is for Romanians a form of animal sacrifice, practiced by Greeks, Romans, Celts, Persians, Egyptians, in polytheist religions and in monotheist ones like Judaism and Islam. Another tradition is the carol. “The tradition of caroling means going from house to house wishing the hosts the best. It is based on the principle that underlies the social order and collective solidarity in our villages: all for one and one for all. Winter holiday traditions inherited from the old times are still observed in various forms, involving the whole community, especially the kids. Christmas brings together a array of rituals and traditions among which we remark the children’s caroling with all its beauty and freshness”, said Varvara Buzila, scientific director of the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History. The Nativity is celebrated on December 25 according to the Gregorian calendar and on January 7 according to the Julian calendar. According to ethnographers, about a third of the localities in Moldova observe Christmas on December 25, especially those in the south and north of the country. [Alina Marin, Info-Prim Neo]