The Orthodox Christians who follow the new calendar celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ on December 25. Archbishop Andrei Bucliș, secretary of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and priest at the Chisinau Church “Saint Apostles Peter and Paul”, said that this holiday is one of the oldest in Christianity and is one of the 12 Great Feasts of the year, which marks important events in the life of our Savior.

Contacted by IPN for a comment, Andrei Bucliș said “Christmas” should be used as seldom as possible as the holiday is actually called the Nativity. As Easter, it is preceded by a fasting period of 40 days and continues for almost a week.



Either the faithful celebrate this feast according to the new or the old style, it is important to understand that the Nativity is a Christian holiday and this should be first of all observed in the church. “If we wait for holidays to amuse ourselves and feast, we distance ourselves considerably from the meaning of these,” stated Andrei Bucliș.

He also said that either we observe according to the new or the old style, the holiday falls on December 25. The difference is in the calendar. By the old style, December 25 coincides with January 7 by the new style.

In connection with the winter holidays and the end of the years, Archbishop Andrei Bucliș wished everyone good health, peace and spiritual joy. “I urge everyone to be kinder as the Birth of Jesus Christ is about kindness, to be more loving as this holiday is about God’s love for mankind, to be more caring as Christ decided to be born as a human out of love for us. Let’s try and love each other as He loved us,” stated the priest.