Using the Julian calendar and the revised Julian calendar Eastern Orthodox national churches, including those of Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem mark feasts using the older Julian calendar. December 25 on the Julian calendar currently corresponds to January 7 on the internationally used Gregorian calendar. However, other Orthodox Christians, such as the churches of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Finland, and the Orthodox Church in America, among others, began using the Revised Julian calendar in the early 20th century, which corresponds exactly to the Gregorian calendar.[5] Listing Church or section Date Calendar Gregorian date Note Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem January 6 Julian calendar January 19 Correspondence between Julian January 6 and Gregorian January 19 holds until 2100; in the following century the difference will be one day more. Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church January 6 Gregorian calendar January 6 Eastern Orthodox Churches, including those of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Antioch, Constantinople, Alexandria, Albania, Cyprus, Finland and the Orthodox Church in America December 25 Revised Julian calendar December 25 Revised Julian calendar usage started in the early 20th century Other Eastern Orthodox: Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem December 25 Julian calendar January 7 Correspondence between Julian December 25 and Gregorian January 7 of the following year holds until 2099; from 2100 to 2199 the difference will be one day more. Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Koiak 29 (corresponding to Julian December 25 or 26) Coptic calendar January 7 or 8 Since the Coptic calendars leap day is inserted in what the Julian calendar considers September, the following Koiak 29 falls one day later than usual in the Julian and Gregorian calendars Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Tahsas 29 or 28 (corresponding to Julian December 25) Ethiopian Calendar January 7 After the Ethiopian insertion of a leap day in what for the Julian calendar is September, Christmas is celebrated on Tahsas 28 in order to maintain the exact interval of 9 30-day months and 5 days of the childs gestation.[105] The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses the same calendar but, like the Coptic Church, does not make this adjustment. Western Christian Church, secular world December 25 Gregorian calendar December 25 History The Chronography of 354 AD contains early evidence of the celebration on December 25 of a Christian liturgical feast of the birth of Jesus. This was in Rome, while in Eastern Christianity the birth of Jesus was already celebrated in connection with the Epiphany on January 6.[106][107] The December 25 celebration was imported into the East later: in Antioch by John Chrysostom towards the end of the 4th century,[107] probably in 388, and in Alexandria only in the following century.[108] Even in the West, the January 6 celebration of the nativity of Jesus seems to have continued until after 380.[109] In 245, Origen of Alexandria, writing about Leviticus 12:1–8, commented that Scripture mentions only sinners as celebrating their birthdays, namely Pharaoh, who then had his chief baker hanged (Genesis 40:20–22), and Herod, who then had John the Baptist beheaded (Mark 6:21–27), and mentions saints as cursing the day of their birth, namely Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:14–15) and Job (Job 3:1–16).[110] In 303, Arnobius ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, a passage cited as evidence that Arnobius was unaware of any nativity celebration.[111] Since Christmas does not celebrate Christs birth as God but as man, this is not evidence against Christmas being a feast at this time.[7] The fact the Donatists of North Africa celebrated Christmas may indicate that the feast was established by the time that church was created in 311. Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus birth, with certain elements having origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity. These elements, including the Yule log from Yule and gift giving from Saturnalia,[69] became syncretized into Christmas over the centuries. The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has also continually evolved since the holidays inception, ranging from a sometimes raucous, drunken, carnival-like state in the Middle Ages,[112] to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a 19th-century reformation.[113][114] Additionally, the celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within certain Protestant groups, such as the Puritans, due to concerns that it was too pagan or unbiblical.[115][116]
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 21:30:27 +0000