By Archpriest Dionisy Svechnikov
Christmas Eve, or Nativity Eve – is the final and special day of the Nativity Fast. The uniqueness of Christmas Eve is evident in both the Lenten tradition and the liturgical tradition.
What service is held on Christmas Eve?
Liturgical features of Christmas Eve, unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, include the reading of the Royal Hours, the eight paremias at Vespers, and the combination of Vespers and the Liturgy. The Royal Hours are celebrated three times a year: on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and the Theophany or Day of Lights, and on Great Friday. They are called "Royal" because in ancient Byzantium they were usually celebrated in the presence of the Emperor and concluded with the proclamation of many years for the Emperor (and the Patriarch). The Royal Hours, while maintaining the structure of the usual reading of the Hours, have a unique feature: they are supplemented by stichera, paremias, prokeimenons, and the reading of the Apostolic Epistles and the Gospel. Following the reading of the Hours and the Odes, Vespers begins. In modern practice, Vespers is celebrated not in the evening or in the afternoon, but in the morning, combining with the Liturgy [called a Vesperal Liturgy]. At Vespers, eight prophecies (instead of the usual three) are read, revealing the essence of the feast of the Nativity. There is also the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great. After the Liturgy, a glorification is performed in the center of the church, before the icon of the Nativity of Christ — the troparion and kontakion, special solemn hymns dedicated to the feast, are sung.
How to fast on Christmas Eve?
There is a custom of not eating until the first star appears in the sky, commemorating the appearance of the guiding star to the Magi. However, this custom is not reflected in the typikon, which prescribes a strict fast on this day until the end of Vespers, when a candle symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem is brought to the center of the church. Food may be consumed after Vespers. There is also a traditional dish served on Christmas Eve. This is sochivo (or koliva) – soaked or boiled grains of wheat, rye, oats, or other grains, with honey and dried fruit. However, partaking of sochivo is not obligatory; everyone may, according to their strength and ability, enjoy other Lenten foods.
Is it possible to strictly fast on this day, not eating any food at all?
The Church doesn't demand such diligence from its children. Moreover, Christmas Eve, although not a feast, has certain attributes of the feast, as mentioned above — the appearance of the "star" in the center of the church and the glorification with the the singing of festive hymns. It would be illogical to receive Holy Communion at the Divine Liturgy, sing joyful Christmas hymns, and then go home to continue the fast. Physical strength is essential, as the nighttime Nativity service — the all-night vigil and the Liturgy — is still to come. After this service, however, one can partake of the festive Lenten food. If you don't eat before this point, you can overload your body and, instead of experiencing the joy of the feast, experience stomach or intestinal problems. Therefore, it's better to follow the generally accepted rules rather than create your own.
Is it possible to tell fortunes on Christmas Eve?
Fortune-telling is prohibited on Christmas Eve, during Christmastide, or at any other time! "Do not practice divination or sorcery" (Leviticus 19:26) – as stated in the Holy Scripture. This direct prohibition is ignored by those who engage in godless practices on holy days, thinking it is merely a folk pastime. Divination is by no means a pastime; it is an appeal to evil spirits for assistance. The consequences of such activities can be highly unpredictable, and the price for an "open future" can be extremely unexpected. What is presented as a folk tradition, such as burning an effigy during Maslenitsa, has pagan origins, and paganism has nothing in common with faith in God. For example, caroling – a form of folk creativity – also has pagan roots and has nothing to do with glorifying Christ at Christmas. The Council of Stoglav (1551), it was noted: “On the Eve of the Nativity of Christ, men, women, and children in their homes and in the streets, going about and engaging in mockeries, perform all kinds of games and songs of a satanic nature, and numerous types of debaucheries.” Carolers would dress up as all sorts of unclean spirits, put on pagan masks, go around the yards in such attire, and sing. People would not let them into the house, trying instead to pay them off outside. As for the glorifiers, those who praised the Newborn Christ with church hymns and festive songs, they were joyfully welcomed into homes and offered hospitality. Today, however, the well-ordered Christmas chants have for some reason come to be called "carols," under the pretext of "folk creativity." There is a confusion of terms – seemingly Christian Christmas hymns are designated by the pagan term "carols." The same applies to divination – a demonic practice, yet people are encouraged to engage in it on Christmas Eve and during the Holy Days. In this way, the Evil One subtly infiltrates what is most sacred and works his schemes. Orthodox Christians should keep away from this and instruct those who, out of ignorance or carelessness, fall into demonic snares.
Why is the Christmas Liturgy served at night?
There are two reasons for this. First, it is done in remembrance of Christ's birth at night. The Star of Bethlehem appeared in the night sky. In the middle of the night, angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of the Infant God, whom they came to venerate. The second reason is the church's liturgical typikon, which originates from the typikon of ancient monasteries. There, the service on the eve of a feast was held at night. The service, which begins at night and ends at dawn, combining Vespers and Matins, is called the All-Night Vigil. After the All-Night Vigil, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. In modern parish practice, which differs from ancient monastic practice, the All-Night Vigil is celebrated in the evening, and the Divine Liturgy in the morning. Only on certain feasts, one of which is the Nativity of Christ, are the All-Night Vigil and Liturgy celebrated at night.
Which service is better to attend: at night or in the morning on Christmas Day itself?
If you have the opportunity to attend the midnight service, it's worth it. After all, Christmas only happens once a year, and midnight services can be counted on the fingers of one hand. But if you can't make it to the midnight service, don't worry; many city churches offer a second, late Liturgy in the morning. However, this is only possible in parishes with at least two priests. An Orthodox priest is authorized to celebrate only one Liturgy per day. Therefore, if a parish has only one priest, the service is celebrated at night, and you wish to receive Communion during the festive Liturgy on a feast day, this can only be done at the midnight service. There are parishes, mostly remote and small, where the priest comes only for feast days, usually in the morning. In such parishes, participation in the festive service is possible only after the priest's arrival.
How long does the Eucharistic fast (fast before Communion) last if you receive Communion at night?
The Liturgical (Eucharistic) fast , or pre-Communion fast, consists of abstaining from food and drink from midnight the night before receiving Communion, as it is customary to approach the Holy Chalice on an empty stomach. On festive night services (Easter, Christmas), the Holy Synod's 1968 definition of fasting on the eve of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, which stipulates a minimum of six hours, can be used as a guide. This measure may be modified for sick people whose illness requires special diets and medications, as well as for pregnant and nursing women. For infants and people with acute chronic illnesses requiring constant food or medication, the requirements of the Eucharistic fast may be waived entirely. It is best to discuss these relaxations with the priest in advance. However, if there is an urgent need and it was not possible to speak with the priest in advance, it is best to do as best you can. Illness, taking medications and food at the time required for health reasons are not an obstacle to participation in the Liturgy and receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
About the Royal Hours
By Priest Mikhail Zheltov
By Priest Mikhail Zheltov
The Royal Hours for the Eve of the Nativity of Christ are modeled on the daytime service for Great Friday, which originated in Jerusalem in the 4th century. Throughout the night from Holy Thursday to Great Friday, a procession took place around the site of Christ's Passion. In the morning, the people dispersed to rest, only to reassemble at the city's main church around midday. There, prophecies about the suffering Messiah and the Gospel narratives of the Passion were read. As the late 4th-century pilgrim Egeria writes, during these readings, the people wept so loudly that they could be heard several blocks away. Over time, the daytime service for Great Friday acquired a corresponding hymnography and was integrated into the regular hours, which serve simply as a framework for it. Each of the four hours — the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th — retains only one of its usual psalms, while the others are replaced by psalms appropriate to the meaning of the commemoration being celebrated. After the troparion and the Theotokion, three more hymns are performed, with repetitions (in total, in 4 hours, there are 12 such hymns), and then the prokeimenon is sung and an Old Testament prophecy, an excerpt from the Apostle and the Gospel are read.
Similar to Great Friday, the Eves of the Nativity of Christ and the Theophany received similar Royal Hours services two or three centuries later. Unlike the mournful hours of Great Friday, the Nativity and Theophany services of the Royal Hours are filled with a more joyful and laudatory spirit.
And yet, a mournful undertone remains. It's no coincidence that they are established for the morning hours of Christmas Eve — especially fast days of the year, when food is forbidden until evening, until the end of the Liturgy (which on Christmas Eve is celebrated after Vespers). Moreover, when Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday or Sunday, meaning the fast is lifted until evening and the Liturgy must be celebrated in the morning rather than after Vespers, the Royal Hours are transferred to Friday, in which case such a Friday becomes a day without Liturgy — just like Great Friday.
Perhaps for the same reason, among the hymns of the Royal Hours of the Nativity, there are several that very poignantly emphasize such a theme as the doubts of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
