Christmas - АкваМаркет
Catalog
Water and beverages Water and beverages
Home and office Home and office
Household chemicals Household chemicals
Hygiene Hygiene
Products Products

Christmas


Recently, the date of Christmas in Ukraine has become a real debatable issue. The situation became especially acute when Russia launched a full-scale bloody war, which was blessed by the Russian Orthodox Church. Ukrainians selflessly stood not only to protect their land, but also for the first time in a long time decided to defend their culture, language, and religion. The majority of citizens do not want to have anything to do with the enemy and uproot everything that connected us with the neighboring people.
The opinions of Orthodox believers are divided - some consider it appropriate to switch to the celebration of Christmas on December 25, while others want to continue to celebrate on January 7. And although currently the majority is in favor of preserving traditions, the number of supporters of December 25 is growing every year.

Church split. Historical excursion

In the IV century there was a pentarchy, that is, all the Christians of the world belonged to five patriarchs: Constantinople, Rome, Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. There were also two main church departments: Roman (or Western) and Constantinople (or Eastern). The first service was held in Latin, and the second in Greek, over time differences in ritual and creed appeared, which were aggravated by disputes over the political and economic situation of the churches, and later turned into an open conflict between the Pope and the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
During the reign of Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople, the conflict reached its peak. The latter decided that the Western Church should separate from the Eastern one, so he asked the Pope to be called the "Eastern Pope". However, he was refused.Cerularius was offended and wrote the document "Exposure of the Latins", where he listed all the "sins" of the Western Church. The Pope did not hesitate to respond and imposed an anathema, excommunicating the Patriarchate from the Church. Cerularius convened a Local Council and condemned the actions of the Pope and his legates. In 1054, the final split of the Church took place. It was then that Orthodox believers and Catholics arose. However, all Churches continued to follow the Julian (solar) calendar until the 16th century.

Julian and Gregorian calendars

We all know that there are 365 days in a year. But this is not completely accurate, because, in addition to days, there are also 5 hours, 48 ​​minutes and 6 seconds. During the creation of the Julian calendar, 5 hours were taken into account, so once every 4 years, we have a so-called leap year, which consists of 366 days. And they "lost" 48 minutes and 6 seconds.
And in 1582, the mathematician and astronomer Aloysius Lilius noticed that the calendar "lags behind" the solar cycle. He immediately went with his discovery to Pope Gregory XIII, who, based on the scientist's evidence, decided to create a new Gregorian calendar.
The Western Department immediately adopted the new Calendar and began to hold services according to it. The Orthodox Patriarchate refused and continued to live according to the Julian calendar.
However, in 1918, Eastern believers also switched to the Gregorian calendar in their daily life, but the Church remained on the Julian calendar. From the 16th century to our days, more than 400 years have passed and the difference between the calendars has already reached 14 days.
That is why Western-style believers celebrate Christmas on December 25, and Orthodox - two weeks later - on January 7.

Arguments why you should switch to celebrating Christmas on December 25:

In modern life, we all use the Gregorian calendar, so it is simply illogical to celebrate major church holidays in the old way.
According to the head of the OCU, Metropolitan Epiphanius, "we celebrate the 25th, just according to different calendars. And this mistake will have to be corrected." However, such a transition can last up to 10 years.
When Ukrainians celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar, they will join the world tradition. This will be another step towards separation from Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate.
Doctor of Theological Sciences Dmytro Stepovyk believes that Ukrainians should still celebrate Christmas on December 25. First of all, he argues that there is no exact date when Jesus Christ was born, but in the Christian tradition it happened during the winter solstice (it is on December 25 that one minute begins to be added to the daylight hours). Also, the Philippian fast should end before Christmas. If the big holiday is on December 25, then the fast will end until the New Year (this is a day of singing, fun and dancing, which are prohibited during a strict fast).

Arguments why you should leave Christmas on January 7:

For many Ukrainians, celebrating Christmas on January 7 remains a warm family tradition that they do not want to give up.
According to Metropolitan Epiphanius, it is impossible to change the date of the celebration abruptly, because this will only lead to a split among Ukrainians. Therefore, the transition should be gradual and wise.
If the celebration of Christmas is postponed to December 25, other major Orthodox holidays will also have to be postponed. In particular, St. Nicholas Day, Baptism, St. Basil's Day, etc. Many believers will find it difficult to accept such a change.
In Ukrainian traditions from time immemorial, the period of holidays started from Christmas on January 7 and lasted until January 19 (Vodokhreshche). It has many ritual songs and customs. One cannot simply uproot age-old traditions from people's memory.
Some ethnographers and historians believe that the date of the celebration of January 7 did not come from Moscow, but was created during the time of Kievan Rus. That is, the Russian lands took it over from us.
There is no fundamental difference when to celebrate such an event as the birth of Jesus Christ, because there is no exact date in the Bible.
Currently, the Russian, Georgian, Serbian, and Jerusalem Orthodox churches continue to use the Julian calendar, as well as the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).
In November 2022, a sociological survey by the "Rating" group was conducted, according to which, during the year, those who support the idea of ​​moving the celebration of Christmas to December 25 significantly increased: from 26% to 44%. Against such an idea - 31% (in 2021 - 58%). Another 23% indicated that they do not care about this question and 2% could not answer.The most supporters of the idea of ​​moving Christmas are among the residents of the West and Kyiv: more than half support this idea. Among the residents of the center, a relative majority (44%) is also not against this initiative.
Both dates of Christmas have their strong arguments. Therefore, every believer must decide for himself when to celebrate, because true faith is in our hearts, and it is not tied to dates.
The AquaMarket company sincerely congratulates everyone who celebrates Christmas on January 7. On this bright holiday, I would like to wish all of us peace, goodness, mutual understanding, love, mental balance, more good news, good health and, of course, the long-awaited VICTORY! This great Christian holiday gave mankind the most important thing - hope, which fills hearts with warmth and mercy. Today, in the prayers of every Ukrainian, there is a request for peace and victory, for protection from the bullets of our Defenders on the front lines, for the well-being of our country.
With faith in Victory! Christ is Born - Let's Praise Him!

Once again, we draw your attention to changes in the delivery schedule on holidays:

  • 01/06/2022 - we are open from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
  • 7.01.2023 - day off

On other days, delivery will be made according to the standard schedule.