Christmas

He was born in a cave and was put in a manger, where they put food for animals.On this day in the small town of Bethlehem, an unprecedented event took place - the Son of God was born into the world. Jesus Christ was born in a supernatural way from the Virgin Mary, whom we have since called the Virgin.

When He came to earth, He was not met with honor, nobility and wealth. He did not even have a cradle, like all children, and there was no shelter - He was born outside the city, in a cave and was put in a manger, where they put food for animals.

The first guests of the divine infant were not kings and nobles, but simple shepherds, to whom the angel announced the Nativity of Christ: “I bring to you great joy, which will be to all people: for now a Savior has been born to you in the city of David, Who is Christ the Lord!” And this is a sign to you: you will find a baby in veils lying in a manger (Luke 2:10-12).

The shepherds were the first to venerate the newborn Savior. The magicians of the past were the magicians of the past. They waited for the great King of Peace to come soon, and a wonderful star showed them the way to Jerusalem.

The magicians brought gifts to the Child: gold, incense and myrrh. These gifts had a deep meaning: gold was brought as a tribute to the King, incense as God, and myrrh as a person who must die (the humble in those days anointed the dead).

But was this the way Christ was received? The Holy Church sings that the whole creation of God met the Savior: angels brought him singing, the magi brought gifts, the shepherds met the Child, the earth prepared a cave-vertep, and the Mother of the Lord became the Virgin Mary.

In the darkness of the ages that night has passed away,
When, tired of anger and anxiety
The earth in the arms of the sky rested
And in silence he was born: “God is with us!”
And a lot of things are impossible now:
Kings no longer look up to heaven.
And pastors don't listen in the desert
Like angels talk about God.
But the eternal thing that was revealed that night,
It's timeless.
And the Word was born again in your soul,
Born above the manger long ago.
Yes! God is with us, not in the azure tent.
Not beyond countless worlds,
Not in an evil fire or in a stormy breath,
Not in the sleepy memory of ages.
He is here now, in the midst of an accidental fuss,
In a stream of noisy life anxieties.
You possess a joyful secret:
Powerlessly evil, we are eternal, with us God!

The Nativity of Christ completes the forty-day Christmas fast (St. Forty-Century), on the eve of the holiday strict fasting is observed. After Christmas comes Christmas - holy days or 12 days, during which the holiday is celebrated.