Christmas, Part 1

Tomorrow is Christmas Day—at least in the West. Tomorrow we will go to church and celebrate the birth of Christ, just as we would if we were back in the States. However, we will be among the few hundred thousand or so Russians who are doing the same. Why? Because the Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on the 7th of January. Thus, it was rather weird today, on Christmas Eve—that is, the Christmas Eve as I know it—to go out and see that most people are spending today like any other day. But, I guess this way we get to celebrate Jesus’ coming twice—not the worst thing in the world, I would say!

I am actually pretty excited about the next few weeks, because it will be a glimpse into the cultural life of Russians. There are some things that I have already gleaned from conversations with some Russian friends, mostly people from the language school. First of all, Christmas here takes a backseat to New Year’s Day. The reason for this is rather logical: during the Communist era, Christmas, with its obvious connections to the Christian faith, was downplayed in place of New Year’s Day. In fact, what they did was substitute many of the Christmas traditions upon New Years. Thus, people would put up a pine tree (note, I can’t say Christmas tree) and decorate it—“Every year, during the Soviet era” my teacher said. They also exchanged gifts during New Years. The big feast was for New Year’s Eve. In fact, all the way around, Christmas here has become “only” a religious day.

From what I understand, the highlight of the Orthodox Christmas celebration is their overnight service, which begins sometime in the night on the 6th and goes well into the morning of the 7th, ending at 3 or 4 a.m. I think that I am going to try and catch a bit of it—which is the way that most people do it. Hardly anyone goes to the whole service, as it is very long and since there are no seats…

The odd thing about Christmas here is that the Western influences are beginning to creep in—I have seen a few store windows with Santa Claus on it and such. It is quickly becoming a very materialistic time of the year, just as in the States. Today, it seemed as if everyone is out buying stuff. All of this makes me wonder: has Russia simply substituted one secularization of Christmas (the Communist way) for another (the Western way)?