Merry Christmas! The gift of love! The gift of compassion! The gift of Happiness!

Orthodox Christians celebrate the day Jesus Christ was born, on either December 25 or January 7. The Christmas holiday is a major Christian holiday and has five days of pre-celebration and six days of post-celebration, ending with the Lord’s Circumcision. This day, the holiday is celebrated in all Christian churches and temples, with festive carols, prayers, and words of greetings. This day has its own special story.

On this day, a great event happened for the whole Christian world – the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem (Jesus means “salvation” in Hebrew). All Christians are convinced that God sent Jesus Christ to Earth for the redemption of sins and the salvation of all humankind. According to the Byzantine calendar, the Old Testament prophets proclaimed the place and time of birth of the Savior of the world  — 5508 BC. Therefore, December 25 (January 7) is the birthday of the Son of God on Earth. From this day the countdown begins.

According to the Gospel, the mother of Jesus Christ Mary and her husband Joseph lived in Nazareth, and came to Bethlehem, following the order of the ruler Augustus to appear to the whole population for a census. Because so many people had gathered for the census of the Roman Empire, Mary and Joseph could not find a place to spend the night, so they had to seek shelter in a small cave where shepherds usually hid in bad weather. There Mary gave birth to the Son of God. Then the angel came down from the sky and told the shepherds who were not sleeping at that moment that God was born. Shepherds first came to worship the infant.

The star of Bethlehem shone in the sky, announcing to the world the birth of the savior and pointing the way to the King of all people. After the shepherds, wise sages came to the cave with Mary and Jesus Christ and brought gifts to God: gold, incense and myrrh. Gold symbolized royal power, incense — God’s will, myrrh — the fate of the prophet. By the way, it is in those ancient times that the tradition of decorating the star of Bethlehem with a Christmas tree dates back.

In sending his Son to Earth, God the Father sought to show to humankind the importance of love, goodness, compassion and understanding between people. The birthday of Jesus Christ is the most revered birthday in the world. People of different backgrounds, financial background, beliefs and opinions do not pass this holiday without their attention.

So, let your Christmas be full of magic and meaning of this merry holiday!