Feast Day January 7/December 25th
Christ is Born!
May your hearts and hearths be filled with a thriving, verdant joy these coming days, as we look ahead to the Light of our Saviour’s Nativity and His Holy Theophany.
May the Lord richly bless us throughout the year.
Glorify Him!
Photo detail shared by Melania
The Little Snowdrop Flowers above, patiently persevere in a church garden. They struggle and successfully push up through the soil and debris, to bloom and thrive from the Feast of Christ’s Nativity to Candlemas! May we do the same on our journey!
You may have heard of Ukrainian Christmas or Orthodox Christmas, that’s celebrated on the civil calendar date of January 7th, and wonder what this means? 🤔 The history of the church calendar is complicated. During the past 100 years or so, for fixed feast days, some Orthodox jurisdictions and parishes follow the New (civil) Style Gregorian Calendar and some continue to use the Old Style Julian Calendar (which falls 13 days behind today’s civil date), appearing like it’s landing on January 7th New Style calendar… but its actually December 25th on the Old Calendar! All Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25th, and one calendar date is not “more Orthodox” than the other. There are simply two different calendars which tell us when December 25th happens! 🎄If you have family and friends who celebrate Christmas on a different calendar, be joyful with them! Celebrate and glorify Him, regardless! For, Christ is Born!
On December 25th according to the New Style Calendar (December 12 Old Style), St. Herman of Alaska and St. Spyridon of Tremithus are happily celebrated. While my husband and I are Old Calendar, and some of my family are New Calendar… we simply commingle this special date together.
I’ll always remember and treasure my husband’s and my very first visit to an Orthodox Christian Church Service. We arrived on what we thought was Christmas, but ended up learning about Saints Herman and Spyridon, and the TWO Church calendars. In the golden glow of candlelight, smokey tendrils of incense swirled like living halos about the holy icons of the saints adorning the walls… saints who lived holy lives and had a lesson for each one of us. As the incense wafted upwards like prayers to heaven, sunbeams pierced through a little window and lit the gold tessera on a mosaic, like fiery embers. And we knew we had “come home.”
In your patience possess ye your souls. ~ St. Luke 21:19
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. ~ St. John 12:24
No matter how little you are, no matter how tired, you mustn’t give up. For, I repeat, no misfortune means anything. Nothing is lost as long as faith is established, the soul doesn’t surrender, and you must raise your head again!
~ Elder Arsenie
…For life is a continuous death. It is just a matter of our approach to it, for we must know how to die and to arise everyday. ~ Eternity in the Moment; The Life and Wisdom of Elder Arsenie Papacioc [page 257]
Highly recommend this book!
Eternity in the Moment
by Sorin Alpeti
(Published by the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood)
To order in Canada:
From Monastere Vierge Marie La Consolatrice, Quebec
We have passed the winter equinox. Days are becoming longer, and there’s always Sonshine above those clouds!
With love in Christ.
Icon of the Holy Trinity from Daniel’s recent baptism.
Great art Thou, O Lord, and wondrous are Thy works, and no word will suffice to hymn thy wonders. ~ Baptismal Service
Happy Eve of Nativity Day!
May the Light of Bethlehem’s Star 🌟 continue to illumine and warm our hearts on this coming Bright Feast of Christ’s Holy Nativity!
Past Nativity Posts’ Resources
Inside 4th Century Church of the Nativity, built over the Grotto where Jesus was born.
And so, the Nativity Hymns remind those praying how, during this memorable night, each creature hastened to bring its gift to the Saviour King: heaven – a star, the earth – a cave, the wilderness – a manger, the angels singing, the shepherds – worship, the Magi – gifts. Therefore, we too should not come to Him “empty-handed”, but should bring to Him what is more valuable than anything else – our pure, believing hearts. For the high God has appeared on earth, in order to raise us up to Heaven! ~ Bishop Alexander Mileant
Eve of Nativity Service at Compline & Matins
Jan. 6/25 (Dec. 24/24)
Past Orthodox Christmas Postings Resource ⭐️
On the Night of Nativity ~ 7th Century Homily
This Nativity night [Christ] bestowed peace on the whole world;
So let no one threaten;
This is the night of the Most Gentle One –
Let no one be cruel;
This is the night of the Humble One –
Let no one be proud.
Now is the day of joy –
Let us not revenge;
Now is the day of Good Will –
Let us not be mean.
In this Day of Peace –
Let us not be conquered by anger.
Today the Bountiful One impoverished Himself for our sake;
So, rich one, invite the poor to your table.
Today we receive a Gift for which we did not ask;
So let us give alms to those who implore and beg us.
This Day opens the heavenly doors to our prayers;
Let us open our door to those who ask our forgiveness.
Today the Divine One took upon Himself the seal of our humanity,
In order for humanity to be adorned by the Seal of Divinity.
~ by St. Isaac the Syrian, 7th century
Parish Youth Choir sang this short Nativity piece (virtually), back in 2020. Their merry voices rang out like silver trumpets, with the lyrics from St. Isaac the Syrian’s poem above, and put to my music.
Below, our Parish Choir (recorded in 2014) sings the ancient Nativity Kontakion (a short hymn of a feast or a saint) composed by 6th century St. Romanos the Melodist:
…Wishing you a blessed Nativity Feast tomorrow, and a joyous Twelve Days of Christmas!
Christ is Born!
Glorify Him!
Church Bells in Ayia Napa, Cypress – Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay
May the Light of Bethlehem’s Star illuminate and warm our hearts on this coming Bright Feast of Christ’s Holy Nativity!
Eve of Nativity Greetings Posted January 6, 2024
National Public Radio NPR Broadcast with Blisswood on Orthodox Christmas Published January 6, 2023
Our Little Nativity Creche Published by issuu magazine 2022
Re-Gift Boomerang Published by issuu magazine 2022
Christ is Born! Posted January 6, 2022
Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Posted January 7, 2021
Happy 2nd Day of Christmas Posted January 8, 2022
Happy 3rd Day of Christmas Posted January 9, 2022
4th Day of Nativity Posted January 10, 2022
5th Day of Nativity – the Holy Innocents Posted January 11, 2022
6th Day of Nativity Posted January 12, 2022
Apodosis of Nativity Posted January 13, 2022
St. Basil’s Feast Day Posted January 14, 2022
St. Basil’s Day Cake Recipe Posted January 14, 2021
Greetings on St. Basil’s Day Posted January 14, 2021
Holy Theophany Posted January 19, 2022
St. Sophia Voices of Faith Hope and Love – Youth Choir; The Candy Cane Carol 2024
St. Sophia Voices of Faith Hope and Love – Youth Choir Virtual Nativity Concert 2020
St. Sophia Voices of Faith Hope and Love – Youth Choir Virtual Nativity Tropar 2020
St. Sophia Adult Choir Sing the 16th Century Coventry Carol – 2014 Concert (In Honour of the Holy Innocents)
It’s Nativity Poem/Song
Little Pine Tree Poem/Song
The Holly Poem
The Candy Cane Poem/Song
St. Sophia Adult Choir Sing Little Pine Tree – 2014 Concert
Prayerfully wishing you God’s Blessings of good health, strength of spirit, and peaceful joy!
With Love in Christ.
Let us continue with God’s help and due diligence, to do what’s needed, with brotherly love… keeping both our neighbours and ourselves safe.
Below is a refreshing, edifying video by Fr. Serafim (Isle of Mull Monastery in Scotland), on how to “wait” during these times.
This is just for now.
Published in Home For the Holidays issuu magazine November 25, 2022 (page 16)
Treasures of Christmases Past
Opening boxes of Christmas ornaments is like greeting old friends again. They’re all special, inspiring, and priceless.
Included in our treasure troves are two tattered cardboard circles, with glittery bits of Christmas cards glued to the greasy back of a pizza box. In my mind’s eye I see our toddlers deep in concentration, their puckered little mouths moving rhythmically to each opening and closing of the blunt scissors… a testament to earlier times when sparse finances and homemade adornments were inspired through necessity.
A Queen’s Guard Soldier lies cupped in the palm of my hand. Although his paint is faded, he stands ever at attention as a wooden clothes peg. Our daughter made him in kindergarten, and the threaded loop through his skewed black pom pom hat disintegrated ages ago. He will be stationed on a tree branch, propped up beside the inevitable paper plate sprinkled with dried macaroni, and spray painted gold.
My mom’s embroidered blue bird roosts next to the dainty satin butterfly from my mother-in-law.
Meanwhile, the Three Wise Men bauble our 7 year old hand-sewed himself, is whimsically suspended near a flock of his origami pterodactyls.
At the top of the tree, reposing beneath a chipped Christmas Star is the large, red, paper angel-card my husband made for me the first year we dated. Although the angel wings have long since curled up at the edges, the sparkly Merry Christmas card greeting remains divinely intact.
Of course we own a few store bought decorations. One of which was a gift, a little Christmas Crèche. Although it wasn’t something we’d have bought for ourselves, this sweet little manger scene with animals quickly joined the cherished seasonal entourage.
In keeping with the situation, the Crèche is reverently displayed on top of our piano… despite the fact that one of the sheep’s plastic legs was completely gnawed off by our teething son (who, coincidentally, later became vegan).
Decades later, the precious little lamb continues to defy the law of physics and nobly stands guarding the manger crib, along with the pristine ox, and donkey.
To me, he’s much more than a simple 3-legged plastic lamb.
He’s an unsung model of hope and perseverance in adversity.
God bless us, everyone!
