Orthodox Christian Holidays

Introduction

Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the world's second-largest Christian denomination, with over 200 million adherents, primarily in Eastern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, and Africa. Emerging from the Great Schism of 1054 between Rome and Constantinople, the Orthodox tradition preserves a profound reverence for ancient liturgical practice, expressed in elaborate services, sacred music, iconography, and a demanding calendar of fasting and feasting. The Orthodox Liturgical Year follows a complex structure that differs in several important ways from Western Christianity. Most significantly, many Orthodox churches — including the Russian, Serbian, Jerusalem, and Georgian — continue to use the Julian Calendar for calculating feast days, placing Christmas on January 7 and Epiphany on January 19 in the Gregorian reckoning. Churches using the Revised Julian Calendar (Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian, and others) celebrate Christmas on December 25.

Pascha: The Orthodox Easter

Pascha (Easter) is unquestionably the most important feast of the Orthodox year. Unlike Western Christianity, which increasingly treats Christmas as the primary holiday, Orthodox theology places the Resurrection at the absolute center of the faith — 'the Feast of Feasts and the Triumph of Triumphs.'

Holy Week

Orthodox Holy Week (Megali Evdomada in Greek) is a week of intense liturgical activity. The Bridegroom Matins services of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings feature the haunting Bridegroom hymn. Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper and includes the washing of feet ceremony by bishops. Holy Friday sees the Epitaphios — an embroidered cloth representing Christ's burial — carried in solemn [[parade|procession]] around the church, often through streets filled with candle-bearing worshippers. Holy Saturday's Vesperal Liturgy marks the first proclamation of the Resurrection.

The Paschal Midnight Service

The Paschal service at midnight is among the most dramatic in all of Christianity. Churches darken completely; then the priest emerges from the altar carrying the Paschal candle, announcing 'Christ is Risen!' (Christos Anesti in Greek; Khristos Voskrese in Slavic). The greeting spreads through the congregation, candles are lit from one to another, and bells ring. After Liturgy, families break the Lenten fast with lamb soup (mageiritsa in Greece) and red-dyed Easter eggs which are knocked together in a game symbolic of the Resurrection.

The Twelve Great Feasts

Beyond Pascha, the Orthodox calendar recognizes twelve Great Feasts (Dodekaorton), each commemorating a key event in the life of Christ or the Virgin Mary. The Nativity (Christmas), [[epiphany|Theophany]] (Epiphany, January 6/19), Transfiguration (August 6/19), Palm Sunday, [[advent|Ascension]], and Pentecost form the Christological cycle. Feasts of the Theotokos (Mother of God) include the Annunciation (March 25), the Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15), and the Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8).

Orthodox Christmas

In churches using the Julian calendar, Christmas falls on December 25 by that calendar's reckoning, which corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. Orthodox Christmas is preceded by a 40-day Advent fast (the Philip's Fast) and celebrated with solemn liturgy, the Christmas Troparion (hymn), and traditional foods. In Russia and Serbia, families burn yule logs (badnjak) on Christmas Eve. In Greece, children sing kalanda (carols) door to door. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Coptic and Ethiopian churches celebrate Genna (Christmas) with a distinctive stick game and elaborate liturgy.

Great Lent

[[Lent]] in the Orthodox tradition is considerably more demanding than its Western counterpart. The Great Lent lasts for 40 days (plus Holy Week, totaling 48 days) and involves a strict vegan fast: no meat, fish (except on certain Saturdays and Sundays), dairy, oil, or wine on most days. This ascetic discipline is understood as participation in Christ's 40-day fast in the wilderness and as preparation for Pascha.

The Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Traditions

The Coptic Orthodox Church (Egypt) and Ethiopian Orthodox Church represent some of the world's oldest Christian communities, tracing their origins to the apostolic age. They use the [[ethiopian-calendar|Coptic/Ge'ez calendar]], which has 13 months and places the current year approximately 7-8 years behind the Gregorian calendar. Ethiopian Christmas (Genna, January 7) and Easter (Fasika) are the year's greatest celebrations, with all-night vigil services and the distinctive liturgical music of Ethiopian church tradition.

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HolidayFYI	holidayfyi.com	Public holidays & observances for 200+ countries
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