Christmas is celebrated by all Christians. And although the Christmas traditions of Catholics and Orthodox Christians differ from each other, on the whole, much attention is paid to the celebration of this bright holiday in any country.
Catholic Christmas Traditions
Catholic Christmas is usually celebrated on the night of December 24 to 25. This difference from the Orthodox Christmas holiday is caused by the use of the Gregorian calendar in the calendar system.
Catholics' Christmas is the main winter holiday, surpassing even the New Year in importance. Celebrating Catholic Christmas is more family than religious. It is customary to give gifts to all family members, friends and acquaintances, therefore, the pre-Christmas period is always accompanied by mass trips to shopping centers.
While Orthodox Christians are fasting, Catholics on the 4th Sunday before Christmas are Advent. Catholics who are especially careful in religious practices also try to limit themselves a little from eating certain foods and use the Advent period to repent and pray.
Home decoration
With the advent of Advent, preparation for the holiday begins. Houses and surrounding territories are decorated with garlands and paper lanterns. The Advent symbol is a spruce wreath with 4 candles, and every Sunday, before Christmas, a new candle is lit.
Christmas trees are decorated on the street or in the house. Residents of Europe, concerned about the preservation of trees, recently often buy trees in pots with earth, so that after the holiday you can plant it for further growth and save it from death. In addition to spruce, it is customary to decorate the house with mistletoe. Among Catholics, this plant is considered a talisman guarding the house.
Christmas for children
With the beginning of Advent, children receive Christmas calendars as a gift, corresponding to the number of days remaining before Christmas. Every day a new window opens on the calendar, behind which are hidden chocolate goodies, and sometimes parables on a religious theme or fairy tales are enclosed.
The main character-symbol of Christmas among Catholics is St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, an analogue of the Russian Santa Claus. It is he who brings gifts to the children, whom they ask for in letters. He only puts them not under the tree, but leaves them in a specially suspended Christmas sock.
