Now an official holiday in Russia, Christmas is celebrated by the
Russian Orthodox Church on January 7th. The resources below describe the
history and traditions of this celebration. Although all of the resources
are not strictly Orthodox, they provide a background of this holiday that
has recently begun to be observed openly again.
- Christmas
in Russia
- From the KIDPROJ Multi-Cultural Calendar Olya
in Ekaterinburg explains the traditions of the Orthodox Christmas
celebration in Russia in two separate messages. Be sure to read both!
- European Greetings
-
Say "Merry Christmas" in the many languages of Europe including Armenian,
Russian, Estonian and other languages of the former Soviet Union.
- Russian
Christmas
- A small listing of the traditions followed when
celebrating Christmas in Russia.
- TravNet Santa
-
A 7 year old's interesting questions about celebrating Christmas in Russia
and the answers from Alex Kondur of Russia.
-
-
Christmas Traditions Around the World - Russia
-
A short history of Christmas in Russia and the traditions that are
observed.
-
- Christmas
in Russia
- From the International school in Denmark, nine year old Karina
explains Christmas in Russia and provides a translation for a Russian .
- Christmas in Russia
- Scott, a fourth grader of Parkwood
Elementary School in Missouri has done this report about traditions in
Russia.
For more information about the Russian Orthodox faith, visit these
resources:
- Russian Orthodox
Centre
- This site is in Russian only and is the information and
publishing center of the Russian Orthodox faith.
-
- Russian
Orthodoxy and Her Traditions
- The largest of all Eastern Churches and
second in size only to the Catholic Church, Russian Orthodoxy is the second
largest Christian denomination worldwide. This site gives a brief
description with several beautiful graphics of churches and icons.
-
- Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
-
The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia site
provides a wealth of information regarding the Russian Orthodox Church
abroad including its mission, history, organization, and a complete parish
directory.
- Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist
- This cathedral is located in Washington, DC.
The site provides an abundance of information about this faith, documents,
traditions, and lots of icons and links to other resources.
- The Russian
Church and Native Alaskan Cultures
- From the Library of Congress,
this online exhibit documents the encounters of the Russian Orthodox Church
and the Native Alaskans from 1794 to about 1915. It shows the lasting
influence of Russia and the Orthodox church on the the Aleut, Eskimos and
other existing cultures.
-
The Calendar of the Orthodox Church
- This site explains the history
and differences between the "old" and "new" calendars and why the Orthodox
still follow the Julian Calendar.
- The State Museum of
Religion
- This museum exhibits the history of religion in Russia -
not only the Orthodox faith but others as well.
-
Religion
- Douglas Hartman has put together a nice list of resources of the
Orthodox religion in Russia.