Ralph and I hope Santa brought you everything you asked for (or at least what you truly needed).
From the title of this posting some of you are already scratching your heads because you "know" there is only one Christmas. Well for all you knowledgeable Christmas scholars we have earth shattering news for you. There are actually two Christmas' celebrated in Alaska. There are six principal calendars in current use around the world. These are the Gregorian, Jewish, Islamic, Indian, Chinese, and Julian calendars.
There is the traditional United States Christmas celebrated on December 25th each year. This is determined because the United States, and most parts of the world, use the Gregorian calendar. Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582. This replaced the Julian calendar, which had been the most common calendar in Europe up until this time.
So, why the need to change the calendar? The Gregorian calendar was designed to accurately represent the Earth's solar year and seasons. Scholars of the time used astronomical observations and complex mathematical calculations to create it. The Gregorian calendar has a year length of about 365.24 days. Most years have 365 days, but every fourth year is a leap year, with the exception of years that are divisible by 100 but not 400. For example, 2000 was a leap year, but 2100 and 2200 are not. The Gregorian calendar is used by the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.
So why is one Christmas not enough? With Alaska's close proximity to Russia one can presume (correctly) that as people from across the Bearing Sea migrated to North America (Alaska was the closest point of land) they brought their religion with them. Orthodox communities in Europe, Africa and the Middle East - which make up more than 12% of all Christians - celebrate Christmas Day weeks after most of the Western world. It's because they use a different calendar, called the Julian calendar (developed by Julius Caesar), to work out what day Christmas should be. On the Julian calendar December 25 corresponds to January 7 on the Gregorian calendar. Additionally, they celebrate Advent, which is 40 days long and begins on November 28.
Ralph and I will be celebrating "Second Christmas" with our Alaska friends on Jan 7, 2025. So, what does that entail?
Russian Orthodox Christmas takes place on January 7 and the celebration lasts for six days.
In the Orthodox tradition nothing is eaten or drunk on Christmas Eve until the first star appears in the sky. The star is symbolic of the great star that led the Magi to the newly born Christ. Once the first star has appeared in the sky, the festivities begin with a Lenten meal - meaning meat or dairy products (including chocolates) are excluded. This Christmas Eve meal is "The Holy Supper" . The family gathers around the table to honor the coming Christ Child. A white tablecloth is used to symbolize Christ's swaddling clothes and hay is displayed as a reminder of the poverty of the place where Jesus was born. A tall white candle is placed in the center of the Table, to symbolize Christ - the "Light of the World." A large round loaf of "pagach", a special Lenten bread, is placed beside the candle to symbolize Christ - the "Bread of Life".
The father begins the Christmas meal by leading the family in the Lord's Prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year and for the good things to come in the new year. The head of the family greets those present with "Christ is Born!" - the traditional Russian Christmas greeting - and the family responds with "Glorify Him!" The Mother then draws a cross with honey on each person's forehead, saying a blessing - "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, may you have sweetness and many good things in life and in the new year." The Lenten bread (Pagach) is then broken and shared. The bread is dipped first in honey to symbolize the sweetness of life and then in chopped garlic to symbolize life's bitterness. The "Holy Supper" is then eaten. After dinner, no dishes are washed and the Christmas presents are opened. The family goes to church for the Christmas Mass which lasts until after midnight.
Traditionally, the "Holy Supper" consists of 12 different foods, symbolic of the 12 Apostles. Although there was also some variation in the foods from place to place and village to village, the following is a good summary of what is typically served.
1) Mushroom soup with zaprashka (or Sauerkraut soup)
2) Lenten bread ("pagach")
3) Chopped garlic
4) Honey
5) Baked fish
6) Fresh Oranges, Figs and Dates
7) Nuts
8) Kidney beans (cooked slowly all day) seasoned with shredded potatoes, lots of garlic, salt and pepper to taste
9) Peas
10) Parsley Potatoes (boiled new potatoes with chopped parsley and margarine)
11) Bobal'ki (small biscuits combined with sauerkraut or poppy seed with honey)
12) Red Wine
On Christmas morning the family returns to church for the Christmas day Liturgy. After church the family gathers together to exchange gifts and share a special Christmas meal. Children go from door to door caroling the song "Thy Nativity".
"C Rodzhestvom Kristovom"(srod-zshest-vum krist-o-vum) is a common Russian Christmas greeting, meaning "with the Birth of Christ!"
Ralph has a thought for ya'll to ponder:
No matter what your religious beliefs or not beliefs, it is always appropriate to care for one another. If you think yo have little to give or share, think again. We are going to use an example that many of you will either be ready to scrap over or believe it is like comparing apples to raisins. Either way, we are expressing our personal beliefs.
When I was a preteen, I attended a large Baptist church. Every Wednesday and Sunday (twice) the pastor basically begged for money from the parishioners. Emphasizing that each member should be tithing 10% of their income to this church, "regardless". There was a family with very little financial resources. They were obviously struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over their kids heads. The mother volunteered to clean the church every week since their family had no extra money and they literally were scraping by. In open service the pastor scolded this family for not tithing. He actually made the statement: "we just need you to tithe, we pay a janitorial service to keep this place clean."
To this day Ralph and I do not understand this logic. At the awesome age of 11 I asked the pastor, in front of my parents: "wouldn't it be more money if you didn't pay the janitors?". The pastor explained to my parents that they needed to go home and pray for their "troubled son". Since my only sibling was female, I deduced that he was referring to me. Needless to say this experience made a very lasting impression on me.
You say you have nothing to give. Ralph and I disagree. We all have a few minutes of time we can share with someone. We can always have an open ear to listen, without opinion or judgement. If you have an apple, you can share. It will amaze you the positive impact human touch can have during someone's time of trouble. Each of us has a multitude of gifts to give and share.
As Ralph and I get down off our soap box, we hope each of you have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year in 2025.
We now will go back to our regular programing.
