Prayer on Christmas Eve. Conspiracies and fortune-telling

The Orthodox Church established many holidays in memory of the most significant events of sacred history. Undoubtedly, the most important of them is the Passover of Christ, the day of resurrection of our Savior from the dead. But the next of the most revered holidays is Christmas - the day in which the Child Jesus appeared in the world from the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You can say a lot about the meaning of this holiday, but it is enough to note only one thing: there would not be Christmas - there would not be Easter, so every prayer on Christmas Eve is imbued with the joy of a miracle that has happened.

The beginning of the festive worship

The day before the holiday is called "Christmas Eve", this is the last day of the Christmas fast. He ends up with a service in the temple, which is called the Evening, or Vespers.

It is the beginning of the festive All-night Vigil. On the Vespers, passages from the Old Testament that contain predictions about the birth of the Messiah are read. The whole service and every prayer on Christmas Eve are filled with a single meaning - the One who was foretold by the Old Testament prophets came into the world.

Chants in the Morning

At the end of the Vespers, the so-called sticheres are performed on the line. These are put on the music of the poetic presentation of individual psalms that are directly related to this holiday. After the festive evening service, Morning follows. It consists of a number of hymns, the content of which reveals the idea of the Incarnation.

At the Mornings the Christmas troparion is sure to be performed. This is a joyful chant that glorifies God. But it's not just a prayer on Christmas Eve, it's laid down on verses outlining the dogmas of Orthodoxy. In them the idea of love as the main motive force occupies a dominant place .

Echoes of pagan times

In the popular consciousness, the Christmas night has always been full of mystery and mysticism. This was the reason that in large numbers there were always conspiracies on Christmas Eve. It's hard to even imagine what aspects of life they did not touch.

Among them there were conspiracies for material prosperity and well-being, and for health, family happiness, and prosperous births. We could ask for anything, but we always had to keep in mind that we are turning to good and bright forces, which can only help in good deeds. There is nothing bad to ask of them. And yet, conspiracies are a concession to paganism. His time has passed, and on this holiday for an Orthodox person nothing can be better than a sincere prayer on Christmas Eve.