Orthodox Feast of the Nativity
By Isaac Hanna
You probably know about Christmas on December 25 (and people have traditions but I am not going to mention anything in order to respect the people that do not celebrate Christmas) but there is another ‘Christmas’ celebration that happens in the Christian Orthodox churches.
The ancient tradition is to celebrate Christmas on January 7 in all of the Orthodox churches. Orthodox Christian church has two different families: the Eastern Churches and the Oriential Churches (they are both Orthodox). The Eastern Churches include the Greek church, the Russian church and more. The Oriential churches include the Coptic church (which we will be talking about), the Syrian church and more. These two different families of Orthodox Christians are not in communion with each other, meaning, someone from the Coptic church can not take communion in the Greek church. (There are many reasons why this is but we are not going to get into that in this article; it’s a whole different topic.)
Today I will be focusing on the Coptic Orthodox church and how they celebrate Christmas known as the Feast of the Nativity.
What is the Coptic Orthodox church celebrating?
Along with all of the Christian’s in the world, the Coptic Orthodox church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity, which is also known as Christmas. During this season of Christmas celebrates the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is significant because our faith teaches us that God became man and was born of St. Mary.
The difference in dates
Christmas is celebrated on December 25 whereas the Coptic Orthodox (and other Orthodox churches) celebrate it on January 7. The difference of dates is because of the different calendars that are being used. The Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar (the two calendars that are being used) are 13 days apart. The Julian calendar was used from the year 46 B.C. to 1582. Then in 1582, Pope Gregory the Pope of Rome decided to correct the Julian calendar because there was a miscalculation of 11 minutes per year in the Julian calendar; making a difference in 10 days. The way he corrected this is that he decided to remove 10 days from the calendar. Imagine living in the year 1582, and you go to sleep on October 4, and when you wake up, on the calendar, it’s October 15! Isn’t that crazy??!! That became the Gregorian calendar (after Pope Gregory of Rome). The final reason why some Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7 is because we still follow the Julian calendar.
The tradition
After a long night at church, celebrating the feast, people come home and eat a late night Christmas dinner with their families. (And teachers, you know why I said this – so I don’t get homework!!).
Interestingly enough, probably the first time in Wayland history, there is a Coptic Orthodox student in each grade. 8th grade: Elaria Cherubim, 7th grade: Monica Botros and in 6th grade me, Isaac Hanna. How cool is that?
Wow! Very informative article and well written.
Isaac, I am very impressed to write on this timely topic of the Christmas season.
Please continue writing to educate us more and be a great citizen of your community and the world.
Sincerely yours
Your proud grandfather
Dr. William Hanna
Thank you for sharing this article with me, Isaac. I truly honor your interest in educating all of us about the world and traditions around us. The more we know and understand each other, the better our world will be. I hope that you will continue your wonderful ability to report valuable information.