Introduction: Christmas on 12/25 or 1/7?
While the majority of Orthodox Christians in the world use the Julian (aka “Old”) Calendar for liturgical purposes, the majority of Orthodox Christians here in the West join our heterodox and secular neighbors on the “New Calendar”, which is 13 days ahead.* However, a minority of Orthodox dioceses in the West – especially those formed by diaspora from “Old Calendar” countries – remain on the “Old Calendar” here and now. So while it may be somewhat interesting to trivia buffs that groups of nations celebrate Christmas on different days (because “December 25th” falls 13 days apart), the real fun happens when the differences are not between nations, but within them.**
Our parish of St. Michael’s is on the Old Calendar. This is our second Christmas here (and on the Old Calendar), and I thought I might share some observations on what life is like on the Old Calendar. This will not be a deep theological discussion (as if I were capable of such a thing!): my bishops seem to treat the issue pastorally, and I follow their lead in this as is all things. But even pastorally speaking, I do have to wonder: 1) how it effects our witness/credibility to observe the vernal equinox 13 days after the solar event actually occurs; 2) to say how nice it is to celebrate Nativity outside the corrosive influence of commercialism; and 3) how odd it is to celebrate the birth of Christ twice each year. Having said that, let me take just a moment to work out some thoughts on what our mix of calendars reshapes the structure of our Nativity Lent.
The New (Old) Advent.
In the Orthodox Church, we work ourselves up for the big feasts. We call these times of preparation “fasts”. The most well known fast is the “Great Lent” before Pascha/Easter, but Nativity/Christmas has one, too. The Nativity Fast (or Advent) is not as well-developed liturgically as Great Lent, which has week-long commemorations, special Sundays that everyone knows, special services, etc; but it does have some structure. The two Sundays before nativity have special themes (the Forefathers and Fathers, respectively) which are augmented by saints days and feasts throughout the fast. These combine with other, less traditional, things to give those of us on the Old Calendar an interesting “New (Old) Advent” Calendar.
Here is an outline of what I think it looks like for many of our faithful:
The Beginning of the Fast: St. Phillip’s Day (and Thanksgiving).
St. Phillip is commemorated the day before the 40 days of Nativity Lent begin. For this reason, Nativity Lent is often referred to as St. Phillip’s Fast or “Pilipivka”. St. Phillip is celebrated on 11/15, which falls on 11/28 for people using the Old Calendar. While some of our folks may know about St. Phillip’s Day, in practical terms, Thanksgiving (and not St. Phillip’s Day) serves as the last holiday before the start of the Fast.
Thanksgiving, which is rightly embraced and celebrated as a Christian feast, has become the equivalent of Western “Fat Tuesday”, or, better yet (when you factor in the act of purging the fridge of leftovers) Orthodox Meatfare. This is true regardless of the possibility of Thanksgiving falling on 11/28. While 11/28 is technically the beginning of the fasting period, the fact that Thanksgiving is a movable feast (ranging from 22-28 November) defacto makes the beginning of Nativity Fast movable, as well. I don’t think it would would be practical or useful to insist our faithful fast on Thanksgiving when it falls during the Advent fast. There are some who strongly disagree with this position, but I think they have forgotten our evangelistic imperative to bless everything we can as we sanctify our given cultures (after all, we did this when we first selected the end of December to commemorate the Nativity in the first place).
The First Big Milestone: St. Nicholas Day.
St. Nicholas is commemorated on 12/6, which is 12/19 on the Old Calendar. He is one of the few Saint days that gets remembered in any consistent fashion (e.g. we get no more than a handful of people at the services for the Feasts of the Presentation of the Birthgiver of God (12/4) and of the Conception of the Birthgiver of God (12/22)). There are many other saints commemorated during Advent, but I really think St. Nicholas is the only one 99% of our parishioners really pay attention to. In the Old World, St. Nicholas day would be when children received modest gifts (often into their shoes).
Some Orthodox in the West try to use gift-giving on St. Nicholas day as a way to isolate Christmas/Nativity from the commercialization of Santa Claus and his reindeer. While I like this, I do not think it will be successful. I am afraid that the idea of unwrapping presents has been completely captured by the jolly man in the red robes. Instead, if we are not careful, secular pressures will have the perverse effect of extending the commercial Christma$ $ea$on forward to St. Nicholas Day and, at least for those on the Old Calendar, backwards to Nativity; turning the entire Advent period into a hedonistic buying binge.
St. Nicholas Day is a delightful time in all of our parishes. It is when we begin singing carols (both religious and secular), and really enter into the “spirit of Christmas”.
The Next Major Milestone: “American” (or “Western”) Christmas.
One of the most interesting thing I learned after being assigned to an Old Calendar parish was how many of my parishioners celebrate Christmas on 12/25. I don’t know what to make of it, but this is a real sign of assimilation. I think the primary mechanisms of our this assimilation have been intermarriage with heterodox Christians, the conversion of family members away from Orthodoxy, and (to a far lesser extent) conversion of families into Orthodoxy. The (blessed) desire to celebrate this wonderful feast with families has been seriously bolstered by the commercial pressures that also focus on the 25th of December. Families on the Old Calendar love the fact that they can celebrate this important feast with their heterodox families without compromising their Orthodox Nativity worship and traditions. After all, Christmas has become much more of a family celebration than a church one, even for religious Christians.
My personal opinion is that communities on the “Old Calendar” should treat “Western Christmas” the way Orthodox communities on the “New Calendar” treat Thanksgiving (which always falls during Advent for them): it is a Christian celebration that can easily be blessed for our sanctifying participation. I believe that the cost of breaking up the fast is more than made up for by the benefits of participation.
Ideally, the decline in commercialization after “American Christmas” would allow our folks to begin concentrating on fasting and other preparations once it is over. Unfortunately, this is preempted by a “holiday” that is much harder to embrace, at least in its secular form: New Years.
The Next Major (albeit lamentable) Milestone: New Years Eve/Day
At best, this is a secular feast; a chance to celebrate the hope of a new year with friends and family. I list it here because I am not presenting an “ideal type” of what Advent should look like; I am describing how are actually done, even among our more active and pious parishioners.
FWIW, there is an “Old Calendar” New Year celebration called “Malanka”, but it is as secular as ours here on the secular “new” calendar (but at least it falls outside the fast!). The actual liturgical new year (Indiction) is on September 1st, but the true “spirit” of New Year (i.e. the hope of a new era) is celebrated at Pascha. As for New Year’s Eve parties, good people can bring holiness to almost every occasion, and I know that they can and do witness Christ to their friends and families at New Year’s Eve parties. But I would prefer that we celebrated it within the spirit of the fast rather than stepping outside it for the evening.
Peace at Last: The Eve of Nativity (& Nativity itself).
People might notice small changes to their worship on the two Sundays before Nativity, but the Eve of Nativity is when everything really hits home. After Great Compline, a beautiful and solemn service punctuated by the singing of Nativity carols, many families gather together for a traditional “Holy Supper”. There is no Santa, there are no reindeer, and the anticipation has nothing to with presents showing up under the tree. Everything and everyone focuses their attention on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. On Christmas morning, everyone goes to Church to celebrate the Nativity Liturgy. Again, the focus is on Christ, not on satisfaction of selfish wants (our own or others).
This is where the Old Calendar celebrations really outshine those on the New.
Continuing the Celebration: The Twelve Days of Christmas… and Theophany
After Nativity, we have a week of fast-free celebrations,followed on January 20th with the celebration of Christ’s Baptism. This is a very popular feast that concludes with the blessing of water. For the next week or two thereafter, many folks will invite the priest to their homes to bless them with the holy water.
Conclusion
I am a pastor, not a theologian (and a young and foolish one, at that). On questions for which Orthodoxy offers more than one correct or useful answer, I will always go with the one that I think will bring my community into a closer relationship with Christ. This means that one size will not fit all; what works in one parish may not be best for another. We have to understand the dynamics of our local culture; then we have to work within it in order to grow it into something that is even more salvific both us and the generations who come after. For the Orthodox in America, the calendar may be analogous to using the Old World language: useful and salvific in some parishes but not others, and less so over time. Then again, keeping the “Old Calendar” may be a way to maintain harmony in “mixed” communities and provide a better tool for evangelizing the heterodox.
Regardless, let me conclude with a brief practical point that verges on theology: if we are to universally adopt the more accurate secular calendar as our own, we should do it for the date of Pascha, too. The current “compromise” system is unwieldy. But that is the subject for another entry.
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* Actually this is imprecise. The “New Calendar” is not quite the same as the Gregorian calendar used in the West. The proper name for the “New” calendar is the “Revised Julian Calendar”. Still, this is mainly a difference without a distinction (at least until 2800 when they, too, will begin to diverge).
** In fact, given how little most people allow their liturgical calendar to influence their lives, Christmas/Nativity is the only time they would even notice they are on different ones than their neighbors. Easter/Pascha often ends up on a different date, too; but the movable date and the fact that even Orthodox on the “New Calendar” use the Old Calendar for computing the Vernal Equinox, only serves to complicate matters.
