The Presidential Library tells about Christmas time celebration in Rus'

Christmas time lasts for 12 days from the first star on Christmas Eve until the very Epiphany in Russia. Orthodox Christians celebrate these days from January 6 to 19, and Catholic - from December 25 to January 6.

The book by Ivan Bozheryanov How Russian people celebrated and celebrate Christmas, New Year, Epiphany and Shrovetide (1895) an electronic copy of which is available on the Presidential Library’s portal, tells that Christmas time celebration came from Ancient Greece.

The tradition of a masquerade in Rus' was preserved, passing from century to century.

Christmas time is a time that is close to the winter solstice, at this time, according to pagan beliefs, the boundary between the world of people and the world of spirits is blurred, and an unclean force roams the earth, from which one has an opportunity to find out the future. Basil's Day (January 14), named so in memory of St. Basil the Great, was considered a special day, when Christmas fortune-telling was in full swing.

“For the first three days, according to ancient custom, Christians left all worldly affairs, not only private, but also civil and public”, - says the book of the priest Grigory Dyachenko Christian’s Holiday (1900).

The remaining nine days were called "holy evenings". These days it was a duty to read the sacred books and "to hold soul-saving family conversations".

The rite of caroling was of particular importance on holy days, when participants visited houses and sang laudatory songs to the owners of the house, for which they received ritual treats.

Despite the prohibitions of the Christian Church, pagan rites of divination, dressing up and caroling persist to this day, conveying the magic of holy days. It is important to understand that holy days have formed a huge layer of unique folklore in Russian culture. The Presidential Library’s collections involve rare books containing detailed descriptions of Christmas games and divination, as well as carols collected by both professionals and amateurs of Russian literature.

The miracle of Christmas days is spotlighted in the works of Russian fiction, in which the genre of a Christmas or Christmas story was formed, built according to the "Christmas canon", where the presence of a "Christmas miracle", transformations and a "favorable" ending is obligatory.

As an example of the creation of a Christmas story, one can refer to the story of the priest John Galabutsky Christmas Dream.

Christmas celebrations began on the eve of the Nativity of Christ after sunset.