How do Catholics celebrate Christmas?

On December 25, Catholics around the world celebrate their main holiday - the Nativity of Jesus Christ . They pay homage to him and the Virgin Mary, congratulate relatives and friends on the birth of a savior. This holiday has now become a state holiday in many countries, and it is celebrated almost all the same.

Fasting before Christmas, Catholics are not as strict as the Orthodox, the main thing is not to eat meat. Only on the last day - Christmas Eve - only oat-cooked with honey is used for food. By tradition, it is impossible on this day to the first star. There are many customs preserved from the past.

Celebrating Catholic Christmas

Consider how Catholics celebrate Christmas. What do they do on this holiday?

1. Four weeks before Christmas are called Advent. This is a period of cleansing through prayer and visiting the church, decorating the house and preparing gifts for loved ones.
2. One of the symbols of the Catholic Christmas are wreaths of fir branches, decorated with four candles, they are lit one each Sunday before the holiday.
3. The church holds evangelical readings, believers confess. And before the holiday establish a nursery with the figurines of the Virgin Mary, Jesus and the Magi. In many houses, too, arrange such compositions that show the birth of the Savior.
4. It is customary for Catholics, when celebrating Christmas, to attend mass, a festive service in the church. During it, the priest puts in a manger and consecrates the figure of Jesus Christ, which allows people to feel themselves participants of ancient sacred events.
5. A festive dinner in all Catholic countries is different, for example, in England - it's a traditional roast turkey, in Latvia - carp, and in Spain - a pig. But the main thing is that the table should be richly dressed for the whole year to be happy.

It is very interesting to know how Catholics celebrate Christmas, because, despite the differences in the culture of different countries, they use common customs. And all Catholics have preserved a tremulous attitude to the meaning of the holiday.