Orthodox Christians prepare for celebration of Christmas
By MARK J. MILLER, staff writer
POSTED: January 5, 2009
STEUBENVILLE — Parishioners at Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church at 538 N. Fourth St. are preparing for Serbian Christmas services this week. Liturgy services beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the church, with Christmas Eve services and the traditional blessing and burning of the yule log, known as “Badnjak,” beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Traditional beverages also will be served following the service. Liturgies also will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday and as well on Friday, dedicated in honor of the Mother of God and St. Stephen the Martyr respectively. The public is welcome to attend all services. The services and the celebration of Christmas for Serbian Orthodox Christians begins with Christmas, which is celebrated according to the Julian Calendar used during the time of Christ, according to the Rev. Rade Merick, pastor of the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church. “Every year (traditional Christmas) is 13 days behind the Julian Calendar,” said Merick, adding this year Orthodox Christmas falls on Wednesday. “The meaning of (Orthodox) Christmas is the same as it is for all Christians. All the liturgies and traditions are geared toward the mystery that God has given us.” Merick said Serbian Christmas is the beginning of 12 days of the celebration of Christ’s birth for Orthodox Christians. The day also is prefaced by days of fasting for orthodox members as well, he added. “In the Orthodox Christmas there is a Lenten season,” he said. “In the (Serbian Orthodox) Church we call it the Nativity Fast, and it’s observed 14 days prior to Orthodox Christmas. That’s a challenge for Orthodox Christians.” Church members are expected to observe the fast during the holiday season when other Christians and non-Christians are feasting, he added. “The services (of the Orthodox Church) are very beautiful,” continued Merick, adding the 12 days of celebrating Orthodox Christmas are marked by rich traditions, liturgies, feasting and celebration. “The orthodox services are the feast days and a total (celebration) of our beliefs. “They are meant to bring the meaning of what the birth of Christ means into our homes. In the Orthodox faith, the home is considered an extension of the church.” Community and family are the centerpiece of many of the faith’s traditions and liturgies, which include five traditional symbolic loaves of bread, wheat, wine and oil blessed during the nativity vigil during Badnjak. Symbolizing a rich harvest, the blood of Christ and the Holy Trinity, the symbols will be distributed to those attending the service. After-service traditions include the serving of a beverage composed of sugar, hot water and plum brandy. The Christmas morning service traditionally includes communion, antiphons and hymns, while church-goers will be presented with straws to symbolize the humble birth of Christ in a stable. The traditional Christmas feast includes a centerpiece of green wheat symbolizing life and rebirth. Cesnica, or the traditional bread, is baked with a coin inside, and the one who finds the coin is said to be blessed with good luck. The church also is celebrating a traditional Christmas feast for members and the public alike, with lunch to be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday at the Serbian-American Cultural Center, 1000 Colliers Way, Weirton. The feast will include traditional Serbian Christmas fare such as soup, stuffed cabbage rolls, roasted chicken, bread, salad, barbecued pork, potatoes, vegetables, dessert and beverages. The meal cost is $12.95 per person. For reservations, call (304) 723-7372. The church is only one of two in the Ohio Valley that still uses the Julian Calendar for Orthodox Christmas, said Merick. For information, call the church office at (740) 282-4463. (Miller can be contacted at mmiller@heraldstaronline.com.)
