Orthodox Christians of South Ossetia will celebrate the holiday of the Nativity of Christ. Traditional Christmas services and a procession in honor of the great Christian holiday will be held in Tskhinval on the night of January 6-7.
Divine services will be held in the churches of the Most Holy Trinity of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Kings Constantine and Helena of the Alan Diocese in Tskhinval.
“At 21.00 in the Temple of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Kings Constantine and Helena of the Alan Diocese and in the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos at 22.00 on January 6 Matins will take place. The procession of the Cross will take place at 23.55, after which the Divine Liturgy will begin - the Nativity of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” the press service of the Alan Diocese told IA "RES ".
The Church of the Most Holy Trinity of the Russian Orthodox Church in Tskhinval also announced that the Divine service on Christmas would begin at midnight.
The Nativity of Christ is one of the oldest Christian holidays, together with the Annunciation and Easter. It was installed in memory of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the coming Savior of all mankind.
Christmas Eve is the evening before Christmas. He completes a 40-day Christmas fast called Filippovsky. This is the time to prepare body and soul for a great event. At the same time, it is strictly forbidden to eat any food until the evening star rises on this day.
Traditionally, on the evening before Christmas, families gather at a festive table. It should have 12 dishes - the same as the apostles of Jesus Christ. On the table, be sure to put a new tablecloth, and under it a bunch of hay, symbolizing the manger, where the baby Christ lay. The number of devices must be odd, so if an even number of people are going to put one additional one.
Before starting a meal, a prayer should be read, after which each family member should taste the syrup. This is the central dish on the festive table. It is prepared from grain, honey, dried fruits, poppies and nuts. It symbolizes sympathetically eternal life and the exploit of Christ.
Following the Nativity of Christ, the twelve-eternal non-passing Orthodox holiday, which will be celebrated on January 19 in South Ossetia, is the Epiphany (Epiphany). If the sky was clear and starry on Christmas night, it was believed that the year would be fruitful.
For the people of South Ossetia, Christmas Eve is also associated with memories of the tragic events of 30 years ago.
January 6, 1991 - the beginning of Georgia's open military aggression against the people of South Ossetia. On the night of January 6, the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, which were supposed to maintain stability, without notifying the leadership of the Republic, removed their posts and went to the barracks.
At 4 o'clock in the morning, a detachment of 3,000 Georgian militia entered the city, among which were Georgian militants dressed in police uniforms, criminals and drug addicts who had been amnestied the day before. They had a large number of equipment and dogs with them. Georgian "militia" occupied the central part of the city, blocked all roads and intersections. Torture, arrests, violence, murder, arson began.
On the afternoon of January 6, Georgian "policemen" opened fire on unarmed people. One person was killed and several were injured.
