And Merry Christmas to you and everyone else! For years I thought I was the only non-eurocentric Orthodox Christian dude on tips, but it looks like we have someone (Mike P) who actually knows something about it! Interestingly, in Orthodoxy, Christmas, while important, is not THE holiday, and Greeks and Russians I know still shake their heads over both the commercialization of xmas as well as "santa" who is a poor substitute for the real St Nicholas, bishop from Myra Turkey. The REAL holiday of course is Easter (in Orthodoxy "Pascha" from "Passover") which also does not always fall on the same day as it does for westerners. So when Pascha/Easter rolls around we will have another reminder of Julian/Gregorian calenders, though I believe in 2012 the dates coincide. Easter is a move-able feast and how the date is calculated is a very very very long story. Not all the details are here but for those interested this is a start:
http://orthodoxwiki.org/Pascha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter ========================== John W. Kulig, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Coordinator, University Honors Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 ========================== ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Palij" <[email protected]> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> Cc: "Michael Palij" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 10:47:02 AM Subject: [tips] Merry Christmas!!! Now, it is well-known that some people celebrate Christmas on December 25, the reasons for which are unclear. Old School Christians, namely the varieties of Orthodox Christians that follow the "old" Julian calendar instead of the "new" Gregorian calendar, know that January 7 is indeed Christmas Day! It should be noted that the Armenian Orthodox Church, using documents older than that used by other Christians, claim that Christmas is actually January 6 -- which means that today is the equivalent of "Boxing Day" for Armenian Christians (for people unfamiliar with "Boxing Day" it does not refer to the fights that break out when trying to return presents to the stores where they were bought). So, here is some background on how Christmas is being celebrated today. From the Voice of America: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/religion/Orthodox-Christians-Celebrate-Christmas-136869593.html As noted by a Canadian radio station (hey, a lot of Orthodox folks up north, eh!): http://www.680news.com/news/national/article/316738--many-orthodox-christians-celebrate-christmas-on-january-7 And some photos from the BBC on the celebrations (including one of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin -- fortunately he has his shirt on): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16453975 It should be noted that there are a variety of Catholic subgroups which might still celebrate Christmas on January 7 though Vatican II was supposed to eliminate this practice. But old habits sometimes die hard (NOTE: the original "Die Hard" movie is probably the BEST Christmas movie ever made -- talk about the promise of hope and redemption! ;-). So, to all who celebrate Christmas today, as well as those who carry the spirit of Christmas in their hearts all year long, "Merry Christmas!". By the way, don't forget that Chinese New Year is coming up! ;-) ObTeaching: gee, isn't diversity interesting? ;-) -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66454&n=T&l=tips&o=15155 or send a blank email to leave-15155-13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=15162 or send a blank email to leave-15162-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
