It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Despite the fact that at least 90% of those Russians who celebrate Christmas do so on January 7^{th 1}, that doesn't mean that the country is far behind the West when it comes to preparing for the holiday season. Christmas decorations have been up in some stores since early November, and Christmas trees are starting to go up in squares and parks around the city. I plan on writing more later about the winter holidays here, but for now, I'll just share a few reasons why it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

• First of all, the snow. It is really, truly winter. After many years of freezing rain and slush in St. Petersburg at this time of year, it is a bit of relief that we know that the snow is here to stay. Until April. Or May. And shoveling snow from the church courtyard has been a good way to work off frustration, I've found...though I'll admit that by spring I might be feeling differently.
• Christmas Bazaar. This past weekend, the local German cultural center (together with the German consulate) hosted their annual 1^st Sunday of Advent Christmas Bazaar. Our congregation always has a table there were we talk with the guests (there were over 1000!) and sell crafts and baked goods. We had fun and raised a bit of money for the church, which the council intends to use towards repairs for our building's foundation next spring. 
  
  
• Midweek Advent services. Our church building is quite isolated – you can't really just happen upon it. In addition, most people in the congregation live in other parts of the city (or even outside of it). For that reason, there usually isn't a lot of reason for the pastor to be located in the church building much. But I decided that for Advent, I would start every Wednesday with morning prayer and end with evening prayer, inviting congregational members to come at any time to pray together or just to talk. It is still too early to say whether or not this will meet the spiritual needs of those in the congregation, but yesterday morning a few of us did pray together, followed by and almost hour-long hymn sing. Fellowship time is important, so I hope that people continue to come.
• “It's the most wonderful time of the year”. “Wonder” in the sense of “miracle.” The news here lately has frequently reported on the astounding number of people who have made their way to the Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow to visit the “the Belt of the Theotokos.” This Orthodox relic, supposedly woven from camel hair by the Virgin Mary herself so that she might wear it during her pregnancy, is usually found on the monastic mountain of Athos in Greece²; in the past month, however, it has traveled through Russia so that the faithful could venerate it.³ When the Belt was in the capital, lines stretched to incredible lengths, with reports that some people waited 15-20 hours and with more than 80 people needing hospitalization after standing out that long in the cold. The Belt went back to Athos this week, but miracles (especially healings and restored fertility) are already being reported. I think I'll leave it to respected journalist Nikolai Svanidze to comment on this phenomenon, even if his commentary is perhaps a bit too harsh: “It testifies to the fact that people long for a miracle. It does not testify to depth of faith... In Russia our religiosity is very peculiar, because since the time of the Baptism of Rus I cannot say that the country became Christian. We have a peculiar understanding of the Orthodox faith; there is a lot of paganism in it. And this longing for miracle in and of itself has, I'd say, an indirect relationship to [Christian] faith.”⁴

  

  Waiting in line to see the "Belt of the Theotokos."
  Originally from the site bogoslava.ru

  
  

1The Russian Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar which is (at present) 13 days behind the standard Gregorian calendar we use. A significant number of Protestant churches have also decided to celebrate Christmas and Easter together with the majority here, though Lutherans and Roman Catholics tend to follow the western practice.

2Where women are not permitted to visit under any circumstances. 80% of those who came to see the Belt in Russia were women.

3Strangely enough, certain parts of the Belt (and, among other things, part of the hem of Christ's robe) are in Moscow churches permanently, but none of these relics draw so much attention.

4On the radio program “Special Opinion” on the Echo of Moscow radio station. Nov 25.