{"id":446282,"date":"2018-12-24T17:32:44","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T17:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=446282"},"modified":"2019-12-30T15:21:41","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T15:21:41","slug":"moldovan-people-celebrate-christmas-twice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/moldovan-people-celebrate-christmas-twice\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do Moldovan people celebrate Christmas twice?"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p>Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Eritrea and Lebanon \u2013 the countries where Christmas is celebrated twice a year. In these countries, the government decided to officialise two Christmas holidays \u2013 December 25<sup>th <\/sup>and January 7<sup>th<\/sup>. Why is it so? Well, there are several reasons for that. Let\u2019s take the case of the Republic of Moldova.<\/p>\n<h4>Historical reasons<\/h4>\n<p>According to The Economist, the reason of this Yuletide surplus lies deep in history. In 1582, the reform of the Julian calendar was approved by the Pope Gregory XIII. He omitted 10 days of the calendar, correcting the Julian calendar so that it corresponds to the real, astronomical one. Thus, the Julian calendar, which dated from 45BC, was replaced by the new Gregorian calendar. Many European countries quickly switched over, though others took centuries, as is mentioned in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/europe\/2017\/12\/14\/the-countries-that-have-two-christmases\">article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Russia, for example, adopted the Gregorian calendar only in 1918, after the Soviets came to power. They had to switch from celebrating the Christmas holiday on January 7<sup>th<\/sup> and the New Year coming on January 13<sup>th<\/sup> to celebrating Christmas on December 25<sup>th<\/sup> and the New Year Holiday one week later. However, the atheist Soviet Union didn\u2019t recognize Christmas as a public holiday. Therefore, the transition to the Gregorian calendar for all post-soviet countries happened only in the case of the New Year. The transition of the Christmas celebration was delayed even more, some people celebrating this holiday under the rose, as they were used to before \u2013 on January 7<sup>th<\/sup>. \u00a0Others, hence, weren\u2019t celebrating Christmas at all, as in the Soviet Union the New Year had been promoted as the main winter holiday. The main consequence of this tangle: nowadays, Moldovan people celebrate two Christmases. One is before the New Year\u2019s celebration, a frugal check mark of the \u2018new\u2019 western European style Christmas. Another one is after the New Year\u2019s celebration, the \u2018old\u2019 eastern European style, dictated by the traditions and the Moldovan church.<\/p>\n<h4>Religious reasons<\/h4>\n<p>Today, the local Orthodox churches from Romania, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and Alexandria celebrate Christmas with the Gregorian calendar. Whereas the Russian, Serbian, Georgian, as well as the Moldovan Orthodox churches still celebrate Christmas (and other orthodox holidays as well) with the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days late. The opinion of the church, just as in case of the society of the Republic of Moldova is also divided.<\/p>\n<p>First, it is important to mention that there are two official metropolises in Moldova: The Metropolis of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metropolis_of_Chi%C8%99in%C4%83u_and_All_Moldova\">Moldova<\/a>, which is a self-governing church under the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Metropolis of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metropolis_of_Bessarabia\">Bessarabia<\/a> \u2013 a self-governing metropolis under the Romanian Orthodox Church. The church division in Moldova is another source of conflict between those that celebrate the Christmas according to the Julian calendar (as the Metropolis of Moldova requires) and those that celebrate it according to the Gregorian one (as the Metropolis of Bessarabia demands). The paradox here is that the Metropolis of Moldova ignores the fact that, when following the Julian calendar, people must celebrate Christmas after the New Year, which contradicts the church canons and the logic of the holiday.<\/p>\n<h4>Divided between east and west<\/h4>\n<p>After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the new formed republics had to decide the day of Christmas celebration. The Republic of Moldova chose January 7<sup>th<\/sup> and later, in 2013, also <a href=\"https:\/\/unimedia.info\/stiri\/ziua-de-25-decembrie-a-fost-declarata--prin-lege--zi-de-sarbatoare-69748.html\">approved<\/a> the public holiday on the date of December 25<sup>th<\/sup>. It was conditioned by the fact that there are Christians in Moldova who celebrate the feast according to both Julian and Gregorian calendars.<\/p>\n<p>According to a<a href=\"http:\/\/www.romaniatv.net\/sarbatori-fericite-cu-reopetitie-24prc-dintre-moldoveni-sarbatoresc-craciunul-de-doua-ori_116773.html\"> survey<\/a> conducted by the Institute of Marketing and Surveys IMAS in 2013, 24% of the Moldovan people celebrate Christmas twice a year. The poll was conducted as telephone interviews, on a sample of 807 respondents from both cities and villages. The error margin was 3.5%.<\/p>\n<p>The folklorist Tudor Colac from the Institute of Philology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timpul.md\/articol\/moldoveni-cu-doua-craciunuri-101755.html\">noted<\/a>\u00a0for timpul.md that the Moldovan citizens have always celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar. \u201cTraditionally, except for some short periods, the \u2018new\u2019 style Christmas was celebrated on the territory of Moldova, but with the Russian annexation in 1812, it was transferred to the old rite. At the same time, in some southern Moldovan districts and in some of the northern localities, people have always kept the holidays in the \u2018new\u2019 style. There is nothing strange about what is happening to us, it is a natural process,\u201d claimed Colac. In the same time, the folklorist disapproved the dualism of the Christmas celebration by the Moldovan society: \u201cThe younger population tries to follow the Europe\u2019s way of celebration. The older population, which is celebrating the \u2018old\u2019 style Christmas on January 7<sup>th<\/sup>, is trying to accept that it can be celebrated differently, under the pressure of the younger generation. It is a fretfulness, a dualistic movement in the society but it will clarify in time.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Featured photo source: libertatea.ro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Eritrea and Lebanon \u2013 the countries where Christmas is celebrated twice a year. In these countries, the government decided to officialise two Christmas holidays \u2013 December 25th and January 7th. Why is it so? Well, there are several reasons for that. Let\u2019s take the case of the Republic of Moldova. Historical reasons [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":446283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,4,56],"tags":[127,35,27,128,126],"class_list":["post-446282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-society","category-reportaje","tag-christmas","tag-important","tag-moldova","tag-reasons","tag-traditions"],"content_social_share":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p>Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Eritrea and Lebanon \u2013 the countries where Christmas is celebrated twice a year. In these countries, the government decided to officialise two Christmas holidays \u2013 December 25<sup>th <\/sup>and January 7<sup>th<\/sup>. Why is it so? Well, there are several reasons for that. Let\u2019s take the case of the Republic of Moldova.<\/p>\n<h4>Historical reasons<\/h4>\n<p>According to The Economist, the reason of this Yuletide surplus lies deep in history. In 1582, the reform of the Julian calendar was approved by the Pope Gregory XIII. He omitted 10 days of the calendar, correcting the Julian calendar so that it corresponds to the real, astronomical one. Thus, the Julian calendar, which dated from 45BC, was replaced by the new Gregorian calendar. Many European countries quickly switched over, though others took centuries, as is mentioned in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/europe\/2017\/12\/14\/the-countries-that-have-two-christmases\">article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Russia, for example, adopted the Gregorian calendar only in 1918, after the Soviets came to power. They had to switch from celebrating the Christmas holiday on January 7<sup>th<\/sup> and the New Year coming on January 13<sup>th<\/sup> to celebrating Christmas on December 25<sup>th<\/sup> and the New Year Holiday one week later. However, the atheist Soviet Union didn\u2019t recognize Christmas as a public holiday. Therefore, the transition to the Gregorian calendar for all post-soviet countries happened only in the case of the New Year. The transition of the Christmas celebration was delayed even more, some people celebrating this holiday under the rose, as they were used to before \u2013 on January 7<sup>th<\/sup>. \u00a0Others, hence, weren\u2019t celebrating Christmas at all, as in the Soviet Union the New Year had been promoted as the main winter holiday. The main consequence of this tangle: nowadays, Moldovan people celebrate two Christmases. One is before the New Year\u2019s celebration, a frugal check mark of the \u2018new\u2019 western European style Christmas. Another one is after the New Year\u2019s celebration, the \u2018old\u2019 eastern European style, dictated by the traditions and the Moldovan church.<\/p>\n<h4>Religious reasons<\/h4>\n<p>Today, the local Orthodox churches from Romania, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and Alexandria celebrate Christmas with the Gregorian calendar. Whereas the Russian, Serbian, Georgian, as well as the Moldovan Orthodox churches still celebrate Christmas (and other orthodox holidays as well) with the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days late. The opinion of the church, just as in case of the society of the Republic of Moldova is also divided.<\/p>\n<p>First, it is important to mention that there are two official metropolises in Moldova: The Metropolis of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metropolis_of_Chi%C8%99in%C4%83u_and_All_Moldova\">Moldova<\/a>, which is a self-governing church under the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Metropolis of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metropolis_of_Bessarabia\">Bessarabia<\/a> \u2013 a self-governing metropolis under the Romanian Orthodox Church. The church division in Moldova is another source of conflict between those that celebrate the Christmas according to the Julian calendar (as the Metropolis of Moldova requires) and those that celebrate it according to the Gregorian one (as the Metropolis of Bessarabia demands). The paradox here is that the Metropolis of Moldova ignores the fact that, when following the Julian calendar, people must celebrate Christmas after the New Year, which contradicts the church canons and the logic of the holiday.<\/p>\n<h4>Divided between east and west<\/h4>\n<p>After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the new formed republics had to decide the day of Christmas celebration. The Republic of Moldova chose January 7<sup>th<\/sup> and later, in 2013, also <a href=\"https:\/\/unimedia.info\/stiri\/ziua-de-25-decembrie-a-fost-declarata--prin-lege--zi-de-sarbatoare-69748.html\">approved<\/a> the public holiday on the date of December 25<sup>th<\/sup>. It was conditioned by the fact that there are Christians in Moldova who celebrate the feast according to both Julian and Gregorian calendars.<\/p>\n<p>According to a<a href=\"http:\/\/www.romaniatv.net\/sarbatori-fericite-cu-reopetitie-24prc-dintre-moldoveni-sarbatoresc-craciunul-de-doua-ori_116773.html\"> survey<\/a> conducted by the Institute of Marketing and Surveys IMAS in 2013, 24% of the Moldovan people celebrate Christmas twice a year. The poll was conducted as telephone interviews, on a sample of 807 respondents from both cities and villages. The error margin was 3.5%.<\/p>\n<p>The folklorist Tudor Colac from the Institute of Philology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timpul.md\/articol\/moldoveni-cu-doua-craciunuri-101755.html\">noted<\/a>\u00a0for timpul.md that the Moldovan citizens have always celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar. \u201cTraditionally, except for some short periods, the \u2018new\u2019 style Christmas was celebrated on the territory of Moldova, but with the Russian annexation in 1812, it was transferred to the old rite. At the same time, in some southern Moldovan districts and in some of the northern localities, people have always kept the holidays in the \u2018new\u2019 style. There is nothing strange about what is happening to us, it is a natural process,\u201d claimed Colac. In the same time, the folklorist disapproved the dualism of the Christmas celebration by the Moldovan society: \u201cThe younger population tries to follow the Europe\u2019s way of celebration. The older population, which is celebrating the \u2018old\u2019 style Christmas on January 7<sup>th<\/sup>, is trying to accept that it can be celebrated differently, under the pressure of the younger generation. It is a fretfulness, a dualistic movement in the society but it will clarify in time.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Featured photo source: libertatea.ro<\/p>\n<div class='heateorSssClear'><\/div><div  class='heateor_sss_sharing_container heateor_sss_horizontal_sharing' data-heateor-sss-href='https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/moldovan-people-celebrate-christmas-twice\/' data-heateor-sss-no-counts=\"1\"><div class='heateor_sss_sharing_title' style=\"font-weight:bold\" ><\/div><div class=\"heateor_sss_sharing_ul\"><a aria-label=\"Facebook\" class=\"heateor_sss_facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moldova.org%2Fen%2Fmoldovan-people-celebrate-christmas-twice%2F\" title=\"Facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"font-size:32px!important;box-shadow:none;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle\"><span class=\"heateor_sss_svg\" 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href=\"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/moldovan-people-celebrate-christmas-twice\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maria Dulgher\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/moldovan-people-celebrate-christmas-twice\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/moldovan-people-celebrate-christmas-twice\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maria Dulgher\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4cd49a1f49c7d48a105c8a4cb7e3a2bf\"},\"headline\":\"Why do Moldovan people celebrate Christmas 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