“Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel, translated (God is with us).” Isaiah 7:14.
On Christmas Day, “a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulders; and his name shall he called Wonderful Counselor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace . . . He shall sit upon the “throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it and to strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and forever.” Isaiah 9: 6-7.
When Christ was born in that low and humble place — the world was ready for his coming, the pure womb that was to bear him was prepared. The great and awful event awaited by men since the moment of that first promise may be worthily recorded only in the inspired word of God: “Behold,” says the Angel Gabriel to Mary, “thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shall call his name, Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High
. . . The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most high shall overshadow thee; and therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 10, 31:5.
Centuries before the first Christmas Day, a malignant angel had come to a woman (Eve) upon an errand of death, and Eve’s disobedience to God’s command which had ensued was the beginning of the sin of the world.
The Archangel Gabriel came to Mary with the message of eternal life, and the ready obedience of the second Eve gave us him who is the fountain of all grace.
Now, Mary, who had designed to know no man, had been troubled, at the announcement of the angel, that she should conceive and bear a son. But her fear was groundless: the Holy Ghost was to be her Spouse, and Mary, still clad in the white veil of virginity, was yet to wear the crown of motherhood: And Mary said: ‘‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.”
The obedient submission of Mary gave to the world the Divine Redeemer. Now, “The Word was made flesh.” The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, God the Son, became man.
Christ, the Son, now Man, came to us in the deepest poverty — in greatest humility to be our Redeemer — Our King. Yes, Christ is King, not only as God, but also as Man. He is King, not only by reason of perfection of his humanity, not only because he has purchased us as His people by redeeming us; he is King because His is the Word incarnate.
“He, Christ, has dominion over all creatures,” says St. Cyril of Alexandria, who was the great Champion of Orthodoxy against Nestorius “a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but by His essence and by nature.” Psalms 23:7.
In this way with these thoughts do the Eastern Christians celebrate the Birth of Christ. The Eastern Christian places the greatest importance upon the religious aspects of this great Feast Day. It is to the Eastern mind — a day for rejoicing, because on this day, he has received his opportunity for Eternal Salvation with God in Heaven.
The feast commemorating the Nativity of Jesus Christ or (Christmas) was introduced in the middle of the 4th century. It is now almost certain that the celebration of Christmas on the 25th of December is of Western origin. The East celebrated Christ’s Nativity on January 6th, now on January 7th. This because the East follows the Julian Calendar, which is about two weeks behind the present calendar. In the liturgy of the Eastern Churches this feast was called Theophany or Epiphany. Three things were commemorated: the Nativity itself: the Adoration of the Magi, and the Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan.
Later, several of the Eastern Churches began introducing the celebration of Christmas on December 25th. In the meantime, it seems that Western Christians adopted the feast of Epiphany, which soon became very popular — and is very popular today.
In the Eastern Churches, the Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds are celebrated on Christmas Eve — January 6th, the Adoration of the Magi on Christmas Day.
A period of fasting begins 40 days before Christmas for Eastern Christians. This period does not correspond to the Advent Season of the Roman Church; the Eastern Church does not know Advent.
There are two Sundays which prepare the faithful Eastern Christian for the great feast of Christmas, namely the 2nd Sunday before Christmas, called the Sunday of the Fore-Fathers, and the Sunday immediately preceding Christmas, called the Sunday of the Fathers.
On Christmas Eve the Church Services are rather long, but they are very beautiful and inspiring. The morning of Christmas Eve — the Church Services begin with the Solemn Singing of the Royal Hours — so called because the kings and emperors of old always attended these services.