January 7 is Christmas Day for Russian Christians, the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, as well as for some Protestants who use the Julian calendar. According to the Julian calendar, created under the reign of Julius Caesar in 45 BC, the holidays come thirteen days after the Christmas festivities in the Catholic Church.
Christmas in the Orthodox Church is traditionally preceded by forty days of praying and fasting, during which the faithful should refrain from eating meat and deny themselves any form of entertainment.
By learning to temper the body, one attains spiritual perfection, believers hope.
Russia may have the snow but i think our idea of Christmas and eating our own body weight in mince pies and chocolate while watching Jeremy Clarkson get forced out of Argentina by an angry mob is better.
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