§ 125. The Services of the Feast of Christ’s Nativity (25th December). This feast was inaugurated to commemorate the Birth of Jesus Christ from the Most Holy Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judæa. Its origins reach back to the first century, but until the end of the fourth century it was observed on 6th January, along with the Baptism, and was called Theophany. The Church prepares the faithful so that they might worthily celebrate the Nativity of Christ with a forty-day fast, which is called the Nativity, or St Philip’s, Fast, because it always begins the day after 14th November, the commemoration of the Apostle Philip.

On the day before, or eve of the feast, the Royal Hours are served separately from the Liturgy. They are called “Royal” because it was customary on them to chant a full Many Years to the Sovereign Emperor, to the whole Imperial House and to all Orthodox Christians. The Royal Hours are distinguished from the normal ones in that they are special hymns chanted on them appropriate to the festival, and they have appointed Old Testament readings, Apostle readings and Gospels.

After midday the Liturgy of St Basil the Great is celebrated with Vespers. During this Vespers service, we chant verses on “Lord, I have cried,” in which in the first instance the inner significance of the incarnation of the Son of God is depicted, thanks to which the rift between God and man has been destroyed, and the fiery sword of the angel, which barred the way to Paradise, has been turned back, and we have been granted access to Paradise once again. On the other hand, the outer events of the Nativity are also told forth: the angels’ doxology, Herod’s being troubled, and the unification of all the peoples under the authority of the Emperor of Rome, Augustus.

In the six Old Testament readings we have the following thoughts: in the first (Gen. 1:1-13) it speaks of God’s creation; in the second (Num. 24:2-9, 17-18) we have the star foretold and the birth of a Man,to Whom all peoples would submit; in the third (Mic. 4:6-7, 5:2-4), that the birth of Jesus Christ was to be in Bethlehem; in the fourth (Es. 11:1-10) we learn of the rod (i.e. Jesus Christ) that was to spring forth from the root of Jesse, and that the the Spirit of God would be upon Him; in the fifth (Baruch 3:36-38, 4:1-4) we learn of the appearance on earth of the Child of God, and about His life on earth; in the sixth (Daniel 2:31-36, 44-45) we hear of the establishment by God of the heavenly Kingdom. [This is what Fr Antonov writes, but in fact there are eight Old Testament readings appointed at this service, but perhaps he was following a custom usual in his day - the beginning of the twentieth century - in Russia. The two omitted readings are: Esaias 9:6-7, and Esaias 7:10-16, 8:1-4, 8-10 - transl.] At the end of the Liturgy itself, the clergy glorify Christ singing the troparion and contakion of the feast while standing before the icon of the festival, placed on a stand in the centre of the church.