THE HOLY NATIVITY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR
By St. Theophan the Recluse.
Glory to Thee, O Lord! Once again we greet the awaited
bright days of Christ’s Nativity. Let us be glad and rejoice.
In order to raise our festivities to a higher level in
these days, the Holy Church has intentionally instituted a fast before them—a
certain amount of constraint, so that as we enter the festive period we might
feel as though we were coming out into freedom. Nevertheless, the Church in no
way desires that we give ourselves over to mere sensual delights and fleshly
pleasures. Since the Church has from olden times called these days (“holy days”), they require that our very
rejoicing on these days be holy, as they are holy. So that those who rejoice
might not forget themselves, the Church has placed a short hymn upon our lips
to glorify the newborn Christ, by which the flesh is settled down and the soul
is uplifted, showing the proper occupations for these days: Christ is horn,
give ye glory, and the rest.