Candlelight, carols and chalk blessings shape Christmas across Eastern Europe

[Michie]

Receiving a chalk blessing at the doorway or decorating wooden boats instead of Christmas trees may seem unfamiliar to many outside the region. Yet across Eastern and Central Europe, Christmas is still marked by traditions shaped by faith, memory and shared life — customs that quietly anchor the season in meaning and community.

Continued below.

Candlelight, carols and chalk blessings shape Christmas across Eastern Europe

Receiving a chalk blessing at the doorway or decorating wooden boats instead of Christmas trees may seem unfamiliar to many outside the region Yet across Eastern and Central Europe, Christmas is

www.christianpost.com

 

[stevevw]

This is great and I hope it continues to grow. The same happened in London and at first it was condemned as some far Right protest. But it turned out a beautiful occassion of fellowship and peace.

I remeber as a child having these Christmass gatherings around traditional beliefs about Jesus and the three wise men and the manger and all that. It was never offensive or promoted anything bad. It was a beautiful message of love and hope and giving and all that.

But most importantly it united people. This was a symbol of a common belief about that time of year which was fundemental to societies values and how they ordered themselves.

Now traditional Christmas is seen as just one belief in a pot of different beliefs fighting for recognition. Even becoming an offensive belief to take because just saying it or wanting to express it in the public square is now seen as abuse and hate in pushing a belief on others.

I guess thats understandable because the public square is not suppose to advocate for one belief over another. At least thats the idea. But I think thats unreal because of the fact that people naturally want to express their beliefs in public and therefore conflicting beliefs expressed in the same public square will conflict.

The dominant culture is suppose to have the dominant belief and other beliefs are subject to the host culture. Though cultural norms can change. So long as it is natural change and not forced or engineered change.