‘De-Christianization of Christmas Not a Purely Western Problem,’ Khudiyev Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Jan. 6 – Many Christians in Western countries bemoan the fact that Christmas has been transformed into purely secular holiday from which the original religious meaning has been drained, Sergey Khudiyev says. But that is not a purely Western problem. In Russia too, Christmas has become for many Russians simply the anchor of the winter holidays.

            Russia, however, has come to that sad state for fundamentally different reasons, the widely published Russian Orthodox theologian says. First, the Bolsheviks tried to destroy religion; and then after communism fell, Western models which had stripped the holiday of its religious meaning arrived with a vengeance (vz.ru/opinions/2026/1/6/1382610.html).

            If they are to experience the true meaning of Christmas, Khudiyev continues, they must struggle against both these inheritances because only by remembering and celebrating what Christmas really stands for can they hope to maintain the traditions and unity of their nation and look to the future individually and collectively with confidence.