The Nativity of Christ is the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth in the flesh. It’s one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, and we celebrate it on January 7th.
That date confuses people. Here’s why it lands there: Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar for fixed feasts, which places the Nativity on December 25th. But the Julian calendar runs thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar most Americans use. So December 25th on the old calendar falls on January 7th on yours. We’re not celebrating a different day than the rest of the Christian world. We’re celebrating the same December 25th, just counted differently.
Why This Feast Matters
The Nativity isn’t just a birthday party for Jesus. It’s the moment when God became man.
The eternal Son of God took on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born in a cave in Bethlehem. Fully God and fully man, united in one Person. This is the Incarnation, and it changes everything. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote that Christ’s birth abolished death, defeated demonic powers, and re-created the world. That’s not sentimental language. It’s what actually happened when God entered human history as an infant.
The prophecies were fulfilled. The star appeared. Angels sang to shepherds. And heaven touched earth in a way it never had before.
Getting Ready: The Nativity Fast
We don’t just show up on January 7th unprepared. The Church gives us forty days to get ready, starting November 15th. We call it the Nativity Fast, though some people know it as Advent.
During this fast, we abstain from meat and dairy. Fish is allowed on some days. From December 13th through Christmas Eve, the fast gets stricter. No fish, limited oil and wine. On Christmas Eve itself, we keep a full strict fast until after the Liturgy.
This isn’t punishment. It’s preparation. Fasting quiets the noise. It makes space for prayer, for reading Scripture, for almsgiving. You’re training your soul to receive Christ. And honestly, if you’ve never fasted before, those forty days teach you how much your appetites run your life. That’s useful knowledge.
Here in Southeast Texas, this means you’re fasting through Thanksgiving. That’s hard. But the Church knows what she’s doing. The discomfort is part of the point.
The Services
Christmas Eve, we serve Vesperal Liturgy. Then on the morning of the Nativity itself, we celebrate the full Divine Liturgy. The services are full of joy. We sing the Nativity Canon at Matins: “Christ is born, glorify Him! Christ is come from heaven, receive Him! Christ is on earth, be ye lifted up.”
You’ll hear the angelic hymn from the Gospel of Luke over and over: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The angels sang it to the shepherds. We sing it now because we’re joining that same moment. The Liturgy doesn’t just commemorate Christ’s birth. It makes it present to us.
When you commune on the Nativity, you’re receiving the same Christ who was laid in the manger. The Incarnation didn’t end. He’s still God and man, and He gives Himself to us in the Eucharist.
How We Celebrate
After Liturgy, the fast is over. Families gather. We eat. We greet each other with “Christ is born!” and the response “Glorify Him!” We keep saying that until January 1st on the old calendar, which is January 14th on yours.
The celebration isn’t one day. The feast continues for several days, and then we move right into Theophany on January 19th. In the early Church at Antioch, the Nativity and Theophany were actually celebrated together as one feast. They got separated later, but they’re still connected. The Nativity begins the Incarnation. Theophany reveals the Trinity fully when Christ is baptized in the Jordan.
What This Means for You
If you’re used to Christmas on December 25th, this takes adjustment. Your family’s opening presents while you’re still fasting. Your coworkers think you’re weird. The stores have moved on to Valentine’s Day by the time you’re celebrating.
But there’s freedom in it too. You’re not swept up in the commercial frenzy. You can actually prepare spiritually instead of just shopping and stressing. And when January 7th comes, you’re ready. You’ve fasted. You’ve prayed. You’ve waited. And then Christ is born, and the joy is real.
The Nativity isn’t about nostalgia or sentimentality. It’s about God becoming man so that we could become like God. That’s theosis. That’s why we’re here. And it all starts in that cave in Bethlehem, with a young mother and her newborn son who is also the Creator of the universe.
If you’ve never been to an Orthodox Nativity service, come to St. Michael’s this year. The services are long, but they’re beautiful. And you’ll understand why we say Christ is born and mean it in the present tense.
