This afternoon at 3:00 we attended Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. This is very similar to the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which is offered here regularly; the difference is that the silent prayers of the priest are different and longer in the Liturgy of St. Basil.
Unfortunately, the timing of this made us miss something rather exciting. At 3:30 men rode into Gaming on horseback carrying a flame lit in Bethlehem! They lit a special candle in the parish church and then went on their way. So, when we arrived home I walked to the church with a candle and now we have a Christmas candle with a flame from Bethlehem. You can see it in the picure on the sidebar: it's the white candle in the midst of the wreath.
After dinner we read the proclamation of Christ's birth from the martyrology (traditionally done at Midnight, but we didn't want to keep Maria up too late):
~The year from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created heaven and earth, five thousand one hundred and ninety-nine:
~From the deluge, the year two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven:
~From the birth of Abraham, the year two thousand and fifteen:
~From Moses and the going out of the people of Israel from Egypt, the year one thousand five hundred and ten:
~From David's being anointed king, the year one thousand and thirty-two:
~In the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel:
~In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad:
~From the building of the city of Rome, the year seven hundred and fifty-two:
~In the forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus:
~The whole world being in peace:
~In the sixth age of the world: Jesus Christ, the eternal God, and Son of the eternal Father, wishing to consecrate this world by his most merciful coming, being conceived of the Holy Ghost, and nine months since his conception having passed, (here genuflect) In Bethlehem of Juda is born of the Virgin Mary, being made Man: THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE FLESH!
~From the birth of Abraham, the year two thousand and fifteen:
~From Moses and the going out of the people of Israel from Egypt, the year one thousand five hundred and ten:
~From David's being anointed king, the year one thousand and thirty-two:
~In the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel:
~In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad:
~From the building of the city of Rome, the year seven hundred and fifty-two:
~In the forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus:
~The whole world being in peace:
~In the sixth age of the world: Jesus Christ, the eternal God, and Son of the eternal Father, wishing to consecrate this world by his most merciful coming, being conceived of the Holy Ghost, and nine months since his conception having passed, (here genuflect) In Bethlehem of Juda is born of the Virgin Mary, being made Man: THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE FLESH!
Then we turned on the lights of the tree to Maria's great delight. We heard one of her new words quite a few times: "Pretty!" In the second picture her gaze is directed more toward the gifts than to the tree.
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