WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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Believers who count time according to the Gregorian calendar today celebrate Christmas, one of the biggest Christian holidays.
Last night, believers of the Catholic faith celebrated the arrival of the holiest holiday of Christmas at the midnight mass in the Roman Catholic church (co-cathedral) of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Podgorica. In the only Catholic church in Podgorica, the midnight Christmas mass was led by Don Janez Mirtek.
At the mass, Don Izidor Lukić spoke to the faithful about the importance of Christmas and God's love.
"This is a great joy that God wanted to share with us. Without God's love we cannot live. Jesus Christ asks us to open our hearts and we will have the greatest wealth. Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus is the light that gives meaning to life, so that we do not live in sin On this day of joy, we also wish for warmth in our hearts, because we lack love and peace, and we ask Jesus to give us that peace," said, among other things, Don Izidor Lukić in his address.
At midnight between Christmas Day on December 24 and Christmas Day on December 25, the Catholic Church served a holy mass called Midnight Mass. It is a service performed only by the Roman Catholic Church, because it is believed that God's light comes out of the darkness at that time.
According to tradition, Jesus Christ was born on December 25 in the Bethlehem cave, so this date, despite differences in calendars, is respected throughout the Christian world.
In all Christian churches, on Christmas Eve and Christmas, parts of the Gospel are read about the birth of the Savior and the event in Bethlehem that changed the history of mankind.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas, Catholic believers come to give gifts to the Nativity scene, which is traditionally improvised in all temples.
This custom commemorates the homage of the three wise men from the East who, according to tradition, arrived in Bethlehem following the brightest star that stopped exactly above the cave of birth.
The journey of the wise men from the east lasted 40 days, so the Christmas Christian fast, which ends with the beginning of the Christmas celebration, lasts that long.
Today, many non-Christians also celebrate Christmas as a traditional family holiday when special gifts are given and received.
In Japan, Christmas is celebrated according to the model of Western Christian countries, and in Taiwan, Christmas was celebrated unofficially, since it happened to be on that day that the constitution of the Republic of China was signed in 1947, which was celebrated every year as a national holiday.
Since 2001, that holiday has been abolished, but Christmas is still unofficially celebrated in some places.
Today, Protestants also celebrate Christmas, as do most Orthodox churches (Greece, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Cyprus, Antioch, Bulgaria, Romania...), and from this year also the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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