Christmas time in Russia could soon fall in line with much
of the rest of the world if one politician has his way. Currently, the birth of
Jesus Christ
is celebrated on Jan. 7, as dictated by the Russian Orthodox
Church in accordance with the Julian calendar. Conversely, most Western nations
will be marking it later this month on Dec. 25, based on the Gregorian
calendar.
That was not sitting well with Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader
of the Liberal Democratic Party in Russia.
"The whole world celebrates Christmas on Dec. 25, and
we here in Russia we have a man who was born on Jan. 7,” Zhirinovsky said in
Russia’s State Duma, its lower house of parliament, on Tuesday, according to
state-operated news agency RIA Novosti. “Why not switch back?”
The Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar
and its use was formally discontinued in Russia following the Bolshevik
revolution in 1918. The Russian Orthodox Church, however, opted to remain on
the Julian calendar.
Although for most of the Western world Christmas is
celebrated on Dec. 25, that wasn’t always the case. No date or even a time of
year for the birth of Jesus was provided in the Bible, with only subtle clues
offered.
For the first three centuries of Christianity, Jesus’ birth
wasn’t celebrated at all. It wasn’t until under Pope Julius 1 in the 4th
century that Christmas moved to Dec. 25 and was officially decreed a holiday.
Zhirinovsky, however, is no stranger to outspoken comments.
Ahead of the United States presidential election, he urged Americans to vote
for Donald Trump stating that a victory for Hillary Clinton would lead to war
between the two countries.
"Relations between Russia and the United States can't
get any worse,” he told Reuters in October. “The only way they can get worse is
if a war starts," said Zhirinovsky, speaking in his huge office on the
10th floor of Russia's State Duma, or lower house of parliament.
"Americans voting for a president on Nov. 8 must realize that they are
voting for peace on Planet Earth if they vote for Trump.
But if they vote for
Hillary it's war. It will be a short movie. There will be Hiroshimas and
Nagasakis everywhere."
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