Since ancient times, the night before Christmas has been considered a time of miracles. For more than 2000 years, people have been waiting for the stars to light up in the sky. After all, once one of the stars that ascended over Bethlehem announced to people about the birth of the Savior.
Miracle of Christmas
The birth of the infant Christ was the first and most famous Christmas miracle. The arrival of a wandering star from the east, which stopped over the place where the Baby was born, was also a miracle. According to legend, that amazing night gave rise to a rare year in which there was not a single war on earth.
Other miracles happened on Christmas night. So, in the Bethlehem cave, at the moment of the birth of Jesus Christ, a clear and transparent source suddenly hammered out of the stone. At the same instant in Rome, a source of fragrant oil broke through from the earth, an ancient pagan temple collapsed, and three suns rose in the sky at once. A dazzlingly shining cloud suddenly appeared over what is now Spain, and vineyards bloomed in winter in Israel.
The three wise men, who were brought into the cave by the light of the Christmas star, brought gold, incense and myrrh as gifts to the Baby - gifts for the king, God and man. Miraculous gifts are kept to this day in the monastery of St. Paul on the sacred Mount Athos. On Orthodox Christmas 2014, the gifts of the Magi visited Russia for the first time.
The name of St. Nicholas of Mirliki, who became the prototype of the well-known Santa Claus, is associated with Christmas miracles. It was thanks to him that the tradition of giving gifts for Christmas arose. It is said that on the night before Christmas Saint Nicholas left golden apples, money and sweets at the doors of the houses of the poor. People who did not know who the mysterious giver was considered it a Christmas miracle.
The most famous of the miracles of Saint Nicholas is the story of how he managed to save the honor of three innocent girls. Their father, seeing no other salvation from poverty, was ready to sell his daughters to a brothel. Learning of this, Saint Nicholas threw them three bags of gold. The girls, who miraculously received the dowry, were able to get married safely.
Christmas miracles in literature
There are many literary works dedicated to Christmas miracles. Thus, in Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol, three Holy Spirits appear on a festive night for Ebeneiser Scrooge, who does not recognize Christmas, which give him the opportunity to look from the outside at his own past, present and future. As a result, the old curmudgeon turns into a kind, generous and cheerful person.
Among the characters in Gogol's "Night before Christmas" are representatives of "evil spirits." However, even the devil here turns out to be not at all scary and helps the blacksmith Vakula to perform a real miracle - to get for the capricious beauty Oksana the slivers from the queen's foot.
Everyone expects miracles from Christmas night. And they really will come in the form of a long-awaited gift or sudden healing, you just have to believe in them with all your heart.
