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On January 7, Christians of Turkmenistan will celebrate Orthodox Christmas, and festive services will be held in all the churches of the country.
Orthodox Christmas is preceded by a 40-day Advent fast, during which it is customary to refrain from eating food of animal origin, but sometimes you can eat fish. Lent ends on the evening of January 6 with a Christmas meal, at which it is customary to gather with the whole family. Before sitting down to the table, they usually wait for the first evening star to appear in the sky. You can’t do household chores on a holiday, the house should be put in order in advance. An obligatory attribute of Orthodox Christmas is an elegant Christmas tree.
On Christmas it is customary to carol - go from house to house with songs glorifying Christ, and receive sweets for it.
Folk tradition says that on these Christmas days, up to Epiphany, it is customary to guess the future, however, the church treats these rituals with condemnation.
On the territory of Turkmenistan, there are 12 Orthodox churches in the capital, as well as in Mary, Turkmenabat, Turkmenbashi, Balkanabat, Tejen and Bayramaly.