MOSCOW, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- In line with dates on the Julian calendar, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated Christmas on Sunday.
Russia's Novosti news agency reported that on Saturday night, thousands of people celebrated the Julian calendar's Christmas Eve at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior and honored the holiday fully on Sunday.
Tradition depicts the Christmas holiday as a time to free oneself from the corruption of their sinful forefathers, as well as to recognize the coming of Christ and the reconciliation of both man and God.
Sunday's celebration also meant that members of the Russian Orthodox Church could end their annual 40-day fast that precedes Christmas.
That fast, detailed in one of the religious body's statutes, began on Nov. 28 and ended Saturday night, Novosti said.
