Items from the postcard collection put together by the late Catherine Cooke have featured in previous posts, including a Soviet-era New Year card.  This time, a little group of pre-revolutionary Christmas cards forms the December Slavonic item(s) of the month.

All four wish the recipient ‘S Rozhdestvom” Khristovym”‘ (literally, “with the birth of Christ” = Happy Christmas), with the angels in the third also holding a banner saying ‘Slava v vyshnikh” Bogu’ (Glory be to God in the highest).  Note that the final postcard gives the date of 25 December.  The Russian Empire used the Julian Calendar to the end of its existence, so the 25th of December in pre-revolutionary 20th-century Moscow would have been the 7th of January in London.  The change to the Gregorian Calendar in February 1918 saw official dates leap forward, while the Eastern Orthodox Church continued and continues to follow the Julian dates, hence the 7 January date for the Orthodox Christmas to this day.

Two of the cards (the first two) are unused.  Here are the versos of the third and fourth:

I would write about them but I’m afraid that other Christmas responsibilities are pressing down on me.  Another day, maybe!

As Katharine wished you in her lovely Christmas post last week – Happy Christmas!

Mel Bach