Christian roots: priest explained whether it is permissible to sell Christmas toys with icons and faces of saints

Shoppers share that they saw glass balls in the shops, on which the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is applied - one of the most revered shrines in the Russian Orthodox Church. Other balls depicted the Virgin with the infant Jesus Christ in her arms and saints.

In the description of the product, it was stated that “New Year’s decorations are perfect for decorating the house and New Year’s Eve.” On the packaging was marked: handmade.

- Here you need to reason soberly and sanely, to see what is really bad, and what is within the norm, says Father Makariy. - I'll give you an analogy. I’m a priest, they say to me, ‘You went to light up, bless the printing house, but do you know what is printed there?’ Maybe something bad, some pictures or something.” But people ask to bless, to illuminate the place of their work. Why don't I do that? Or take the same grocery store that sells cigarettes, which is a sin. They may say, “I’m not ashamed, Father.” Why are you doing this? Cigarettes are harmful, but there are trade norms, there is demand. But if I was invited to light a drinking establishment, I would refuse.

As Father Makariy says, by analogy we can consider the situation with these Christmas trees.

- People like it, there is nothing wrong with it. For example, you bought a cake that depicts a temple or icon. Why not? This is well within the framework of our social life.

In the Christian tradition, the tree is a Christmas symbol. The evergreen tree signifies eternal life and the everlasting joy brought by the Savior.

- The Christmas tree became a Christmas tree in Soviet times, when all religious life was forbidden. And in the 30s of the XX century, the Communists made an ideological compromise, gave up and allowed New Year holidays instead of Christmas.

According to Father Makariy, New Year decorations also have Christian roots: the balls originally imitated the apples of paradise.

- And the star on the top of the tree is the Star of Bethlehem (a symbol of the Nativity of Christ), which remained there out of habit. These examples of Christmas tree balls with the faces of saints should not be considered exclusively from a dogmatic point of view. Aesthetically correctly oriented and correctly perceived, they lead a person to good, to a good way of thinking, to a good state of mind. That's how it's worth looking at.

Believers who want to see such decorations at home are advised to choose high-quality handmade products rather than a cheap mass market.