A Russian Orthodox Church representative has proposed declaring January 7 the "Day of Napoleon's Expulsion" from the country in 1812 and a national holiday.
"Christmas Day is yet another victory day for our state: on this day (January 7, 1813, according to Gregorian calendar) Tsar Alexander I issued a decree announcing the expulsion of Napoleon's army from the Russian Empire," Father Hieromonk Filipp, deputy head of the External Affairs Department of the Russian Church said, according to the New York Times website.
Speaking at a media conference this week, he recalled that before the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Russia used to celebrate both holidays -- Christmas and Russia's 1812 victory over Napoleon's invasion -- on the same day.
"I hope this tradition will be revived," Fr. Filipp said.
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