Photos: Orthodox Christmas celebrations around the world
Orthodox Christians from Palestine to Russia celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on January 7.
Worshippers gather on the eve of Orthodox Christmas at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.[Amanuel Sileshi/AP Photo]
By News Agencies
Published On 7 Jan 20267 Jan 2026
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Many Eastern Orthodox Christians mark Christmas on January 7, with Christmas Eve on January 6, in line with the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar used in most of the world.
Clergy prepare for the arrival of Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III to the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, to celebrate Christmas according to the Eastern Orthodox calendar, in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. [Mahmoud Illean/AP Photo]
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Palestinian scout bands parade through Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. [Mahmoud Illean/AP Photo]People attend an Orthodox Christmas service outside the Kashveti Church of St George in Tbilisi, Georgia. [Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP Photo]A Coptic Orthodox bishop leads Christmas prayers at Archangel Michael Church in Cairo, Egypt. [Amr Nabil/AP Photo]Iranian Christians attend a service celebrating Orthodox Christmas at St Sarkis Armenian Cathedral in Tehran. [Atta Kenare/AFP]People burn dried oak branches, symbolising the Yule log, on Orthodox Christmas Eve in front of the Church of St Sava in Belgrade, Serbia. [Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo]
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A woman lights a candle during a Christmas service at the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral in St Petersburg, Russia. [Olga Maltseva/AFP]Worshippers receive communion during a Christmas service at the Syriac Orthodox Church in Sulaimaniyah, a neighbourhood in Aleppo, Syria. [Kasim Yusuf/Anadolu]Orthodox Christians attend a Christmas Eve service at the Church of St Clement of Ohrid in Skopje, North Macedonia. [Umeys Sulejman/Anadolu]
