Orthodox Christians around the World celebrate Christmas

Over 200m Orthodox Christians around the World are celebrating Christmas today following the Julian calendar.

People are holding ceremonies throughout the World to commemorate Christ’s birthday. Unlike other Christian denominations that follow the Gregorian calendar, Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar where Christmas falls on January 07.

The majority of Orthodox Christians live in Eastern Europe – most belonging to Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Belarus, and Georgia – their populace however, isn’t limited to Europe alone, and has spread throughout the World, including here in the United States where over 6 million are registered members.

Although, over 72% of Ukraine’s population is Orthodox Christian, they celebrated Christmas with the rest of the World on December 25 because of the war with Russia.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine officially revised the Julian calendar bringing Christmas forward to December 25 with the rest of the World. Traditionally, Ukrainians celebrated Christmas on January 07, but in order to send a message to Moscow, the Church revised the Julian calendar aligning all Christian festivities with the Gregorian calendar used around the World.