Some Orthodox countries – such as Greece, Cyprus and Romania – now use 25 December as they changed calendars. However, they still hold celebrations on Epiphany, which is 6 January and Christmas Eve according to their old Julian calendar. Those that still celebrate in January include: Russia.

Many Orthodox Christians annually celebrate Christmas Day on or near January 7 to remember Jesus Christ’s birth, described in the Christian Bible. This date works to the Julian calendar that pre-dates the Gregorian calendar, which is commonly observed.

Orthodox Christmas is all about peace and calm. The Orthodox Christmas meal is known as the Holy Supper, and some traditional foods eaten on the day are mushroom soup, porridge, Lenten bread, nuts, and dried fruits, cod, biscuits, and honey.

That is because the Russian Orthodox church decided to stay with the Julian calendar, while much of the rest of the world switched to the newer Gregorian. The official way to say “Merry Christmas” in Russian is “S rozhdyestvom Hristovym!”, which means “Congratulations on the birth of Christ!”.

The Christmas tree is derived, not from the pagan yule tree, but from the paradise tree adorned with apples on December 24/January 7 in honor of Adam and Eve. Hence the Orthodox Church considers the Christmas tree completely biblical in origin. Nicholas for Orthodox Christians.

Twelve Days

Firstly, the difference between Orthodox and Catholic Christmas is quite simply an issue about dates. Therefore, while the West celebrates the birth of Christ on the 25th December (according to the Gregorian Calendar), the Orthodox Church, in accordance with the Julian Calendar, celebrate Christmas on the 7th January.

The Lutheran Church and the Greek Orthodox Church celebrate the Circumcision of Christ on 1 January, while Orthodox churches following the Julian calendar celebrate it on 14 January. All Orthodox churches consider it a “Great Feast”.