Why Do 250 Million Christians Celebrate Christmas on January 7? Here's Why It Matters
- Millions of Christians in Eastern Europe and the Arab world celebrate Christmas on January 7
- The difference in Christmas celebration dates stems from the adoption of the Gregorian calendar
- Orthodox churches retain the Julian calendar, causing a 13-day gap in Christmas dates
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
Millions of Christians in Eastern Europe and across the Arab world celebrated Christmas on Wednesday, Jnauary 7, 2026 and not December 25 as others around the world.
Christmas Day commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem in present day Israel.
Who celebrates Christmas on January 7?
Millions of Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7 not because they believe Jesus was born on a different day.
Christians in Eastern Europe and across the Arab world, such as Palestine and Egypt, celebrate Christmas on January 7 because they are using a different calendar.
Notable groups that celebrate Christmas on January 7 include:
The Russian Orthodox Church: The largest group following this tradition.
The Serbian and Georgian Orthodox Churches.
The Coptic Orthodox Church: Based primarily in Egypt.
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches.
Why the diffence in timing of Christmas celebration?
As reported , the difference in the timing of Christmas stretches back to 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII ruled that the Catholic Church should follow a new calendar.
The calendar called the Gregorian calendar, to replace the less accurate Julian calendar.
The Julian calendar overestimated the solar year by 11 minutes, causing the seasons to eventually drift out of place.
It is important to note that the calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC.
The Gregorian calendar has a more accurate approximation of a true solar year as it loses one day every 3,236 years compare to the Julian calendar which loses one day every 128 years
The world had to essentially skip 10 days to get back on track and to make up for the missing time that had accumulated over the 15 centuries.
While most of the world adopted the new Gregorian calendar, many Orthodox and Eastern Christian churches have stayed with the Julian calendar to maintain their traditions.
As its current stands today, the Julian calendar is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, making December 25 falls on January 7 on modern calendar.
Should the Orthodox Church continues to use the Julian calendar, Christmas date will shift to January 8 in 2101, as the 13-day gap increases to 14 days.
Christmas: African countries that don’t celebrate
Recall that Christmas is being celebrated by many Christians across the world on December 25 of every year to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.
In many countries, December 25 is observed as a public holiday for Christians to celebrate with families and friends.
However, some African countries don't celebrate Christmas or observe it as a public holiday for one reason or another.
5 Churches that don’t celebrate Christmas
Legit.ng also reported that Christians all over the world commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th December of every year.
It is a time for celebration, merriment, and family reunion for many, as it comes with the holiday season.
However, some churches and Christians don't celebrate Christmas for different reasons based on their doctrines.
Source: Legit.ng
