Moscow’s Red Square prepares for Christmas (Image: Voice of America)

While the festive season is winding down for many Christians in the west, Eastern Orthodox Christians are celebrating Christmas Day today.

While the date is not a public holiday in Australia, it is a major event for the large numbers of Russians, Armenians, Serbians and Macedonians who have emigrated to Melbourne and Sydney over the past century. Many Orthodox Christian communities from Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea also observe January 7 as Christmas Day.

January 7 is celebrated with church services and family feasts, marking the end of a 43-day fast for many Eastern Orthodox Christians. The largest Orthodox group in Australia celebrating Christmas today are most likely Serbian Orthodox adherents, who number more than 42,000 according to the 2001 census.

Christmas Mass at the Armenian Apostolic Church in Chatswood, northern Sydney (Image: Sydney Morning Herald)

While 25 December represents a celebration of the birth of Jesus for Protestants and Catholics, the date is known to have been arbitrarily set, possibly to coincide with the Roman celebration of the December solstice. Many Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate the date of25 December according to the Julian calendar, which runs thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar.

The last major observance of Christmas will occur later this month, when adherents of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem will celebrate Christmas. The 2,500 strong Armenian community in Jerusalem traditionally mark the birth of Jesus in connection with Epiphany, which occurs on January 6 in the Julian calendar, which is January 19 Gregorian.