Orthodox Christmas around the World

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Pope Shenuda III (C), head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, meets with Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb (2nd left), Egyptian Religious Endowments Minister Mohammed Abdel Fadil al-Qawsi (R), Egyptian Mufti Ali Gomaa (2nd right) and former religious endowments minister Hamdi Zaqzuq (L) in Cairo on January 4, 2012 as they pay him a visit on the occasion of Christmas which Copts celebrate on January 7. (AFP)

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AP Photo - Bosnian Serb men rides horses as they preparing for traditional parade for the Orthodox Christmas Eve, in Bosnian Serb town of Banja Luka, 150 km northwest of Sarajevo, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Bosnian Serbs as Orthodox Christians celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7, according to the old calendar.

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A child holds the cross as believers sing and dance at the river Tundzha, as they celebrate Epiphany in the town of Kalofer, Bulgaria. (AP)

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A member of the clergy attends the Christmas procession outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. (Reuters)

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DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images - Bulgarian men perform the traditional Bulgarian "Horo" dance in the icy winter waters of the Tundzha river in the town of Kalofer, as part of the Epiphany Day celebrations on January 6, 2012. As a tradition, an Eastern Orthodox priest throws a cross in the river and it is believed that the one who retreives it will be healthy trough the year as well as all those who dance in the icy waters.

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Historical re-enactors dressed as Russian imperial soldiers from the French Invasion of Russia of 1812 fire a cannon during celebrations to mark the Russian Orthodox Christmas in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians who rely on the old Julian calendar rather than the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants and commonly used in secular life around the world. - Dmitry Lovetsky - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Panagiotis Mantziaris, kisses the wooden cross after being the first to retrieve it, during an Epiphany ceremony to bless the water in Greece's northern port city of Thessaloniki, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Similar ceremonies to mark Epiphany day were held across Greece on river banks, seafronts and lakes. An Orthodox priest throws a cross into the water and swimmers race to be the first to retrieve it. NIKOLAS GIAKOUMIDIS - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Polar swimmers take take part at the new year swim in the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. The Prague Castle is in the background. Petr David Josek - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Bosnian Serb people gather around a fire of the dried oak branches, the symbol for the Orthodox Christmas eve, during the Christmas Eve ceremony, in front of the Bosnian Orthodox church, in Sarajevo, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Bosnian Serbs as Orthodox Christians celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7, according to the old calendar. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians in Eastern Orthodox churches that use the Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants and commonly used in secular life around the world. - Amel Emric - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Believers sing and dance in the river Tundzha, as they celebrate Epiphany day in the town of Kalofer, Bulgaria Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Traditionally, an Eastern Orthodox priest throws a cross in the river and it is believed that the one who retrieves it will be healthy through the year. - Valentina Petrova - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Greek Orthodox man Apostolis Oikomoniv holds the wooden cross after he retrieved it from the water during an Epiphany ceremony to bless the water in the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Similar ceremonies to mark Epiphany Day were held across Greece on river banks, seafronts and lakes. Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians threw the cross into the water and swimmers raced to be the first to retrieve it.(AP Photo )

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Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP - Getty Images A boy holds a wooden cross as men perform the traditional Horo dance in the icy winter waters of the Tundzha river on Jan. 6, 2012.

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Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiev Patriarchate Patriarch Filaret (C) blesses the Dnieper river during Epiphany celebrations. Thousands of Orthodox believers took part in a baptism ceremony to mark Epiphany. - Getty images

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A man kisses a cross during Orthodox Epiphany day celebrations in the port of Porto Rafti Source: Reuters

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Men jump into a lake in an attempt to grab a wooden cross on Epiphany Day in Sofia Source: Reuters

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A Greek Orthodox man, Apostolis Oikomoniv, holds and kisses the wooden cross after it was being retrieved from the water during an Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Similar ceremonies to mark Epiphany Day were held across Greece on river banks, seafronts and lakes. Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox, threw a cross into the water and swimmers raced to be the first to retrieve it.(AP Photo )

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Serbs lift a cross retrieved in the Danube river in Belgrade on Epiphany day. It is said that the person who grabs the cross first, thrown into the water by an Eastern Orthodox pope, will be healthy throughout the New Year. – Getty images

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Reuters - Men dressed as "La Befana", an imaginary old woman who is thought to bring gifts to children during the festival of Epiphany, row boats down the Grand Canal in Venice, on Jan. 6. The orthodox Christian holiday of Epiphany is observed as the date when the Three Wise Men visited baby Jesus.

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At the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, worshippers originally from Eritrea kept up the festive spirit.

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VANO SHLAMOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES - A man wears a shepherd's costume as he leads a bull during Alilo, a religious procession, in Tbilisi.

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Austrian Epiphany singers, usually dressed as the Three Wise Men, collect money for Roman Catholic charity projects between Christmas and Epiphany. - REUTERS

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Christians in Russia cut holes to bathe in the icy waters of lakes and ponds during Orthodox celebrations of Epiphany REUTERS

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Getty Images - People carry on January 8, 2012 traditional Christmas decorations, some of them featuring the logo of the 2012 European football championships, which will be hosted in June by Ukraine and Poland, during an Orthodox Christmas parade in the center of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas and other religious holidays according to the Julian calendar, while other Christian Churches have adopted the later Gregorian calendar.

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Palestine: A boy sits on the top of a drum during the huge Nativity procession in Bethlehem

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Reuters Pictures - Women buy dried oak leaf branches and wheat, symbols of the traditional Yule log, in Belgrade January 5, 2012. Orthodox Christians in Serbia celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian calendar.

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Reuters Pictures Dried oak leaf branches, symbols of the traditional Yule log, are displayed for sale in Belgrade January 5, 2012. Orthodox Christians in Serbia will celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian calendar.

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People buy dried oak leaf branches and wheat, symbols of the traditional Yule log, in Belgrade January 5, 2012. Orthodox Christians in Serbia will celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian calendar. Reuters Pictures

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Volunteers dressed as Three Magi bring their gifts during the Epiphany parade through Warsaw . Poland clebrates Epiphany as an official public holiday for the first time after 50 years. The Epiphany feast day celebrates the visit of the Three Kings, or Magi, to the infant Jesus. - Getty images

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Three Kings portrayed by Marcus Luna (L), Marcus Sanchez (C) and Junio Alvarado (R) pose with camels after the Annual Three Kings Day Parade in the Spanish Harlem section of New York. The parade celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany and New York's Latino community with a procession of children, camels, puppets and performers.

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JANUARY 7: Children break the traditional Christmas bread to mark Orthodox Christmas Day festivities in Banja Luka, Bosnia. (Radivoje Pavicic/Associated Press

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Reuters Pictures - Children in traditional costumes sing Christmas carols, known locally as "Kolyadki" as they celebrate Orthodox Christmas in Pustomity village near Lviv, January 7, 2012. Orthodox Ukrainians celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar on January 7.

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Getty Images - NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 06: Egyptian Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas Nativity Liturgy, the start of Christmas, at the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George on January 6, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Like the Eastern Orthodox Church in Russia, Copts still use the Julian calendar and thus celebrate Christmas on January 7. St. George Church, like other Coptic churches around the country, has witnessed a surge of Christians fleeing Egypt since the start of the Arab Spring. In Egypt human rights groups estimate that as many as 100,000 Copts have left Egypt since the revolution as churches have been burned and Christians increasingly persecuted.

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Getty Images - NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 06: Egyptian Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas Nativity Liturgy, the start of Christmas, at the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George on January 6, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Like the Eastern Orthodox Church in Russia, Copts still use the Julian calendar and thus celebrate Christmas on January 7. St. George Church, like other Coptic churches around the country, has witnessed a surge of Christians fleeing Egypt since the start of the Arab Spring. In Egypt human rights groups estimate that as many as 100,000 Copts have left Egypt since the revolution as churches have been burned and Christians increasingly persecuted.

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Getty Images - NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 06: Egyptian Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas Nativity Liturgy, the start of Christmas, at the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George on January 6, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

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Coptic Christians in Brooklyn, New York, packed into the Church of St George. As many as 100,000 Coptic Christians are said to have fled Egypt since the Arab Spring.

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Most Orthodox Christian churches celebrate Christmas on 7 January. This woman was lighting a candle at Vladimir Ravnoapostolny Cathedral in Sochi. Russia is home to the world's biggest Orthodox Christian community. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill conducts night Christmas service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on January 7, 2012. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7 according to the Julian calendar. UPI

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AP Photo - A woman holds a candle and an oak branch during a traditional gathering by a bonfire in Macedonia's capital Skopje, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012, a night before Christian Orthodox Christmas Eve. Macedonian Christian Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas by the Julian calendar.

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India: A new born baby is baptized into Orthodox on Christmas day of 25th.

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Cyprus: Celebrations of the Feast of Epiphany

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Getty Images - Jerusalem's Syriac Patriarch Sawrios Milki Murad (R) arrives outside the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem on January 6, 2012,

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Bethlehem, West Bank — Christian Orthodox monks tour the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem as Orthodox Christmas celebrations kicked off - PHOTOGRAPH BY: MARCO LONGARI / AFP

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Orthodox Christmas celebrations kick off on January 6, 2012 in the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. - Getty Images

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Georgians take part in a religious procession to mark the Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants and commonly used in secular life around the world. The Holy Trinity Cathedral is seen at the background. Shakh Aivazov - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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In the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, a religious procession was held as part of the celebrations.

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Pope Shenouda III, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, attends the Coptic Christmas Eve Mass at the Abbassiya Cathedral in Cairo on Friday. - Source: Reuters

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Egyptian Coptic Christian choir members prepare for Christmas Midnight Mass at the Abassiya Cathedral in Cairo, 6 January

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CAIRO -- Jan. 6, 2012: A choir sings during Christmas Eve mass at the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt's Christians celebrated Saturday their first Christmas after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, amid tight security and a display of national unity to allay fears of the growing power of Islamists.

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Shenuda III, head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, leads the Coptic Christmas midnight mass in Abassiya Cathedral in Cairo. (photo: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)

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A Coptic Christian girl attends the Coptic Christmas eve mass in Cairo. This is the first Christmas after the revolution in Egypt. Source: Reuters Date:01/07/2012

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Orthodox priests lead an Orthodox Christmas service at the Bosnian Orthodox church, in Sarajevo, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Bosnian Serbs as Orthodox Christians celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7, according to the old calendar. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians in Eastern Orthodox churches that use the Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants and commonly used in secular life around the world. - Amel Emric - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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A woman carries a statue of baby Jesus to be blessed during an Epiphany Mass at a Catholic church in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday Jan. 6, 2012. The feast day recalls the Gospel's account of the journey by the three kings, or wise men, guided by a star to pay homage to baby Jesus, and many faithful exchange gifts. - Juan Karita - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Mohammed Salem / Reuters A Palestinian Greek Orthodox girl attends Christmas services at the Saint Porfirios church in Gaza City, Jan. 7.

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Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP - Getty Images A man reads the book "Night before Christmas" by a Russian writer Nikolay Gogol, and a woman listens on Orthodox Christmas Eve, Jan. 6, in Sosnovo village, near Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Christmas falls on January 7 for Orthodox Christians in the Middle East, Russia and other Orthodox churches that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics, Protestants, Greek Orthodox and commonly used in secular life around the world. AFP PHOTO / KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV (Photo credit should read KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images)

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Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters - People celebrate the pagan rite called "Kolyadki" in the village of Lobcha, some 230 km (144 miles) south of Minsk, Belarus, Jan. 7. Kolyada is a pagan winter holiday, which over the centuries has merged with Orthodox Christmas celebrations in Ukraine and some parts of Belarus.

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Mikhail Mordasov / AFP - Getty Images A woman lights a candle during the Orthodox Christmas service at Vladimir Ravnoapostolny Cathedral in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, late Jan. 6. Christmas falls on January 7 for Orthodox Christians in the Middle East, Russia and other Orthodox churches that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics, Protestants, Greek Orthodox and commonly used in secular life around the world.

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A men dressed as King Melchior meets children upon his arrival with men dressed as Kings Balthazar and Melchior, otherwise known as the three wise men or Kings to take part in an Epiphany street parade on Jan. 5, 2012 in Fuengirola, southern Spain. The parades are held each year on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the gospel story of the coming of three wise men to bring gifts to the Christ child. - AP photos

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Tall puppets representing Three Kings are led on East 106 Street during the annual Three Kings Day Parade in the Spanish Harlem section of New York. The parade celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany and New York's Latino community with a procession of children, camels, puppets and performers. - Getty images

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A vendor shows a carving work dubbed "Three Kings of Bethlehem Jesus Christmas," by a Hungarian artist Sandor Tisza, in Vorosmarty square in Budapest during a Christmas fair in the heart of the city few day before Christmas. Getty images

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Men dressed as the Wise Men are seen during Epiphany celebrations in a church in San Salvador . Epiphany feast day is commonly celebrated throughout Latin America -- where it is known as 'Dia de los Reyes' (Day of the Kings) -- honouring the arrival of the Three Wise Men bearing gifts for the new-born Jesus, as written in the Bible. - Getty images

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People dressed as the Three Kings along with residents and city guests celebrate the Three Kings day in the old district of Vilnius, Getty images A Russian Orthodox priest blesses water near downtown Moscow during the Orthodox Epiphany holiday service. People take part in a baptism ceremony during the traditional celebration of Epiphany, one the biggest events in the Christian Orthodox calendar. Getty images

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Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill conducts night Christmas service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on January 7, 2012. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7 according to the Julian calendar. UPI

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A woman lights a candle during night Christmas service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on January 7, 2012. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7 according to the Julian calendar. UPI

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Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, kisses the wooden cross after it was being retrieved by Apostolis Oikomoniv from the water during an Epiphany ceremony to bless the water in the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. – AP photos

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Shakh Aivazov/AP - Georgians mark the Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants and commonly used in secular life around the world.

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Reuters Pictures - A boy rides a horse before the annual race organized by Orthodox believers on Epiphany Day in the Romanian village of Pietrosani, 45 km (28 miles) north of Bucharest January 6, 2012. Epiphany Day falls on January 6 every year and it celebrates the end of the Christmas season festivities in Romania.

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Christians in Jordan observe a mass-baptism and parade along the River Jordan, where Christ himself was baptised. -REUTERS

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In Mexico City, it is traditional to bake a giant cake, known as "Roscon de Reyes" on the day of Epiphany. This year’s cake was reportedly made using 38,000 eggs, 1,000kg of fruit, over 2,600kg of sugar and 600kg of marmalade. More than 2,000 bakers took part in making the treat, which stretches 740m and weighs about nine tonnes. -REUTERS Reuters Pictures - Followers listen to Pope Shenouda III (not pictured), the 117th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark Cathedral, during the Coptic Christmas eve mass at the main cathedral in Cairo January 6, 2012. Egypt's Christians are celebrating their first Christmas Mass after the public uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak from power last February.

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Greek Orthodox clergymen in Bethlehem hold Christmas Mass on Sunday at the Church of the Nativity - where Christians believe Jesus was born.

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Orthodox Christianity is Moldova's "official" religion. The government builds churches, supports priests and constructs elaborate icons of Jesus on the cross. Moldovan Orthodoxy associates Christianity with heritage.

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Christmas Orthodox-style

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Getty Images - Bulgarian Orthodox Bishop Antonij of Konstantia (L) celebrates mass during an orthodox Epiphany ceremony on the banks of the river Spree in Berlin on January 8, 2012.

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AP Photo - Belgrade bakers carry the traditional bread to mark Orthodox Christmas Day festivities, in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. Children traditionally scramble for a piece of the bread, searching for a gold coin, hidden inside. The Serbs celebrate Christmas according to Julian Calendar, on Jan. 7.

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Reuters Pictures - Palestinian Greek Orthodox worshipers attend Christmas services at the Saint Porfirios church in Gaza City January 7, 2012

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Orthodox procession in the Nativity Church. Photo © Damon Lynch.

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Reuters Pictures - Greek orthodox priests prepare for the arrival of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Metropolitan Theophilos and the start of the Christmas procession inside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem January 6, 2012.

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Orthodox Christmas Eve (Eastern Orthodox Christianity) some orthodox families fast untill they see the first star on Christmas Eve

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Reuters Pictures - Greek Orthodox priests attend the Christmas procession outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem January 6, 2012.

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AP Photo - Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians leads an Epiphany ceremony at the Patriachate in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012.

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AP Photo - Armenian Orthodox pries Karekin II, center, conducts Christmas service in Echmiadzin about 24 km (15 miles) east of the capital Yerevan, Armenia, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants and commonly used in secular life around the world.

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Fresque of Nativity

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A presentation by Nubia Nubia_group@yahoo.fr http://Nubiagroup-powerpoint-collection.blogspot.com/