Orthodox Christians in Russia, Greece, Ethiopia and other countries around the world are celebrating Christmas Day today.
The date is taken from the old Julian calendar, which was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar. It was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in the majority of Western Europe around 500 years ago.
Russian Cossacks, dressed in traditional uniform, guard the Kazan Cathedral in Stavropol, southern Russia, during an Orthodox Christmas serviceEduard Korniyenko/ReutersPeople march on the street during a religious procession to celebrate Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi, GeorgiaDavid Mdzinarishvili/ReutersPeople walk in front of the Holy Trinity Cathedral during a midnight Christmas service in Tbilisi, GeorgiaDavid Mdzinarishvili/ReutersPeople attend a ceremonial burning of dried oak branches for Orthodox Christmas Eve in front of a church in Smederevo, SerbiaAndrej Isakovic/AFPSviatoslav Mahulia, 12, sings carols while going door to door in celebration of Orthodox Christmas in Iltsi, UkraineBrendan Hoffman/Getty ImagesNazar, Stas, and Vasyl Mahulia, aged 6, 5, and 7 respectively, are greeted while carolling door to door in celebration of Orthodox Christmas in Iltsi, UkraineBrendan Hoffman/Getty ImagesPeople dressed in traditional costumes sing Christmas carols in KievValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersRussian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana attend a Christmas service in Christ the Saviour cathedral in MoscowKirill Kudryavtsev/AFPRussian President Vladimir Putin attends an Orthodox Christmas service at a local cathedral in the village of Otradnoye in the Voronezh regionAlexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/ReutersAn actor wearing a mask depicting Russian president Vladimir Putin plays the role of King Herod in a living nativity scene in the Ukrainian city of LvivYuriy Dyachysyn/AFPUkrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his wife Maryna meet traditional Christmas carol singers at a state residence in the settlement of Huta in Ivano-Frankivsk region, western UkraineUkrainian Presidential Press Service/Mikhail Palinchak/ReutersBelievers attend an Orthodox Christmas service inside the Church of the Nativity in Krasnoyarsk, SiberiaIlya Naymushin/ReutersOrthodox priests attend the Christmas service in Christ the Saviour cathedral in MoscowKirill Kudryavtsev/AFPA member of the congregation lights a candle during a midnight mass vigil at a Russian Orthodox church in LondonDan Kitwood/Getty ImagesA priest prays during an Orthodox Christmas service in a church in the village of Sosnovka in KyrgyzstanVyacheslav Oseledko/AFPPalestinian Orthodox Christians attend a Christmas mass at the Saint Porphyrius church in Gaza CityMahmud Hams/AFPEgyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Coptic Pope Tawadros II attend a Christmas Eve Mass at St Mark's Cathedral in CairoAl Youm Al Saabi Newspaper/ReutersBurning Yule logs and fireworks are seen in front of Sokolica church in Ravna Romanija, BosniaDado Ruvic/ReutersA man stands in St Sava Church in the village of Velika Hoca, Kosovo, following the Orthodox Christmas liturgyHazir Reka/ReutersGreek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III blesses the congregation at the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank town of BethlehemMusa al-Shaer/AFPBelarussians celebrate a Christmas rite in the village of Ysiag, east of MinskMaxim Malinovsky/AFPServicemen of the Belarussian Interior Ministry's special force take part in a service at a military base in MinskVasily Fedosenko/Reuters
