we ethiopians also follow the Julian calander,then our christmas will celleberate January 7 I wanna to say MERRY CHRISTMAS all orthodox christian live in the world

Merry Christmas from Florida. We were at Church this evening and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner together afterwards. In the morning we will be back for a Liturgy. GOD BLESS ALL ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS ON THIS CHRISTMAS DAY!!

i thought the story was really sweet

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our Orthodox brothers and Sisters in believe, including: Russians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Romanians, Georgians, Armenians, Kazakistanians, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Bulgarians, Serbians, Monte Negrians, Bosnians, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Syrians, Albanians, Jewish, Greeks and Macedonians.

Very informative story and it also touched my heart.

We enjoyed both the Western and Orthodox Christmas celebrations this holiday season. My wife and I celebrated Christmas with family members in Poland. After Sylwester (New Years Eve in Polish), we visited friends in eastern Poland for a few days. On a whim, we decided to travel by train to L'viv in Ukraine, about a 3 hour trip. We woke up in L'viv on 6 January, and realized that it was Christmas Eve, again! It was cold and snowing, but all of the shops were very busy, particularly with customers buying meat, fish, vegetables and spices. Then, at 14:30, everyone began closing up their shops. Two hours later, the sun had set and the market was empty and quiet. Two hours after that, and the crowds were growing again, this time in the L'viv's central square across from the huge Theater. Unperturbed by the cold and the snow, couples and families waited their turn to stand next to this strange-looking tree crafted out of what appeared to be very thick rope or grass and the color of wheat. There they would have their photo taken by a friend or family member. Everyone was well-dressed. Many of the women looked particularly stunning in beautiful fur coats and high-heeled leather boots. Their was a beautiful decorated Christmas tree in the middle of the square. It was easily more than 10 meters tall, and seemed as tall as the tree we had seen just 3 weeks earlier in central Warsaw, except that this tree was real! The next day, Christmas Day, L'viv really came to "L'ife" :-) From noon until long after dark, the city was alive with outdoor celebration. All of this took place in below-freezing temperatures in the snow. It was delightful and unforgettable.