Orthodox and Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas

Orthodox and Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas day on January 7 because they follow the Julian Calendar, which was replaced in Western Europe by the Gregorian calendar 500 years ago.

Despite ongoing tension in the region, the atmosphere was festive at the mass, which was celebrated in the traditional way.

One Gazan said he was celebrating both Christmas and the birth of a Palestinian state.

"We hope this year is a good one and we are optimistic, God willing, to have full membership for our state in the United Nations, not only as an observer state, and all the world (will) recognise the Palestinian nation and state," said Melad Ayyad.

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday ordered his government to officially change the name of the Palestinian Authority to "State of Palestine."

The move follows the November decision by the United Nations to upgrade the Palestinians' status to that of a "non-member observer state."

Gazan Christians live alongside around 1.4 million Muslims in the Gaza Strip, which has been controlled by Hamas since June 2007.

Christians now comprise less than two percent of the population in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

That number is down from an estimated 15 percent in 1950.

Meanwhile in Egypt, the Coptic pope has urged his congregants to "not be afraid" in his Mass to mark Coptic Christmas, trying to reassure a community feeling anxious about the rise of Islamists to power here.
     
Pope Tawadros II led his first Christmas Midnight Mass this year. He was elected in November to replace longtime Pope Shenouda III, who died in March after 40 years as leader of the ancient church.
     
Coptic Christians, who represent about 10 percent of Egypt's 85 million people, are celebrating their first Christmas on Monday under an Islamist president. Christians have long complained of discrimination by the state and are feeling even more uneasy after the passage of a new constitution that opens the door for adoption of more strict Islamic law in Egypt.
 
In Russia, the head of Russia's Orthodox Church urged citizens in a Christmas address on Monday to adopt Russian children after President Vladimir Putin signed a law last month barring Americans from doing so.
   
The ban retaliates for U.S. legislation designed to punish Russian human rights violators which Putin said is poisoning relations. Critics of Russia's legislation say Putin has made the welfare of children trapped in a troubled orphanage system hostage to political manoeuvring, dimming their chances of finding loving homes or adequate medical care.
   
Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a strong supporter of Putin, paid special attention to the issue in a Christmas message, lending support to the president's promises that Russia will take care of its own.
   
"It is very important for our people to adopt orphans into their families, with joy and a special sense of gratitude to God, giving them not only shelter and an upbringing but also giving them their love," he said.


AP/REUTERS