It might seem like everyone celebrates Christmas on December 25th—after all, it's marked on calendars, in coupon emails, and on holiday sweaters. But for Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar, the festivities come 13 days later, on January 7.
At St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Fort Myers, the Rev. Joachim Boutros has heard all the jokes. "Some people like to laugh about it. Yeah, we prefer January 7 so we can get the gift 75% off," he said.
However, Orthodox Christmas isn’t just about post-holiday sales. It’s a tradition that dates back to 1582.
"Everything was going smoothly until the 16th century. The whole world was using the Julian calendar, which was introduced by Julius Caesar," said Boutros. Caesar was also known for changing New Year's Day to January 1 to honor Janus, the two-faced Roman god who looks both backward and forward in time.
"Pope Gregory XIII, who was deeply interested in astrology and the dates of feasts, realized with his team of scientists that the solar year—the time it takes the Earth to revolve around the sun—was slightly shorter than the Julian year," Father Boutros explained. "To fix this, Pope Gregory decided to shorten the year by 10 days, which led to the creation of the Gregorian calendar, now used worldwide. The Coptic Church and some other churches, however, did not adopt this new calendar."
The Orthodox Church is known for preserving its traditions, and Christmas celebrations are no exception.
"The liturgy is long, it starts around 5 or 6 p.m. on January 6th and continues past midnight. So technically, it's January 7th when we finish," said Boutros. "The church is packed with people celebrating and praying, and afterward, they return home. Technically, it’s January 7th, and that means they can eat meat and dairy."
The celebration is particularly joyous because it marks the end of a 43-day fasting period during which no meat or dairy is consumed. For the Orthodox community, patience truly pays off—with prayers first, and pizza second.
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