Armenians celebrate Christmas

More than 3,000 Armenians residing in the UAE celebrated Christmas yesterday as per the Orthodox tradition, which observes both the birth of Jesus Christ and epiphany on January 6.

Hundreds took the day off from work to attend noontime mass at St Gregory the Illuminator Church in Sharjah.

The ceremony of the Armenian Church, as well as other Orthodox churches, is laden with pomp and pageantry. Bishops in dark purple velvet robes holding gilded scepters chant liturgy in a language that dates over a thousand years old. Orthodox mass is a moving experience even for some non-Christians.

Most non-Christians are puzzled by the difference in calendar between the Orthodox and Catholics, who celebrate Christmas on December 25.

A senior member of the local Armenian community explained that in the past, all Christians celebrated the birth of Christ and the Baptism on January 6.

"At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, it was decided that all churches should accept and celebrate December 25 as the date of Nativity," he said. But, at the time, the Armenian people were locked in a national-religious war. They were unable to attend the Council of Chalcedon and so remained faithful to its past practice."

The decision to change the date of Christmas was partly motivated by a desire to override the pagan festival called Saturnalia, which marked the start of the winter solstice.