Dubai: Coptic Christians greeted each other and prayed together at the St Mina Church in Jebel Ali on Saturday, Christmas Day for millions of fellow Orthodox believers worldwide.
For the last eight years since the church was built, the parish has held a Christmas Day children’s play that explains the Christian message.
The performance carries on in light-hearted, sometimes raucous way, complete with songs, skits, a puppet show, and an appearance from Santa Claus.
“It’s usually that puppets are the easiest way to deliver messages,” said Fr Theodore Yusuf, the most junior of the three priests who serve the parish.
“The message is that we are awaiting the king to be born in our hearts,” he added, pausing to greet a parishioner who passes by.
“How great was the message from our Lord, to leave his throne and glory, to just be with us.”
The church, which carries the name of a revered fourth-century martyr, holds daily masses in Arabic and the Coptic language, which is spoken by many of Egypt’s five million or so Coptic Christians.
Although Egyptian Copts make up nearly all of the church’s parishioners, the church also holds a smaller morning liturgy every Saturday in English.
The annual children’s show is an event that Mira Michel, her husband Bishoy Karam, and their three children — Justina, Anthony and baby Nardine — make sure not to miss.
“It’s really interesting for the kids to come and watch it, to give them an idea about Christmas and about Jesus,” said Michel.
“It is our habit in our church to come Christmas morning and say to Jesus, happy birthday!”
From late in the morning, the church’s marble-lined halls rang out with children’s shouts, the sound of moving pushchairs and the tapping of stiletto heels. Many had dressed up for the occasion.
Two of the church’s priests exchanged handshakes, kisses and kindly words with the church’s 500 or so worshippers. On Christmas Eve, the church marked the end of a 40-day fast with a special mass.
Then, at midnight, the church shared a traditional meal of kebabs and kofta — well received after having gone to close to six weeks without eating animal products.
Inside one of the church’s large function rooms, the performance got underway. After a prayer, dancers in costumes moved in time to a Christmas song. Afterwards, young children wearing Santa hats filled the stage to sing. Later on, five actors wearing giant stuffed masks performed a skit explaining Christmas. Then, to the left of the stage, a gaggle of colourful hand puppets swayed and bobbed to more music.
“Every year I’ve been to [the children’s show], they’re so nice,” said 12-year-old Justina.
Her friend, 15-year-old Marie, chimes in. “I’ve been for seven years, and the church has been open for seven years, so I’ve been to every single one of them so far.”
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Why do the Orthodox celebrate Christmas in January?
Quite simply, Orthodox Christians mark Christmas Day on January 7 because they use a different calender.
January 7 is considered to be the original holiday marking Christ’s birth under the Julian calendar.
But under the current Gregorian calendar instituted by Pope Gregory in 1582, Christmas Day was reset to December 25, resulting in the modern holiday date. As the Orthodox split with Rome and its papal system half a millennium before that, Orthodox believers commonly retain the older calendar for religious purposes.
