Christians following Gregorian calendar celebrate Christmas Eve

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. It is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. A number of Eastern Christian churches follow the traditional Julian Calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the modern Gregorian Calendar. Thus Christmas Day (December 25) on the Julian Calendar falls on January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar. In the Eastern Orthodox Church Christmas is called "The Nativity, According to the Flesh, of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ," and is considered one of the 12 Great Feasts of the church year. It ranks third in importance among the Great Feasts, after Pascha (Easter) and Pentecost. The feast is preceded by a forty-day fast called the Nativity Fast. Christmas Eve is referred to as the "Eve of the Nativity", and is observed as a strict fast day, called Paramony ("preparation" or "vigil"). Those faithful who are physically able to do so, eat no solid food on this day until the first star is seen in the evening sky (or at the very least, until after the Vesperal Divine Liturgy that day). On this day the Royal Hours are celebrated in the morning. Some of the hymns are similar to those of Theophany and Good Friday, thus tying the symbolism of Jesus' Nativity to his earthly ministry and his death on the Cross. The Royal Hours are followed by the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil which combines Vespers with the Divine Liturgy. During the Vespers, eight Old Testament lections ("parables") which prefigure or prophesy the Incarnation of Christ are read, and special antiphons are chanted. On December 25, the Afterfeast of the Nativity of Christ begins. From that day to January 4 (the day before Theophany Eve) is a fast-free Period. The Eve of the Theophany (January 5) is another strict fast day. The traditional Christmas meal includes pound cake, mincemeat rolls in cabbage or vine leaves, meat jelly, pork sausages, black pudding and red wine. Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. On December 25, alongside the Catholic Church, Christmas is celebrated by the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, the Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Antiochian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Cypriot Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Polish Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (1963). The Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Greek Old Calendarists that use the Julian Calendar for the fixed feasts of the liturgical year celebrate Christmas on January 7.