Israel Hasbara Committee
Dec 24 2004

JNF Gives Free Xmas Trees to Israel’s Christian Population
Christman Celebrations Begin

By Mayaan Jaffe

In Jerusalem Thursday morning (23 December 2004), the municipality
distributed free Xmas trees to members of the Christian community.
The trees were provided by the forestry department of the Jewish
National Fund. They were cut as part of seasonal thinning of new
growth forest.

Christmas Eve celebrations by Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant
communities will begin Friday. The Greek-Orthodox and Eastern
churches that still use the old Julian calendar will celebrate the
holiday on 7 January. The Armenian Orthodox community will observe
the holiday on 19 January.

The date of 25 December as Christmas is the result of attempts among
the earliest Christians to figure out the date of Jesus’ birth.

The Julian calendar was created in 45 B.C.E. under Julius Caesar. 25
December on the Julian calendar is 7 January on the Western calendar.

Armenians believe Jesus’ birthday should be celebrated on the same
day as his baptism, which is 6 January. By the Julian calendar this
date would fall on the Western calendar’s 19 January.