Unlike western counterparts, Armenian Orthodox Christians in Holy Land mark Christmas on January 18

By Qays Abu Samra

BETHLEHEM, Palestine

Palestine’s Armenian Orthodox Christian community on Friday celebrated Christmas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank’s historic city of Bethlehem.

Most Christians, including Catholics, mark Christmas on Dec. 25, while many Eastern Orthodox communities mark the holiday on Jan. 7.

Armenian Orthodox Christians, however, who use the eastern calendar to determine the date of their holidays, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 18.

On Friday, Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem, was received at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity for Christmas festivities attended by dozens of their co-religionists.

Bethlehem’s historic Church of the Nativity is widely believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.