Most Orthodox and Eastern Rite Christians celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar on January 7, two weeks after Christians who observe the holiday using the Gregorian calendar. Here's a look at how the Orthodox holiday was observed in a number of different countries, from Eastern Europe to the Middle East.
Orthodox, Eastern Rite Christians Celebrate Christmas
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In Kosovo, ethnic Serbs gather around a bonfire at the medieval monastery of Gracanica on the eve of Orthodox Christmas, January 6, 2014
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In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbian Orthodox Priest Bojan Glisic prays on the eve of Orthodox Christmas in the central Bosnian town of Zenica.
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In Serbia, believers burn dried oak branches, which symbolize the Yule log, on Orthodox Christmas Eve in front of the St. Sava temple in Belgrade.
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Orthodox Christmas Eve in Cetinje, the old royal capital of Montenegro.
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In Ukraine, children wearing traditional clothes take part in an Orthodox Christmas Eve celebration in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
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In Ukraine, a protester prays in an improvised church in a Ukrainian opposition camp tent on Independence Square in Kyiv on January 6, 2014.
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In Belarus, people pray in a church in the village of Plisa on January 6, 2014.
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In Russia, Orthodox believers attend a service on the eve of Orthodox Christmas in Kazan Cathedral in Volgograd.
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In Russia, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his wife, Svetlana Medvedeva, attend a Christmas service at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on January 7, 2014.
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In Armenia, a young girl holds a candle outside Saint Gregory the Illuminator church in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, during an Armenian Orthodox church service on January 5, 2014
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In Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, people attend an Orthodox Christmas service early on January 7, 2014.
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An Armenian church Christmas mass in Duhok, Iraq on January 6, 2014.