Christmas 2019: What Countries Do Not Celebrate Christmas?

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Christmas is celebrated by the 2.1 billion Christians worldwide, the largest religious group on the planet. The Christmas period is one of the most important times of the year for the UK’s Christians as they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by attending Midnight Mass, re-enacting nativity scenes, gift-giving and sharing a meal with their loved ones.

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With so many Christians in the world, Christmas traditions do vary from country to country.

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And the exact date on which Jesus Christ was born is unknown.

December 25 was chosen as Christmas day for a number of reasons, one of which was the date being the winter solstice on the Roman calendar.

But some people choose to celebrate their Christmas the evening before, on December 24.

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Christmas 2019: Not everyone will celebrate Christmas on December 25 (Image: GETTY)

Christmas 2019: This is a map of countries that don't celebrate Christmas (Image: GETYY)

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What countries do not celebrate Christmas?

In countries where the most popular religion is not Christianity, Christmas Day is not recognised as a public holiday.

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Those countries are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, North Korea, Libya, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, and Yemen.

Other countries do give Christmas day observance despite it not being a public holiday there.

These include: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Christmas 2019: A man celebrating Christmas in Mosul (Image: GETTY)

Christmas day is a holiday in Taiwan, but not because of its religious connotations.

December 25 is Taiwan’s Constitution Day, which marks the anniversary of the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China.

Similarly, Christmas day is a public holiday in Pakistan but only because it is the birthday of the Islamic country’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

December 25 is not designated for the celebration of Christmas in Pakistan.

Christmas 2019: A man selling Christmas trees in Afghanistan (Image: GETTY)

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Christmas day has been a bank holiday in the UK since 1834.

There are, however, some Christians who don’t celebrate Christmas on December 25.

Orthodox Christians in central and eastern Europe instead celebrate Christmas on January 7.

This day is also known as Old Christmas Day because of the eleven days that were dropped when England and Scotland switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752.

Christmas 2019: Christmas is celebrated all around the globe (Image: GETTY)

Many orthodox churches recognise the holiday dates according to the Julian calendar hence their observance of Christmas on January 7.

January 7 remains an accurate date for the Orthodox Christians until 2100, after which it will move to January 8 if the Julian calendar is still used.

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Christmas Day is a public holiday on January 7 in Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Russia, and Ukraine.

While Armenia observes Christmas Day on January 6.

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