Happy (Coptic) Christmas!

Today is Christmas in Egypt. Having never heard of Christmas being celebrated on any date other than December 25, I've been trying to do some research to figure out why the Coptic Orthodox Church (the primary Christian church in Egypt) celebrates on January 7th.

I have a couple theories about the date, but, first, let me share a little more about the Coptic church for those of you who are still wondering what the heck I'm talking about. The Coptic church is the largest Christian church in Egypt (over 90% of Christians here are Copts) and was founded around 42 AD by St. Mark (one of the twelve apostles). The Coptic church is part of the Eastern Orthodox church, which is the second largest Christian church after the Roman Catholic church, and its head is the Pope of Alexandria.

Now, back to the date issue, from what I've read, the Coptic church does not follow the Gregorian calendar, but instead has a traditional calendar of its own. Christmas is celebrated on the 29th day of the Coptic month "kiohk", which is currently equivalent to January 7th in the western calendar. However, because the Coptic calendar advances relative to the Gregorian calendar over long periods of time, the 29th day of kiohk was once equivalent to December 25th and will advance further, with Christmas moving to January 8th in the year 2100 A.D.

I've also heard that the date difference has something to do with the feast of Epiphany, which is January 6th and was traditionally the second most important date in the Christian year after Easter. Somehow the fact that the birth of Christ wasn't celebrated in the Christian church until the fourth century ties into the Coptic celebration of Christmas on January 7th. I don't really know enough about this to write any more, but would love it if any of you who have been through divinity school or know any more could chime in!

Whatever the reason for the difference in dates, still, today is Christmas, so I'll continue to wish you all the joy of the angels, the humility of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men and the peace of the Christ child.