Copts' celebration of birth of Jesus Christ

All Coptic feasts come after a period of fasting. A Coptic fasting means going without food completely for a part of the day, according to one's strength.

For the rest of the day, only food which has no animal products may be eaten: meat, fish, eggs and milk are forbidden.

Egyptian Orthodox Christians (Copts) celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on 7 January. This date corresponds the 29th day of the Coptic month of Kiahk. In many other countries, Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December.

With the advent of Islam to Egypt, Christians continued celebrating the Nativity. The Nativity became one of the main festivals celebrated by Christians and Muslims alike. The Caliph used to distribute special trays of food. Especially dishes of "Bouri" (mullet fish) and "Zalabya" (doughnuts).

Churches during the Nativity have always been decorated with special candles and lamps. It is believed that the candles are in memory of Joseph the Carpenter, who lit candles to protect Mary from the cold on the night of the Nativity.

For many centuries, Nativity was celebrated by performances in the streets and by fireworks. in the Mamelouk times, lanterns decorated the streets; and candles were everywhere, sometimes in the form of small statues.

Nowadays Coptic Nativity is celebrated by a special midnight service in the church. The biggest service is held by the Coptic Pope in Saint Mark's Cathedral in Cairo. After the service, families go home to break their fasting. Children receive new clothes and gifts. Copts also make special sweet biscuits at Nativity, which is the same "Kahk" as the Muslims make for Eid El-Fitr (little Bairam).

In the Egyptian Coptic church, a special bread called "Qurban" is given to special persons after the service in the church. "Qurban" bread is decorated with a cross in the middle, surrounded by twelve dots. The dots represent the twelve disciples of Jesus.

In Egypt, Copts have their own Pope who is the head of the Coptic churches of Egypt.

Copts consider St. Mark to be their first Pope. He introduced Christianity to Egypt. For hundreds of years Alexandria, the second city of Egypt, was the home of the Pope but today his cathedral is in Cairo.