Egypt welcomes Christmas with color, bright lights

With the holidays just around the corner, Christmas decorations can be seen in various streets across the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Egyptian families are gearing up for the holidays, going on shopping sprees to buy Christmas supplies and products. Gift shops in the city offer a colorful collection of Christmas-themed merchandise. The shopping trip is an occasion for the whole family to enjoy, with many bringing their children with them to stores. Apart from shopping, the decorations and bright lights also offer the perfect backdrop to take pictures. Some businesses have lined up fully decorated Christmas trees outside their stores. In Egypt, Christmas is celebrated on different dates, once by the Catholic Christian community that marks the holiday on December 25, along with most worldwide celebrations. But the larger Christian community that follows the Coptic Orthodox Church has some unique Christmas traditions. Copts celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar, meaning it falls on Jan. 7. The run-up to the holiday is marked by a 40-day period of fasting when red meat, poultry and dairy products are forbidden. Copts break the fast with feasting and celebrations after a Christmas Eve liturgy that ends near midnight. Many Copts consider themselves to be descendants of the ancient Egyptians, with a direct connection to pre-Arab times. They make up around 10 percent of Egypt's population.