Millions of Orthodox Christians in Serbia, Russia, Georgia and Ukraine celebrated Christmas on Saturday.
Many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th. Because several churches follow the Julian calendar, they celebrate the Nativity 13 days later than the Catholic Church and Protestants, who follow the Gregorian calendar. About 300 million people belong to the Orthodox Church worldwide.
The badnjak, also called veseljak, is a branch or whole tree that is the focus of Serbian Christmas celebrations.
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There are an estimated 500,000 Orthodox Christians in Austria. More precise figures have not been collected since 2001. Most believers in the Orthodox Church are Serbian Orthodox with a total of 350,000 people in Austria.
Liturgies on Friday and Saturday
On Orthodox Christmas Eve, services are held in Bregenz and Feldkirch. On Friday morning at 9.30 a.m. and Friday evening at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. there will be a liturgy in the church of St. Gebhard in Bregenz. On January 7 there will also be a service at 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. A liturgy will take place in the Frauenkirche in Feldkirch on Friday at 8.30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Held on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
