Christmas in Egypt

Where in the world is Egypt?
Egypt is on the continent of Africa. It is in the northern part of Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea between Libya and the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian people live in Egypt. The language they speak is called Arabic. A holiday greeting is "I'd Miilad Said Oua Sana Saida." It is Arabic and means Merry Christmas.

When is Christmas celebrated in Egypt?
Egypt is not a Christian country. Most of the people that live in Egypt are Muslims. There is a large number of Christians that belong to the Coptic Church. They celebrate Christmas on January 7th. Christmas is a holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. The weather in Egypt during the Christmas season is warm. In the northern part of Egypt the temperatures are around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. In the southern part of Egypt the temperatures are about 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

Their Christmas season begins on November 25th and lasts until January 7th. The Christmas season begins forty days before Christmas. It is called Advent. During this time special concerts are held playing Christmas music.

On Christmas Eve everyone goes to church wearing a new outfit. After the church service ends, church bells ring. On Christmas morning, people in Egypt visit friends and neighbors. They bring a special gift of bread called kaik. It is like a shortbread cookie.

Is there a special gift giver in Egypt?
Some believe Santa Claus is their gift giver. He arrives on a camel.

How do the Christian Egyptians decorate their houses?
All the Christian homes are decorated with Christmas trees, lights and small manger scenes. Some of their Christmas trees are real and some are artificial. Some decorations you might find on their trees are: pyramids, angels, gold ball ornaments and crosses.

What special foods do they eat?
During their forty days of advent before they celebrate Christmas, they fast. That means they do not eat any meat, poultry or dairy products. Some people fast only the last week of Advent.

During their Christmas church service they eat a special bread called Qurban. It is sweet bread decorated with a cross in the middle of it with twelve dots around it.

After the Christmas mass at midnight on their Christmas Eve the families go home to eat a special meal known as fata. Their fata meal has bread, rice, garlic and boiled meat.