Christmas is an annual holiday rooted in Christian tradition that is celebrated on 25th, marking the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God.

Approximately 2.3 billion people worldwide celebrate Christmas, bearing in mind that the holiday has metamorphosised to include religious, cultural and secular customs.

Today, Christmas is not only celebrated religiously, but also secularly as a public holiday.

But while Christmas is widely celebrated around the globe, there are countries where the day is not observed. In countries that do not observe this day, it is often because of religious, cultural or political reasons.

Nonetheless, there are other countries that do give Christmas day observance, but it is not a public holiday. These countries include; Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Countries that celebrate Christmas 7th Jan.

For the Orthodox Christians, they celebrate Christmas on 7th January. So, Christmas Day is a public holiday on January 7 in Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Russia, and Ukraine. While Armenia observes Christmas Day on January 6.

Meanwhile, Armenia observe Christmas Day on January 6.

Countries that do not observe Christmas

There are some countries that do not recognise Christmas as a public holiday.

They include; Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, North Korea, Libya, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan.