Christians in Muslim-majority Iran celebrate Christmas

Sunday, December 25, marks Christmas, and and the happy mood can be felt everywhere, including here in Muslim-majority Iran.

Every year on Christmas, a Christian neighborhood in downtown Tehran gets packed with Christian residents who rush to buy last minute items to celebrate the birth of Jesus. And oh yes. Santa is also here!

Nearly 120,000 Christians live in Iran. The majority of them are Armenians who follow the oriental orthodox branch of Christianity. While they make up less than 1-percent of the Iranian population, they feel at home when it comes to Christmas.

Now as Omicron is our new unwelcome Christmas guest, let's keep on our safety distances and ring in 2022 with all the good vibes that the virus will be totally gone.

002