Christmas is under way for Christians following Orthodox traditions.

In Ethiopia, crowds gathered to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ while Egypt’s Coptic Christians also went to church to mark the feast day.

Egypt borders Gaza, which has been the scene of fighting since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023.

Ethiopia Christmas
Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a mass for Ethiopian Christmas (AP)
Ethiopia Christmas
Ethiopian priests offer prays (AP)

Orthodox communities also celebrated in Lithuania and Serbia.

Lithuania Orthodox Christmas
Lithuanian Orthodox worshippers light candles (Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)
Lithuania Orthodox Christmas
Children sleep during the liturgy on Orthodox Christmas Eve in the Orthodox church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius (Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)
Serbia Orthodox Christmas
People burn dried oak branches, the Yule log symbol for Orthodox Christmas Eve, in front of St Sava temple in Belgrade (Darko Vojinovic/AP)
Egypt Coptic Christmas
Egyptian Coptic Orthodox worshippers attend prayers at the church of Ava Bishoy and St Karas the Anchorite in Cairo (Amr Nabil/AP)
Egypt Coptic Christmas
Egyptian Coptic Orthodox worshippers attend prayers (Amr Nabil/AP)

In Russia, the families of service personnel killed in the Ukraine conflict were remembered at a gathering attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Patriarch Kirill provided over the service at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour cathedral.

Russia Orthodox Christmas
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, centre, delivers the Christmas service in Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow (Oleg Varov/AP)
Russia Orthodox Christmas Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre left, attends an Orthodox Christmas service with the families of military personnel (Gavriil Grigorov/AP)
Russia Orthodox Christmas
People walk past the Orthodox icon Virgin of Kazan projected on the dome of Kazansky Cathedral on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas celebrations in St Petersburg, Russia (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)

Meanwhile, in Bethlehem, held in Christian tradition to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, it was the turn of the Orthodox branches of Christianity to mark the occasion.

There had been muted celebrations in December when western Christian traditions held their festivities, with the conflict in Gaza casting a long shadow.

Israel Palestinians Orthodox Cristmas
Orthodox priests walk outside the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem in the West Bank (Mahmoud Illean/AP)
Israel Palestinians Orthodox Cristmas
Nuns visit the grotto in the Nativity Church (Mahmoud Illean/AP)