Georgia celebrates Christmas tomorrow
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Members of the Georgian Orthodox Church, together with part of the Orthodox world, will celebrate Christmas tomorrow, on January 7, according to the Julian calendar.
Public transport will be free on Christmas Eve in Tbilisi so that people attending the night liturgy and outdoor celebrations can later get home more easily.
The metro system will be free of charge from 12am on January 6 through 4am on January 7, Tbilisi City Hall said.
Alilo is a traditional Georgian Christmas song usually sung by children while marching and gathering gifts. This is why the Christmas march is also called Alilo. Photo by T. Robakidze
Hundreds of people from different regions of Georgia will join the Christmas march, called 'Alilo', tomorrow morning. This is why some streets in Tbilisi will be closed for public transport from 2 pm, including:
- Rustaveli Avenue;
- Pushkin Square;
- Baratashvili Street.
However, buses and mini-buses will run through alternative routes.
The march traditionally ends at the Holy Trinity Cathedral where the participants join a Christmas service. Photo by T. Robakidze
The traditional ‘Alilo’ march will kick off from the Rose Revolution Square and end at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.
A new blue bus decorated for New Year has been running around the Georgian capital of Tbilisi today with Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze sending his new year’s wishes to the people for 2018.
Public transport will be free on New Year’s Eve in Tbilisi so that people attending outdoor celebrations can later get home more easily. The metro system, buses and cable cars at Rike Park will be free of charge from 11am on December 31 through 4am on January 1, Tbilisi City Hall said.
If you are spending your holiday season in Tbilisi, you are welcome to Dedaena Park where the city’s central Christmas Town is hosting concerts, theatre shows and children’s activities over the next two weeks.
Today, a major part of Christians all over the world are celebrating one of the most important religious holidays of the faith - Christmas, which marks the birth of Jesus Christ. Georgian Orthodox Christians, who make up the majority of population, will celebrate Christmas on January 7.
Members of the Georgian Orthodox Church, together with part of the Orthodox world, celebrate Christmas today according to the Julian calendar. The special liturgy commenced at Tbilisi's Holy Trinity Cathedral at midnight as Georgia's Patriarch Ilia II led the annual ceremony.
Alilo, the traditional celebratory Christmas march of Georgians through the street has taken place in Tbilisi and throughout Georgia's regions today as the country celebrates Christmas. During the Alilo march, the participants sang Christmas carols and exchanged gifts to mark Christmas, celebrated each year in Georgia on January 7.
Georgian citizens in capital Tbilisi and regional cities on Monday held the annual Christmas march Alilo, walking through streets to collect and deliver presents to those in need.
Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia and President Salome Zurabishvili have sent kind wishes to all those worldwide who celebrate Christmas on December 25. “Let the holiday bring happiness and welfare to you and your families,” Gakharia wrote. The Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7 due to the two - week difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars.
Georgian citizens in the capital of Tbilisi and regional cities have held the annual Christmas march Alilo walking through streets to collect presents for homeless children, socially vulnerable adults and penitentiary facilities.
Today Georgia is celebrating Christmas according to the Julian calendar. Due to the pandemic Alilo, the traditional celebratory Christmas march of Georgians through the streets, has been cancelled, though the clergy are driving through the streets, singing Christmas carols and pouring holy water on the streets.Christmas service in the Holy Trinity Church in central Tbilisi was performed by Catholics Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II late yesterday.