HK embraces Christmas sparkle

From dazzling decorative installations to stunning pyrotechnic displays, Hong Kong is celebrating the Christmas season in style.

West Kowloon Cultural District’s Winter Harbourfront Pyrotechnics are sure to spread yuletide cheer.

The West Kowloon Cultural District has once again been transformed into a “Christmas Town”, centred around a sparkling giant Christmas tree. The district's vibrant Christmas Market offers a plethora of delights from around the world, and on selected dates its Winter Harbourfront Pyrotechnics will illuminate the night sky with a fantastical array of colours and patterns.

The West Kowloon Cultural District has once again been transformed into a “Christmas Town”, centred around a sparkling giant Christmas tree.

At Tsim Sha Tsui's Mody Lane, meanwhile, revellers can immerse themselves in a fairytale atmosphere created by playful light displays featuring pandas and snowflake patterns.

Immerse yourself in playful light displays featuring pandas and snowflake patterns at Mody Lane.

Over on Hong Kong Island, Lee Tung Avenue offers a breathtaking spectacle featuring exquisite light decorations inspired by traditional Belgian lace. Wandering around the avenue, which is adorned with giant wreaths – and will feature artificial snow effects on designated days – will add a touch of romance to your festive season.

Many of the city’s shopping malls boast large-scale outdoor Christmas displays.

Elsewhere, many of the city's shopping malls boast large-scale outdoor Christmas displays. Shoppers will enter a wonderland of giant Santas, reindeer sleighs and Christmas stockings, with opportunities galore to capture it all on camera.

Lee Tung Avenue is adorned with giant wreaths and even has artificial snow effects on designated days.

Heritage buildings have also taken up the festive theme, with Tai Kwun hosting a 12-metre-tall Christmas tree and spreading Christmas cheer with its “Tai Kwun Circus Plays”.

The news.gov.hk team wishes our readers a joyous Christmas!

Tai Kwun is getting into the Christmas spirit with its “Tai Kwun Circus Plays” – and a 12-metre-tall outdoor Christmas tree.

Millions of people around the world celebrated Orthodox Christmas on Wednesday, nearly two weeks after much of the world marked the holy day.

Certain Eastern Orthodox churches, including those in Russian and other traditions, follow the ancient Julian calendar. It runs 13 days later than the Gregorian calendar, used by Catholic and Protestant churches as well as by much of the secular world for everyday use.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church and some other Oriental Orthodox churches — which are distinct from Eastern Orthodox but share many traditions — also celebrated Christmas on Wednesday.

Other Eastern Orthodox, including those in the Greek tradition, celebrate Christmas on the same Dec. 25 date as Catholic and Protestant churches.

Most Orthodox agree that Dec. 25 is the date of Christmas, or the Feast of the Nativity, as they call it. The question is whether Dec. 25 falls on Dec. 25 or Jan. 7.

That requires a little unpacking.

The ancient church in the Roman Empire set its religious feasts based on the Julian calendar, but after more than a millennium, that calendar had increasingly gotten out of alignment with the solar year.

Sixteenth century Pope Gregory XIII approved a revised, more astronomically precise calendar, which bears his name. It abruptly shifted the calendar several days forward to make up for lost time (literally) and added a more precise calculation of leap years. Protestant churches eventually followed the Catholic lead in adopting the calendar, as did secular governments.

All Eastern Orthodox kept to the old calendar until 1923, when an inter-Orthodox gathering adopted a revised Julian calendar that essentially mirrors the Gregorian. Most (but not all) churches in the Greek Orthodox tradition have adopted this, as have those in Romanian, Bulgarian and other traditions.

But the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest communion in Eastern Orthodoxy, has stayed on the old calendar, observing Christmas on Jan. 7 on the new calendar, as have Serbian, Georgian and some other Orthodox. Some Orthodox in Ukraine have begun to observe Christmas on Dec. 25, while others have retained the Jan. 7 observance.

One notable exception is the Armenian Orthodox tradition, which observes Christmas on Jan. 6.

In the United States, observances vary. Churches in the Greek and Antiochian traditions observed Christmas on Dec. 25. Some churches in the Slavic tradition, including Serbian and smaller Russian churches, observe it on Jan. 7.

Traditions vary, but typically the big worship service is the night before. In Serbian Orthodox churches, worship often begins with a short outdoor ceremony involving the burning of an oak branch or young oak tree, accompanied by a full-throated proclamation of the birth of Christ.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

In this photo released by Russian Orthodox Church Press Service, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill delivers the Orthodox Christmas service in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Igor Palkin/Russian Orthodox Church Press Service via AP)

Palestinian Orthodox worshippers attend Christmas Mass at the Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza City Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

People look through a frosted plastic tent into a Christmas crib installed near Kazansky Cathedral during Orthodox Christmas celebrations in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Georgian children take part in a religious procession to the Holy Trinity Cathedral to mark Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, with the building of Georgian Parliament on the left. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

Georgians with national flags take part in a religious procession to the Holy Trinity Cathedral to mark Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)