Millions celebrate Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7, following ancient traditions

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.

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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)

MIAMI (AP) — Austin Wells hit a walk-off three-run homer in the seventh inning that ended the game under a tournament rout rule, and the Dominican Republic beat South Korea 10-0 Friday night to reach the World Baseball Classic semifinals.

Seeking its second title and first since 2013, the Dominicans play the United States or Canada in a semifinal on Sunday in Miami. The Dominicans are 5-0 in the tournament, have outscored opponents 51-10 while batting .312 and with 14 homers tied the WBC record set by Mexico in 2009.

Fernando Tatis Jr. drove in two runs and has 11 RBIs in the tournament. He is tied for third in a single WBC, trailing only Masataka Yoshida’s 13 for Japan in 2023 and Wladimir Balentien’s 12 for the Netherlands in 2017.

Wells, who entered as a defensive replacement in the top of the seventh, reached down and drove a first-pitch cutter from Hyeong Jun So off the front of the second deck in right. Wells was born in Arizona to a mother is of Dominican descent.

He hit the Dominicans' second walk-off homer of the tournament after Juan Soto's drive that ended a 12-1 group stage win over the Netherlands.

Backed by three runs in the second inning and four in the third, winner Christopher Sánchez struck out eight in five innings of two-hit ball.

South Korea, which lost a semifinal in 2006 and the final in 2009, had been eliminated in the first round three straight times before reaching a quarterfinal this year.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked against loser Hyun Jin Ryu and scored the game's first run from first base with a head-first slide on Junior Caminero’s double into the left-field corner. Julio Rodríguez followed with an RBI groundout and Tatis had a run-scoring single.

Soto scored on Guerrero’s double in a four-run fourth, hooking an arm around catcher Dong Won Park with a head-first slide.

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South Korea starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin reacts on the mound during the second inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against the Dominican Republic, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Dominican Republic's Juan Soto celebrates after hitting a single during the third inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against South Korea, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Dominican Republic's Agustin Ramirez runs home on a single by Fernando Tatis Jr. during the second inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against South Korea, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Dominican Republic's Austin Wells runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run to end the game early in the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against South Korea, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)