FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
Eastern Orthodox Christmas -- Today (7 January 2009) is the religious feast of Christmas in most Eastern Orthodox Churches. This celebration is defined as occurring 12 days after the canonical solstice on 25 December in the ancient Julian calendar. The Orthodox Churches of eastern and central Europe continue to observe the Julian calendar rather than the modern western Gregorian calendar.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
A New Year -- Today (10 January 2008) is the first day of the Muslim year 1429 A.H. The calendar of Islam is purely lunar, so its dates shift steadily through the solar year, which the Gregorian calendar tracks closely. (Courtesy, J. Lattis, Space Place, University of Wisconsin-Madison)