Ok, as a US citizen and Orthodox Christian living in Ukraine, we celebrate on the "New" Julian calendar which is the 24th/25th. My wife, who is a native of Belarus and lived in the US for 20 odd years prefers it this way. Her main reason is that New Year's in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia takes precedence and is what she describes as a "Soviet Cult." She says they totally miss the "Spirit of Christmas" because New Year's is celebrated afterwards with Christmas taking a backseat. So you know, it doesn't mean you have to be Christian to celebrate the joy and giving of Christmas that is so prevalent in the West. Yes, it's about the birth of Christ but it's also about sharing joy and making merry. Orthodox Christmas on the old Julian calendar (Jan 6/7) id rather somber just doesn't have that joy because everybody's already partied out. Anyway, that's my two cents or, eh, kopecks.