Christmas Continues in the Middle East

SAT-7 provides special programming for Coptic and other Christians who celebrate Christ’s birth on January 7th.

Nicosia, Cyprus: The Christmas holidays may be over in much of the Western world, but for many Christians living in the Middle East, especially in Egypt, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th. This is due to a difference between the Western (Julian) calendar and the Eastern (Gregorian/Coptic) calendars. In 2003 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak declared the date as a national holiday, not only for Christians, but for all Egyptians.

To reach and bless viewers who will be watching the channels throughout the extended Christmas season, SAT-7 ARABIC and SAT-7 KIDS will continue to broadcast special Christmas programs until January 7th. Programs airing on the channels include the first ever live program for children on SAT-7 KIDS. During this program, children from countries including Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, the Gulf, and Iraq phoned to talk to the hosts live on air. The program also received many SMS messages from children living across the region.

The response was overwhelming says Naji, host of “The Naji Show” (a teaching program featuring science experiments), who also served as one of three hosts on the special live KIDS Christmas special. “We were amazed by the response. I wasn’t expecting that we would get so many people calling. The phones were ringing all the time and people were texting to say they couldn’t get through.” The KIDS team made the program fun, but also wanted to offer a Christian alternative to the usual holiday programming. “We had Santa come on later in the show, but he was upset. When we asked why, he said ‘because people have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. It’s not about me, but about Jesus and that he came for the salvation of all people.’ So the show helped our young viewers remember the true meaning of Christmas,” added Naji.”

The live SAT-7 KIDS Christmas special was delayed 45 minutes because of technical problems, but despite the delay it was hugely successful and more children called in to talk than the phone lines or on-air hosts could handle. SAT-7 KIDS producers say the learning experience will help them with plans to transmit many more live programs in 2009.

SAT-7 ARABIC also transmitted a live Christmas Eve service from the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, and will rebroadcast it, along with the live KIDS show later. Additionally, the channels are broadcasting numerous musicals, cartoons, films and original Christmas programs to help viewers understand the true meaning Christmas. Please Click Here to watch a live feed from the SAT-7 KIDS channel.