ASTANA (UCAN) -- Many people mill around Konstantino-Eleninski Cathedral in Astana at midnight, but typically they are interested in beer, vodka and dancing in nearby nightclubs, not praying.

Jan. 6 this year was different. Throngs of people converged on the Russian Orthodox cathedral to pray and sing at the Christmas Eve midnight Mass. The cathedral was also packed for services the next day.

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev paved the way by declaring Jan. 7 a national holiday. On that day Russian Orthodox Christians and Greek Catholics celebrate Jesus' birth, according to the Julian calendar. Most other Christians including Roman Catholics celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar, on Dec. 25.

This is the first year that Eastern Christians in independent Kazakhstan, part of the Soviet Union until 1991, celebrated their Christmas as a national holiday.

The government issued an official statement Jan. 5 from the president congratulating Orthodox Christians at Christmas. The statement praised the Russian Orthodox community for its assistance in establishing "high spiritual values" and strengthening the "moral foundations in our society."

Russian Orthodox churchgoer Marina Sedokhina, 21, also interpreted the high turnout of people for the celebration at the cathedral as indicating they had reordered their priorities in a good way. "Only here do I feel consoled and forget my problems," she told UCA News at the cathedral.

Katya Korolkova, another 21-year-old churchgoer, remarked: "The declaration of Orthodox and Muslim feasts as national holidays shows that the president is taking care of the spiritual side of people's life, and this is very important."

The Kazakh president also declared the Muslim feast of Id al-Adha a national holiday. This festival, which falls roughly 70 days after the end of the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God, and God's sparing the boy. In Kazakhstan it is known as Qurban Ait.

The Greek Catholic Church also welcomed the new official status for their Christmas. About 40 Greek Catholics celebrated in their chapel on the ground floor of the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Astana. A new Greek Catholic church is being built in the neighborhood and the Roman Catholics have offered their facilities for use in the meantime.

The Greek Catholic Church dates back to the 16th century, when some Orthodox bishops accepted papal primacy but retained the Byzantine rite.

A large Russian Orthodox Cathedral is also being built in Astana.

Galina Pilipenko, a 38-year-old Greek Catholic, told UCA News, "The fact that Christmas is a holiday helps us to enjoy its festivity."

The woman said her father came from the Ukraine to Kazakhstan to work in animal husbandry. She added that her family has traditionally celebrated Christmas but ignored New Year festivities.

During the Soviet era, priority was given to New Year celebrations in order to divert people's attention from religion. After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, religion gradually started seeping back into people's lives, though New Year is still considered the biggest holiday in the year.

The Russian Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan is the largest Christian community, making up 30 percent of the 15 million Kazakh population. Greek Catholics number around 3,000. Roman Catholics account for about 250,000. The bulk of the population, roughly 60 percent, are Muslims.

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