Christians buy pine trees, statuettes, and other symbols days ahead of the event from the shops mainly on Mirzaye Shirazi Street, in northern Tehran, where an old church is located nearby.
The atmosphere is doubly joyful in Iran as Christmas is almost concurrently celebrated with Yalda, the first night of the winter and the longest night of the year.
Under Iran’s Constitution, Christian Iranians are entitled to similar citizenship rights as other Iranians, can hold events marking their religious occasions, and vote to elect representative in the Iranian Parliament.
