Bolnisi, Georgia: Alilo’s march was held in Bolnisi Municipality on January 7, the day the Orthodox world celebrated Christmas. Religious clothes were worn by the municipality’s residents.
Alilo’s march is a series of traditional annual Christmas marches involving children singing carols and walking through the streets to gather presents to be later donated to charity.
The Orthodox world celebrates  Christmas on January 7, every year. There is a spiritual reason behind this. Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7 because they use the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar used by most Christian churches.
The Citizens of Bolnisi Municipality were gathered at the Notre Dame in the center of Bolnisi, where the Archbishop Ephrem of Bolnisi offered a Christmas prayer chapel.
Two Georgian Ministers also joined the parade, one of them was David Sherazadishvili, a Member of Parliament of Georgia, Delegate of Bolnisi, Dmanisi, Tetritskaro, and Tsalki and the other was Buba Gobejishvili, Acting Mayor of Bolnisi Municipality.
The Mealiloes donated the collected Christmas presents to the beneficiaries of the nursing home and wished them a Merry Christmas.
The procession ended at the Holy Cathedral of the Municipality, where the gifts collected during the march were distributed to socially vulnerable families. The gifts included sweets, dried fruits, churchkhela, pumpkins, eggs, and other food items.
The tradition of Christmas Alilo was restored in Bolnisi by Bishop Ephrem’s prayer and blessing and it is the 18th year that the parish donated the collected not to socially vulnerable families and the elderly. This tradition has been held annually across the country.
Christmas Alilo procession
Alilo takes place on Christmas Day on January 7, every year. People in religious costumes are processing through the streets of Georgian cities, collecting food, sweets, and gifts accompanied by traditional Christmas songs.Â
The presents are gathered in a church where the Christmas service is conducted. After the service, the food and the presents are distributed to orphanages, nursing homes, and prisons.
