December 25 may be the least common birthday in Australia, but for two families in Canberra, Christmas this year had even more significance than usual.
Two babies were born at Canberra Hospital in the early hours of Christmas morning, just minutes apart.
For first-time parents Zulqarnain Anwar and Laraib Nasir, the birth of baby girl Ribqah was the greatest Christmas present they could have received.
Ribqah was born at 1.42am, weighing three kilograms and coming in at 48 centimetres.
Ms Nasir said she was certain Ribqah's birth would come in the weeks before Christmas Day.
"I was so sure that it would have been the 15th," she said.
"I had a chill when I heard her for the first time."
Mr Anwar said he was elated about the birth of his first child.
"It's been very, very, special, and it's been very memorable for us," he said.
"We expected her to arrive before Christmas, and we were very worried about if the birth happened on Christmas Day, but the midwives were very helpful."
The Moncrieff residents said they spent the entire pregnancy trying to find the right name for their new daughter, which also had a special meaning in Arabic.
"There's always a special meaning for all Arabic names, and we spent so much time trying to find the right one," Mr Anwar said.
"Ribqah means 'respected woman', and 'respected independent woman'.
"It's the perfect Christmas present."
Just a few doors down the hall, a second baby was born on Christmas Day, just 13 minutes later.
Alexandra Chendeb gave birth to a baby boy, Zane, at 1.55am. He weighed 3.56 kilograms.
It wasn't the first child for the Holder resident, with Zane becoming a younger brother for one-year-old Siena.
She said the birth of her second child was far removed from her firstborn.
"It was completely different. It happened in 10 minutes and the midwives were trying to send me home. It was very different," Ms Chendeb said.
Zane was due five days before Christmas Day, but Ms Chendeb said she had a feeling he would arrive on December 25.
"It was the one day I was hoping that he wouldn't be born on," she said.
"I just didn't want to have him share [his birthday] with other people and Christmas, but when I was in pain last night, I didn't care about that."
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says Christmas Day is the least common birthday in Australia, with the exception of February 29, which only occurs on leap years.
Boxing Day is the next least common birthday.
