Ukraine will formally mark Christmas Day on December 25 this year, for the first time in more than 100 years.
This comes as the country shifts away from the Russian-used Julian Calendar (which celebrates Christmas on January 7) to the Gregorian calendar (which celebrates Christmas on December 25).
Ukraine’s government had passed legislation in July making the date change, in what was viewed as a snub to Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church.
The law signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Ukrainians wanted to “live their own life with their own traditions and holidays”.
It allows them to “abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations on January 7”.
Ukraine’s date change is part of a series of moves since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 to dispel any traces of the Russian and Soviet empires, such as renaming streets and removing monuments.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a newly created independent church that held its first service in 2019, has also changed its Christmas date to December 25.
However, the historically Russia-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church is keeping the January 7 Christmas date. The church claims to have cut ties with Russia because of the war but many Ukrainians are skeptical.
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