Kyiv, 07/14/2023 (KAP) Ukraine has moved the Orthodox Christmas festival, which was previously celebrated on January 7, to December 25: On Friday, the majority in parliament voted in favor of this innovation, as reported by APA. The aim of the bill introduced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is “deviation from Russian heritage”, he said. Two of the three main Orthodox rite churches had already decided to transition to the Gregorian calendar in use today.
Already in 2017, December 25 was introduced in parallel with January 7 as a non-working holiday for Christmas. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, long associated with Moscow and by now the largest, has yet to comment on the transition. She has been celebrating the holidays according to the old Julian calendar.
Ukrainian State Day and Defenders of Ukraine Day, celebrated on the occasion of Christianization, will also be brought forward by 13 days. According to the old church calendar, they were on the 28th of July and the 14th of October.
Since the pro-Western coup in 2014 and Moscow’s subsequent annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, Ukraine has tried to cut all ties with the Soviet and Russian past. The Russian attack on the neighboring country more than 16 months ago gave new impetus to the process.