ODESSA | 'Far from Moscow': Ukrainians on Sunday prepared for Christmas celebrations on December 25 for the first time in their history, a sign of defiance against Moscow, while Orthodox Russians still celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on January 7.
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In Odessa, a large port city on the Black Sea, several dozen people gathered for services at the Nativity Cathedral. Inside the building, in front of the golden icons, there are two large Christmas trees dressed in blue with sparkling garlands.
This is the first time in Ukraine's modern history that Orthodox believers – just like Catholics, but also Greek, Romanian and Bulgarian Orthodox – celebrate Christmas on December 25th and not on January 7th, as was customary until then.
“We really want to celebrate this holiday in a new way. It is a celebration with all of Ukraine, with our independent Ukraine,” Olena tells AFP.
AFP
Her son, she said, volunteered in the Ukrainian army from the first day of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022 and is currently in the Kherson (South) zone as a military medic.
“We really have to celebrate Christmas with the whole world, far, very far away from Moscow,” says Olena with the white hat on her head.
In July, President Volodymyr Zelensky formalized the postponement of Christmas celebrations from January 7 to December 25, a decision that is part of a series of measures Ukraine has taken to distance itself from Moscow amid a prolonged Russian invasion of nearly two Years.
The text voted on by Ukrainian MPs then states that Ukrainians wanted to live “their own lives, with their own traditions, their own holidays.”
One way, the text also says, is to “abandon the Russian heritage that provided for Christmas celebrations on January 7,” according to the Julian calendar that the Russian Orthodox Church follows.
For Oleksandr Bubnov, a regular at Odessa's Nativity Cathedral, “if everyone accepts (the change of date)” as a new tradition, “it will easily spread throughout the country.” “The transition was easy,” he assures.
“Impressively”
Last July's law thus highlights the gap that has been widening between the churches of Kiev and Moscow for several years and has been exacerbated by the Russian invasion.
In Lviv, in western Ukraine and an area generally spared from Russian attacks, Taras Kobza is happy about the change in date, “our path,” as he vows, to move away from Russia. “We need to rejoin the civilized world,” he adds.
“It’s really great,” enthuses Tetiana, a singer in a music group. “I’m so happy that we can finally celebrate New Year’s Eve and Christmas with the rest of the world,” she says.
“It’s natural, that’s how it should be,” Zoryana, her friend, continues.
AFP
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was under Russia's religious supervision for several centuries, was declared autocephalous and independent of the Moscow Patriarchate in 2019.
In May 2022, the Ukrainian Church loyal to Moscow also declared its independence in response to Russian Patriarch Kirill's support for the war.
A handful of Orthodox churches around the world, including those in Russia and Serbia, still use the Julian calendar for their religious celebrations, rather than the Gregorian calendar designed in the late 16th century.
Under the USSR (Soviet Union), authorities advocated atheism, and Christmas traditions such as Christmas trees and gift-giving were moved to New Year's Eve, which became the main holiday and is still observed for many Ukrainian families.
On Christmas Eve, Ukrainians have a tradition of sitting at the table in the evening with twelve meatless dishes, including “Koutia”, a dessert made from boiled wheat grains, honey, raisins, crushed walnuts and poppy seeds.