This year, Ukrainians will celebrate Christmas tomorrow, December 25, rather than January 7 as before, as will the Russian Orthodox Church, marking a break with tradition amid the war with Moscow. The new date for the Christian celebration, set according to the Gregorian calendar, was approved by the Ukrainian parliament in July and announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky. “The Ukrainian people have long been subjected to Russian ideology in almost all areas of life, including the Julian calendar and the celebration of Christmas on January 7,” the bill says. But “the powerful rebirth of the Ukrainian nation continues” and “the continuous and fruitful struggle for its identity contributes to the consciousness and desire of every Ukrainian to live his own life, with his own traditions, his own holidays,” he added. The decision to postpone the date on which Christians celebrate the birth of Christ is part of a series of initiatives by Ukraine to distance itself from Moscow, such as renaming streets and cities commemorating the period when the country has been since It was independent in 1991 and was part of the Soviet Union. The law also highlights the divide between the Ukrainian and Russian churches, which has deepened since the Russian invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been under the religious tutelage of Russia for centuries, declared itself independent and “autocephalous” from the Patriarchate of Moscow in 2019. The Ukrainian Church, which remained loyal to Moscow, also declared its independence in May 2022 thereby rejected the support of the Russian Patriarch Kirill for the invasion. Some Orthodox churches, including those in Russia and Serbia, continue to use the Julian calendar for their religious celebrations rather than the Gregorian calendar, which was created in the late 16th century. During the Soviet regime (1917-1991), which supported atheism, Christmas celebrations were merged with those of New Year, which is still the most important holiday for many Ukrainian families. At Christmas dinner, Ukrainians usually serve twelve meatless dishes, including “kutia,” made from wheat grains, honey, sultanas, chopped walnuts and poppy seeds.
