Ukrainians breaking this major Christmas tradition amid Russia war

• Christmas is always on January 7 in Ukraine.
• Some Orthodox Ukrainians are celebrating Christmas this year on December 25.
• The local church in the city has also recently changed.

Christmas is always on January 7 in Ukraine, just like it is in Russia. But as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues, some Orthodox Ukrainians are celebrating Christmas this year on December 25, like many Christians around the world.

The leaders of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine agreed in October to let Ukrainians celebrate the holiday on December 25. This was reported by the Associated Press.
Some Ukrainians see the change in dates as a break with Russia, its culture, and its religion.

“What began on February 24, the full-scale invasion, is an awakening and an understanding that we can no longer be part of the Russian world,” Olena Paliy, a resident from Bobrytsya city, told Associated Press. In the city, some members of the faith supported the change in date within the local church and when a vote was taken last week, 200 out of 204 people voted in favour of adopting the Christmas date as December 25.

The local church in the city has also recently changed. It used to be part of the Orthodox Church of Russia, but now it is part of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Roman Ivanenko, a local official in Bobrytsya, told Associated Press that the date change was a big deal because Ukraine has never before celebrated Christmas on the same dates as the rest of the Christian world.

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