Completion of Legislation Following Orthodox Church Decision
Ukraine has officially moved Christmas, which was celebrated every year on January 7, to December 25.
According to major foreign media on the 28th (local time), President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill containing this change. The purpose of the bill, as stated by the Ukrainian government, is "to abandon the Russian legacy of celebrating Christmas on January 7."
While Christmas is generally celebrated on December 25 in most countries, some countries that follow the Orthodox Church, such as Russia and Ukraine, have commemorated Christmas on January 7 every year. This is because they use the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar, which is the global standard.
The Ukrainian government explained the change of the Christmas date by saying, "The persistent and successful struggle for our identity will contribute to the aspirations of all Ukrainians who want to live according to their own traditions and holidays."
Since Russia's invasion last year, Ukraine has been erasing traces of Russia in various ways. Previously, Ukraine renamed streets and villages named after former Soviet figures.
In Ukraine, as resentment grew against the Russian Orthodox Church, which has openly expressed support for the Russian regime multiple times, the idea of moving Christmas from January 7 to December 25 emerged. In response, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church allowed parishes to autonomously hold Christmas services on December 25 starting in October last year, and in May this year, it went further by changing the calendar from the old Julian calendar to the Revised Julian calendar and officially set December 25 as Christmas at the church level. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church became independent from the Russian Orthodox Church in 2019.
The Revised Julian calendar adopted by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's Synod was developed in 1923 to correct the discrepancies between the old Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar, aiming to resolve the differences between the Eastern and Western churches. Applying the Revised Julian calendar means that the Orthodox Church's Christmas will also fall on December 25, the same as the Western churches.
Russia expressed extreme displeasure upon hearing the news of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's Christmas change. According to Russia's Sputnik news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in May that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's decision was "a crazy act and an unfortunate matter."
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