This is the first time in the modern history of Ukraine that Orthodox believers will celebrate Christmas synchronously with Catholics, and not on January 7 of the civil calendar as was traditional until then.
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Ukrainians are preparing for Christmas celebrations on Sunday, December 24, in synchrony with the Western world, for the first time in their history. A sign of defiance towards Moscow. Orthodox believers will celebrate Christmas with Catholics, but also with Greek, Romanian and Bulgarian Orthodox on December 25, and not January 7 of the civil calendar, as was the tradition until then.
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“We pray for an end to the war. We pray for victory,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an exceptional address shot from the kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a majestic Orthodox monastery founded in the 11th century. “For peace, for justice”he continued in front of this religious landmark which housed until the end of 2022 the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dependent on Moscow.
“Celebrate this holiday in a new way”
Until now, the Russian Orthodox Church had kept the old Julian calendar for religious holidays, shifted by 13 days, which places December 25 and the celebration of Christmas on January 7 of the civil calendar. In July, Volodymyr Zelensky formalized the move of Christmas celebrations from January 7 to December 25, a decision that is part of a series of measures taken by Ukraine to distance itself from Moscow, in the midst of a Russian invasion that has lasted for almost two years.
The text, voted by parliament, explains that Ukrainians want “live their own lives, with their own traditions, their own celebrations”. “We really want to celebrate this holiday in a new way. It is a holiday with all of Ukraine, with our independent Ukraine,” Olena, a resident of Odessa, told AFP. “We really need to celebrate Christmas with the whole world, far, far away from Moscow”she continued.