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 towards Moscow, with Orthodox Russians still celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on January 7.
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In Odessa, a large port city bordering the Black Sea, several dozen people gathered for religious services in the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ. Inside the building, two large Christmas trees dressed in blue and sparkling garlands sit in front of the golden icons.
This is the first time in the modern history of Ukraine that Orthodox believers will celebrate Christmas — just like Catholics, but also Greek, Romanian and Bulgarian Orthodox — on December 25, and not on January 7 as it was traditional until then.
“We really want to celebrate this holiday in a new way. It’s a celebration with all of Ukraine, with our independent Ukraine,” Olena explains to AFP.
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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 zone as a military medic (south).
“We really have to celebrate Christmas with the whole world, far, very far from Moscow,” says Olena, white cap on her head.
In July, President 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 long-lasting Russian invasion. for almost two years.
The text voted on by Ukrainian MPs then explained that Ukrainians wanted to “live their own lives, with their own traditions, their own holidays”.
A way, the text also noted, to “abandon the Russian heritage which imposed Christmas celebrations on January 7,” according to the Julian calendar followed by the Russian Orthodox Church.
For Oleksandr Bubnov, a regular at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Odessa, “if everyone accepts (the change of date), it will easily spread throughout the country” as a new tradition. “The transition was easy,” he assures.
“Awesome”
Last July’s law thus illustrates the gap that has widened between the churches of Kyiv and Moscow for several years, reinforced by the Russian invasion.
In Lviv, in western Ukraine and an area generally spared from Russian strikes, Taras Kobza is delighted with the change of date, “our path”, he swears, to move away from Russia. “We must rejoin the civilized world,” he adds.
“It’s really great,” enthuses Tetiana, a singer in a musical group. “I’m so happy that we’re finally celebrating New Year’s Eve and Christmas with the rest of the world,” she says.
“It’s natural, that’s how it should be,” continues Zoryana, her friend.
AFP
Placed for several centuries under the religious supervision of Russia, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was declared autocephalous and independent of the Moscow Patriarchate in 2019.
In May 2022, the Ukrainian Church, which remained loyal to Moscow, also declared its independence in reaction to support for the war expressed by Russian Patriarch Kirill.
A handful of Orthodox Churches in the world, including those in Russia and Serbia, still use the Julian calendar for their religious celebrations and not the Gregorian calendar, designed at the end of the 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 for many Ukrainian families.
On Christmas Eve, Ukrainians have a tradition of sitting at the table in the evening with 12 meatless dishes, including “koutia”, a dessert made from boiled wheat grains, honey, raisins, crushed walnuts and poppy seeds.