New Delhi: Ukraine has reportedly decided to celebrate Christmas on 25 December instead of 7 January, breaking away from the Russian Orthodox tradition that has been followed in the country for centuries.
President Volodymyr Zelenksyy reportedly signed a law Friday that officially changes the date of the holiday, as well as two other state holidays, “to reflect the Ukrainian identity and culture.”
The Russian Orthodox Church follows the old Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar used by most other Christians and much of the world. While the date of Christmas is still 25 December in the Julian calendar, this actually corresponds to 7 January in the Gregorian calendar due to a discrepancy between the two.
According to a note on the Ukraine Parliament website quoted in media reports, the law proposes to align Ukraine’s Christmas celebration with the global practice and to “abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebration.”
“The relentless and successful struggle for their identity contributes to … the desire of every Ukrainian to live their own life with their own traditions and holidays,” the note read.
The law is reportedly part of Ukraine’s efforts to distance itself from Russia and its influence amid the ongoing war that erupted in 2022.
According to a report in BBC, the new law has also moved two other state holidays — the Day of Ukrainian Statehood to 15 July from 28 July, and the Defenders’ Day to 1 October from 14 October. Zelenksyy signed the bill Friday, two weeks after it was passed by the Ukrainian Parliament with a majority vote.
The change in the date of Christmas reportedly comes from a decision by the Orthodox leadership of Ukraine in October last year, when they agreed to allow their followers to celebrate the festival in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The decision was made months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
With Ukraine having been dominated by Russia for centuries, the Church in Ukraine has traditionally been under the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“But in 2019, the recently formed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) was granted independence by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide,” the BBC report said.
The split was reportedly seen as a major blow to the Russian Orthodox Church, which has been a loyal ally of President Vladimir Putin and his policies. For instance, its head, Patriarch Kirill, has said Russian soldiers who are killed will be cleansed of all their sins, The Guardian reported.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has also been trying to dissociate itself from Russian heritage by changing street names based on Russian figures — including the writers Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Pushkin — banning Russian films and removing monuments related to Russian history, according to media reports.
In April this year, Zelenksyy signed two laws that prohibit the use of Russian place names and require Ukrainian citizens to know the Ukrainian language. “Russia itself is doing everything to ensure that de-Russification takes place on the territory of our state,” Zelenskyy was reported as saying.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)