Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians. But in July this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill into law making 25 December the official Christmas holiday as the country adopted the Western, Gregorian calendar.
Ukraine and Russia are both historically Orthodox Christian countries. These churches celebrate Christmas based on the Julian calendar, and until 2100 this date will be 14 days behind the Gregorian calendar used by the rest of the world.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church already began to use the Gregorian calendar in 2014, distancing itself from the Russian Orthodox Church, and now this date has been codified into Ukrainian law.
It should be noted that many Orthodox churches have actually been using 25th December as the date for 100 years now, following the 1923 Council of Constantinople. The choice to shift to the Gregorian date (or rather the Revised Julian date, but it’s the same day as the Gregorian one) is just a shift to align with other Eastern Orthodox patriarchates rather than a departure from Eastern Orthodoxy altogether
Ukraine and Russia are both historically Orthodox Christian countries. These churches celebrate Christmas based on the Julian calendar, and until 2100 this date will be 14 days behind the Gregorian calendar used by the rest of the world.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church already began to use the Gregorian calendar in 2014, distancing itself from the Russian Orthodox Church, and now this date has been codified into Ukrainian law.
It should be noted that many Orthodox churches have actually been using 25th December as the date for 100 years now, following the 1923 Council of Constantinople. The choice to shift to the Gregorian date (or rather the Revised Julian date, but it’s the same day as the Gregorian one) is just a shift to align with other Eastern Orthodox patriarchates rather than a departure from Eastern Orthodoxy altogether