The move is part of Ukraine's efforts to establish its own national identity, separate from Russia. The explanatory note attached to the law said its goal is to "abandon the Russian heritage," including the tradition of celebrating Christmas on January 7.
For years, some Ukrainians had already
celebrated Christmas on December 25 as a gesture of independence from Russia. But the new law makes it the official public holiday.
The
Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which split from the Russian Orthodox Church in 2019 and is now in line with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, also recently approved moving its celebration of Christmas to December 25, starting this year. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will make the switch in 2023.
The January 7 date stems from the Julian calendar, which is still used by the Russian Orthodox Church. The December 25 date corresponds with the Gregorian calendar used by most Western Christian denominations.
The law passed by Ukraine's parliament also moves the country's Day of Statehood from July 28 to July 15 and the Day of Defenders of Ukraine from October 14 to October 1.
The changes are the latest examples of Ukraine distancing itself from Russia following Moscow's invasion of the country in February 2022. Ukraine has also moved to replace Russian with Ukrainian as the official language in schools, changed street names with Russian connections, and banned Russian media
Credit: Halyna Kuchmanych - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
