UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS attended services today as the country prepares to celebrate Christmas on 25 December for the first time after the government changed the date from 7 January, when most Orthodox believers celebrate, in a snub to Russia.

Most eastern Christian churches use the Julian calendar, where Christmas falls on 7 January, rather than the Gregorian calendar by Western churches.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law in July moving the celebration to 25 December, saying it allows Ukrainians to “abandon the Russian heritage” of Christmas celebrations taking place on 7 January.

The date change is part of hastened moves since the invasion to remove traces of the Russian and Soviet empires, such as by renaming streets and removing monuments.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine formally broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The political rift has seen priests and even entire parishes swap from one church to another, with the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine growing fast and taking over several Russia-linked church buildings in moves supported by the government. 

In the southern Black Sea port of Odesa, churchgoers prayed and lit candles as priests in gold vestments held Christmas Eve service in the Cathedral of the Nativity, decorated with fir trees and a nativity scene.

“We believe that we really should celebrate Christmas with the whole world, far away, far away from Moscow. For me that’s the new message now,” said one smiling parishioner, Olena, whose son is a medic on the front line.

“We really want to celebrate in a new way. This is a holiday with the whole of Ukraine, with our independent Ukraine. This is very important for us,” she told AFP.

Denis, a young man attending church, said: “We wanted to support what is happening in Ukraine now. Because changes are always difficult, and when these changes occur, more people are needed to support it in order for something new to happen.”

He was willing to compromise, however, adding: “We can celebrate on the 25th and the 7th.”

“Now a lot of my friends are celebrating on the 25th, along with us, and on the 7th with their parents.”

In the western city of Lviv, which has been little damaged by the war, Taras Kobza, an army medic, said “we have to join the civilised world.”

Tetiana, a singer in a traditional music group called Yagody (berries), agreed: “I’m very happy that we are finally celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas together with the rest of the world. It’s really cool.”

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has also opted to hold Christmas services on 25 December.

But the historically Russia-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (different to the ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine’) is keeping the 7 January date. This church claims to have cut ties with Russia because of the war but many Ukrainians are sceptical.

Under the Soviet Union, atheism was encouraged and Christmas traditions such as trees and gifts were shifted to New Year’s Eve, which became the main holiday.

Ukrainian Christmas traditions include a dinner on Christmas Eve with 12 meatless dishes including a sweet grain pudding called kutya.

People decorate homes with elaborate sheaves of wheat called didukh. Celebrations also include singing carols called kolyadky, carrying decorations in the shape of stars and performing nativity scenes.

© AFP 2023