Ukraine celebrates first Christmas on 25 December (2024)

FAQs

Is Ukraine celebrating Christmas on December 25 for the first time? ›

In 2023, for the first time since 1917, Christmas Day in Ukraine was marked on just one day - December 25, the same date across almost all Christian faiths around the globe.

Zelenskyy signed a law in July moving the celebration to Dec. 25, saying it enabled Ukrainians to "abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations on January 7." The date change is part of hastened moves since Russia's invasion to remove traces of the Russian and Soviet empires.

25 In a stark rebuke of Russia, Ukraine joins the West in celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 instead of Jan. 6-7 as it traditionally has done.

Christmas, the holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, is celebrated by a majority of Christians on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar.

The date of the birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources and the evidence is too incomplete to allow for consistent dating. However, most biblical scholars and ancient historians believe that his birth date is around 4 to 6 BC.

From 2023 Christmas is only officially celebrated in Ukraine on 25 December. When a public holiday falls on a weekend (e.g. Saturday or Sunday), the following working day (e.g. Monday) turns into an official day off too.

Ukraine had been under Moscow's spiritual leadership since the 17th century at the latest. Under the Soviet Union and its profession of atheism, Christmas traditions such as trees and gifts were shifted to New Year's Eve, which became the main holiday and still is for many families.

The Russian Orthodox Church, which claims sovereignty over Orthodoxy in Ukraine, and some other Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use the ancient Julian calendar. Christmas falls 13 days later on that calendar, or Jan. 7, than it does on the Gregorian calendar used by most church and secular groups.

Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated on December 25. Since 2017, the date has been one of the official state holidays. Before that, Christmas was celebrated by many on January 7 by the Julian calendar.

Ukraine's Santa Claus is called Did Moroz (Father Frost) or Svyatyy Mykolay (Saint Nicholas).

What do Ukrainians say on Christmas? ›

The traditional Ukrainian Christmas greeting is 'Христос Родився' (Khrystos Rodyvsia - Christ is Born) to which the response is 'Славімо Його' (Slavimo Yoho - Let us glorify Him).

Traditional Christmas food in Ukraine

“The main dish of Holy Evening is Kutya. It is porridge from whole wheat grains with poppy seeds, honey and nuts. “I like to cook and Ukrainian families usually cook a lot, the cuisine is very diverse.

The theory suggests the Catholic Church in Rome, Italy, began celebrating Christmas on December 25 in 336 CE to replace the pagan celebrations. However, several ancient manuscripts and theories reveal that the original celebrations of Christmas began even earlier than 336 CE.

“The real reason for the selection of Dec. 25 seems to have been that it is exactly nine months after March 25, the traditional date of Jesus' crucifixion. … As Christians developed the theological idea that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same date, they set the date of his birth nine months later.”

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, North Korea, Libya, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen do not recognize Christmas as a public holiday.

Ukraine will formally mark Christmas Day on December 25 this year, in a symbolic shift away from Russia, which celebrates the holiday on January 7. It will be the first time in more than a century that Ukraine observes the date in line with the Gregorian calendar, along with most of the world's Christians.

Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated on December 25. Since 2017, the date has been one of the official state holidays. Before that, Christmas was celebrated by many on January 7 by the Julian calendar.

The traditional Ukrainian Christmas greeting is 'Христос Родився' (Khrystos Rodyvsia - Christ is Born) to which the response is 'Славімо Його' (Slavimo Yoho - Let us glorify Him).

Churches in the Greek and Antiochian traditions, along with the Orthodox Church in America, observed Christmas on Dec. 25. Some churches in the Slavic tradition, including Serbian and smaller Russian churches, will observe it Jan. 7.