Metropolitan Epiphany (right) during his visit to the Volodymyr-Volyn diocese, one of the oldest Orthodox dioceses in Ukraine, May 2023 (Photo:ПЦУ / Facebook)
nv.ua: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law that officially changes the date of Christmas in Ukraine to December 25, the president’s press service announced on July 28.
In addition to the new Christmas Day, October 1 will now mark the Day of Ukraine’s Defenders and the Day of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God, instead of October 14, and the Day of Ukrainian Statehood will be celebrated on July 15 instead of July 28.
The move is to ensure that state holidays in Ukraine do not match those in Russia, and is aimed at the “renunciation of Russian heritage,” according to Zelenskyy.
Earlier, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) announced that it would switch to the Revised Julian calendar from September 1, 2023, for religious purposes.
This means that from that date onward, OCU believers will celebrate religious holidays according to the new calendar:
Christmas will be celebrated on December 25 instead of January 7
Saint Nicholas Day will be celebrated on December 6 instead of December 19
Epiphany — January 6 instead of January 18
The date of Easter and some other holidays will not be required to change.
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