Christmas lights flickered on ahead of schedule. Families sang carols a little sooner. And the first presents of the season — by tradition hidden under a pillow or in a boot — appeared two weeks early.
Of Ukraine’s many Western-oriented changes, put in place bit by bit since independence and accelerated during the war, one brought special joy this year: Christmas came early.
After centuries of marking the holiday on Jan. 7 under the Julian church calendar, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church this year formally switched to celebrating on Dec. 25 with most of the rest of Europe — and pointedly not with Russia.
For 6-year-old Darynka, that meant practicing carols early and enjoying the excitement of receiving gifts like a Rainbow High doll and a paint set two weeks earlier than she did than last year.
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“I love Christmas!” she said.
Her mother, Halyna Shvets, saw a step toward Europe in the Ukrainian church’s decision to shift the date away from Russia’s tradition, not only for Christmas celebrations but for other religious holidays as well.
“We are really happy,” she said. “Faith in God is a fundamental pillar of our lives. Celebrating Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, is an opportunity for us to gather for this beautiful Ukrainian religious tradition.”
Christmas, like so much else in Ukraine these days, is tightly tangled up in the country’s war with Russia. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken the position that the Julian calendar used in the Russian church does not have religious significance, and that holidays should be celebrated according to the calendar by which people live their daily lives. Even before this year’s formal switch, some Ukrainian Orthodox believers, in the first year after Russia’s invasion, had moved Christmas to December.
Of Ukraine’s many Western-oriented changes, put in place bit by bit since independence and accelerated during the war, one brought special joy this year: Christmas came early.
After centuries of marking the holiday on Jan. 7 under the Julian church calendar, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church this year formally switched to celebrating on Dec. 25 with most of the rest of Europe — and pointedly not with Russia.
For 6-year-old Darynka, that meant practicing carols early and enjoying the excitement of receiving gifts like a Rainbow High doll and a paint set two weeks earlier than she did than last year.
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“I love Christmas!” she said.
Her mother, Halyna Shvets, saw a step toward Europe in the Ukrainian church’s decision to shift the date away from Russia’s tradition, not only for Christmas celebrations but for other religious holidays as well.
“We are really happy,” she said. “Faith in God is a fundamental pillar of our lives. Celebrating Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, is an opportunity for us to gather for this beautiful Ukrainian religious tradition.”
Christmas, like so much else in Ukraine these days, is tightly tangled up in the country’s war with Russia. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken the position that the Julian calendar used in the Russian church does not have religious significance, and that holidays should be celebrated according to the calendar by which people live their daily lives. Even before this year’s formal switch, some Ukrainian Orthodox believers, in the first year after Russia’s invasion, had moved Christmas to December.
