Many Ukrainians will celebrate Christmas Day on December 25 for the first time, after the government changed the date from the Orthodox Church observance of January 7 in a snub to Russia. Ukraine passed a law in July moving the celebration to December 25, the day when most of the Christian world marks Christmas. The law signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy noted that Ukrainians wanted to "live their own life with their own traditions and holidays.” It allows them to "abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations on January 7," it added.
Ukrainians Defy Moscow With First December 25 Christmas
Ukrainian soldiers attend Mass at an Orthodox church near the front lines in the Donetsk region as Ukrainians prepare to celebrate their first Christmas according to a Western calendar.