Summary

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church's decision to celebrate Christmas on December 25 instead of January 7 is seen as an effort to distance itself from Russia and align more closely with Western European traditions and values.

Abstract

The article discusses the recent move by the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to celebrate Christmas on December 25, in line with the Gregorian calendar observed by Western Christianity, instead of January 7 as per the Julian calendar historically followed by Orthodox Christians, including Russia. This change is viewed as a political statement to snub Russia and to strengthen ties with Europe. President Zelensky's address on December 25 reinforces the national unity and alignment with the West. The article, however, criticizes media portrayals that neglect to mention the historical Catholic influence in Western Ukraine and questions the authenticity of changes to Ukrainian traditions that seem to mimic Western culture, such as the consideration of abandoning the celebration of International Women's Day on March 8. The piece argues that these shifts risk eroding Ukraine's national identity and suggests that such changes should not come at the expense of Ukrainian heritage and history.

Opinions

The author perceives the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's calendar shift as a move to deliberately distance itself from Russian influence and align with European standards.
There is criticism of Euro News and the Associated Press for presenting biased views or incomplete information regarding Ukrainian Christmas celebrations, particularly for not acknowledging the Western Ukrainian Catholic tradition of celebrating on December 25 and for labeling January 7 celebrations as exclusively "Russian-imposed traditions."
The author is skeptical of the Ukrainian government's attempts to modify cultural practices, such as discussing the removal of International Women's Day, suggesting these actions are an effort to "modernize" by adopting Western customs at the potential cost of national identity.
The article highlights a concern that Ukraine may be losing its self-identity in a rush to align with the West and questions the logic of Ukraine changing its cultural practices without reciprocal adaptation by Western nations.
It is suggested that Ukrainian traditions should be preserved and that the country should not have to sacrifice its unique cultural heritage to prove its modernity or to differentiate itself from Russia.

Ukraine Celebrates Christmas on December 25: How it Lose its Self-Identity in a Rush to the West

The government moved its holiday to the new date to snub Russia

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church formally proclaimed the celebration of Christmas on December 25 instead of January 7 to become more far away from Russia and closer to Europe. This year it switched to the Revised Julian calendar.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky already recorded his Christmas address on December 25. “Today we all celebrate Christmas on the same day as one big family, as one big nation, as one united country,” he said in his message. Euro News in its reportage presented the Christmas celebration in Lviv where children and adults sweetly enjoy the street celebration.

Nevertheless, why did Euro News not mention that Lviv is a Western part of Ukraine which was Polish and Hungarian lands before? And, most of the population there has Polish and Hungarian roots, so they are mostly Catholics and have celebrated Christmas on December 25 for hundreds of years.

The article continues down. Before that, don’t forget to subscribe to me to be the first to read my future works: https://medium.com/@hanna.motorina/subscribe

Why did they not show the celebration of such Orthodox cities as Zaporizhia and Dnipro? Maybe because they did not celebrate it that day at all or because to that celebration came 2–3 people?

I recently read the NYT article on this issue and found there a manipulation to make readers believe that just a few countries celebrate Christmas due to the Julian calendar:

“After the Ukrainian church’s switch, only four of 15 eastern Orthodox denominations — in Russia, Serbia, Finland, and Jerusalem — still follow the Julian calendar…” it said.

However, this is not true: many Orthodox or partly-Orthodox countries, such as Balkan countries such as North Macedonia (where I am based now) and Montenegro, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Moldova still celebrate Christmas on January 7. What did they personally do to Ukraine that it needs to distance itself from them?

In addition, the Associated Press also named Christmas on January 7 “Russian-imposed traditions.” However, as I noted above, it is not only Russian, and the celebration of Christmas on the common for Orthodoxes does not make anybody “pro-Russian.”

Before, the Ukrainian administration also did similar changes to add to the national culture some Western flavor. Thus, they aimed to ban the International Women’s Day on March 8. They argued that “it was established in Ukraine under the coercion of the occupying Soviet regime”, “was timed to coincide with the February Revolution in Russia in 1917,” and “was used by the Soviet regime to promote the communist model of women’s behavior.”

Be that as it may, this holiday is also celebrated in some European countries as Croatia and Bulgaria, as well as China. And, to begin with, it was established in the USA, when, on March 8 of 1908, women workers marched through New York City’s Lower East Side to protest hard working conditions and require women’s suffrage.

I cannot understand how Ukraine, wishing to show Russia how much it is “modern” and not associated with it anymore, tried to change the rules of the whole religion. How did Zelensky get to believe that he could simply switch church celebrations with one his signature?

If now we need to Celebrate Christmas like Catholics do, then we need to make all the Ukrainian Catholics now. Otherwise, it is strange to call yourself Orthodox and to call your national church Ukrainian Orthodox Church while you follow the Catholic Church system. At least, this church cannot be called Orthodox.

This situation looks like Orthodox Ukraine would decide to celebrate the Muslim holiday Ramadan. Why not? Maybe, we want to be as rich as the UAE. Or we can switch our New Year to the Chinese New Year. Lots of Ukrainians do shopping at AliExpress and Taobao. Great idea, isn’t it?

I wonder why we need to move to the side of the West, but the West should not move to our side. For example, the USA could switch its Christmas to January 7 to support Ukraine, but it did not. The reason is that every other government respects its national history and culture, and it will not one day change everything built by many generations of their ancestors.

In conclusion, as I support Ukraine, it means for me that I support its national identity. Now, the country where I was born has turned into a “mini-West.”

It tries to mix Ukrainian traditions with Western ones, but since these are two completely polar cultures, it turns out crooked. Well, who will I become when the war will finish? American? Or German? Then, what were we fighting for?

Suggested to you:

What Will Happen if Russia Wins The War?

What It Means To Be a 22 y.o. Ukrainian

Tip me:

buymeacoffee.com/Hanna.motorina