Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law moving the official Christmas Day state holiday from Jan. 7, which is when the Russian Orthodox Church observes it, to the Dec. 25 date observed by much of the world.
A note added to the law said it aims to "abandon the Russian heritage" while serving as part of a campaign to separate Ukraine's identity from that of its invaders, reports Politico.
The date change comes after Ukraine's main Catholic church said in February that it was changing its calendar to celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25.
Ukraine Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko welcomed the move at the time, saying the decision "is appropriate to the demands of our time and public opinion."
A poll in December 2022 showed 59% of the 1.5 million respondents surveyed showed they wanted to move Christmas to Dec. 25.
The Russian Orthodox Church and its leader, Patriarch Kirill, have strongly supported Russia's efforts in the war against Ukraine, with Krill comparing the sacrifice of killed Russian soldiers to that of Jesus Christ and saying those who were killed in action will go to heaven.
Part of the church in Ukraine formally gained independence from Moscow in 2019 and formed the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), and has since become an independent rival to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
Ukraine's new law also moves two other state holidays, changing the Day of Ukrainian Statehood from July 28 to July 15; and Defenders Day, which commemorates veterans, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 1.
Even before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv had been pushing to cut religious and cultural ties with it. And now the moves are accelerating, along with the new law on Christmas.
Recently, Ukraine banned places from being named for Russian figures or historic events, streets have been renamed, and monuments from the Soviet Union era have been removed.
Meanwhile, the Motherland Statue at the capital is set to have the Soviet-era hammer-and-sickle icon replaced by a trident emblem representing Ukraine.
Further, in May, Zelenskyy said he plans to shift the commemoration about the end of World War II to May 8 in order to align with the West rather than with Moscow, which celebrates the defeat of Nazism on May 9.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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