It was December 25, 1995, when the Yodis family woke up to celebrate Christmas and realized it was just another working day in Ukraine. Nobody said Merry Christmas (С Рождеством), as the birth of our Savior was celebrated on January 7th,- – according to the Julian calendar that was largely replaced by the Gregorian calendar in 1582. The Soviet Union had even continued to celebrate the Old New Year on January 13 (Старый Новый Год). When we were preparing to move overseas, we were taught family traditions should be upheld to ensure a sense of stability and culture. So the Yodis family celebrated Christmas twice a year, December 25 and January 7.
Over the course of the next three decades, more and more people began to celebrate Christmas the way we did. For many Ukrainian believers, the December Christmas was the day that kicked off the Christmas season which reached its culmination on January’s Christmas. People would often ask, “Do you celebrate the Catholic Christmas?” Depending on who was asking, my replies were varied: “Catholics have nothing to do with this. We celebrate the whole-world Christmas,” or “We celebrate Christmas according to the new calendar and also according to the old calendar.”
Over time, more and more evangelical believers began celebrating Christmas in December. In 2017, December 25th joined the January 7th date, and became a national holiday in Ukraine. It was official – Ukraine had joined the ranks of the Yodis family by becoming an entire nation with two Christmases under the Poroshenko Presidential administration. The push for calendar reform continued to grow and in 2020, the Orthodox church in Ukraine said they would support a change for the country, when they were ready as a church to make the decision (translation: “Christmas changes when we say it does”). In the same year, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church said they would consider the change of dates “with our Orthodox brothers.”
Then came the full-scale invasion of February 24, 2022. The Grinch in the north was trying to steal Ukraine. Instead of allowing this Grinch to steal their land, their culture and even their Christmas, the people of U-ville (Ukraine) decided to fight back… and fight back they did. The people of U-ville banded together as never before and began fighting with every fiber of their being.
The Putler Grinch wanted to steal U-ville and erase their identity, and while it might be premature to say to what degree he failed, it is not premature to say he failed. He failed militarily and has been relegated to fighting for a portion of eastern U-ville and the Crimea. He failed in his genocidal ambitions and ended up helping U-ville achieve more of a national identity than it had ever had previously. He failed in his desire to stamp out Ukrainian culture and unity. Here is how badly he failed:
- On February 1 and 2, 2023, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church held a synod at which it was decided that Christmas would be celebrated on December 25th.
- On May 24, 2023, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine made the decision to switch to the Revised Julian calendar (same as the Gregorian calendar until the year 2800). With the exception of Resurrection Day, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine will have the same holidays as the rest of Ukraine for the next seven hundred and seventy seven years.
- On June 28, 2023, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, put forth a bill to Ukraine’s governing body, the Verhovna Rada, to do away with the January 7th national holiday of Christmas.
- On July 14, 2023, Ukraine’s Verhovna Rada voted to approve the bill that made the December 25th Christmas the only Christmas in Ukraine.
People in U-ville are still allowed to celebrate Christmas in January if they wish, because they are a free people. However, they may not be able to take the day off of work. The Yodis family will only be celebrating Christmas in December after 28 years of having two Christmases. The evil Putler Grinch, whose heart is approximately 20 sizes too small, will be distraught to know his diabolical plans have resulted in Christmas unity among all the recognized churches in Ukraine.
Afterthought: There is only one regret about Christmas in January no longer being a holiday. My song, “The Best Part of Christmas” now has a verse that is no longer relevant. Click here or on the pick below to listen to my original song, The Best Part of Christmas!
For more information about Christmas in Ukraine or to fact-check this article, click here.
Eric Yodis has served through WorldVenture in Ukraine since 1995. After nineteen years in eastern Ukraine with his wife, Beth, they fled the war of Russian aggression in June 2014. Since 2015, they have lived in the Kyiv Oblast, but have once again been forced to evacuate due to the continuing war of Russian aggression against the peace loving people of Ukraine. Currently they split their time between the U.S. and Ukraine.
Eric Yodis 