Ukraine celebrates Christmas on Dec. 25 for the first time, distancing itself from Russia

Christmas carried more than spiritual weight for many Ukrainians this year as the country newly observed it as a public holiday on Dec. 25 rather than the later date followed in Russia.

The change, enacted in legislation signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July, reflects both Ukrainians’ dismay with the 22-month-old Russian invasion and their assertion of a national identity.