Christmas according to Gregorian calendar may become a national feast in Ukraine

Ukrainian MPs drafted a law that proposes to celebrate Christmas in Ukraine as a national holiday both 25 December (Gregorian calendar) and 7 January (Julian calendar). They believe that their initiative will not only take into account the religious need of many Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians, but also will unite the Ukrainian society.

The draft proposes to amend Article 73 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, adding 25 December (Christmas) to the list of holidays. Seventh of January is already in the list. This means that Ukrainian will celebrate Christmas and 25 December and 7 January.

MPs argue that according to statistics from the Ministry of Culture, in addition to about 23,172 Orthodox, Greek Catholic and some other Christian communities that celebrate Christmas on January 7 (according to the Julian calendar), today in Ukraine there are about 11,000 Catholic and Protestant communities (about 30 % of all religious organizations in Ukraine) that celebrate Christmas on December 25 (according to the Gregorian calendar).