Ukraine moved Christmas to 25 December: what the law said
A retrospective on the legislation, signed days before 31 July 2023, that shifted Christmas and other religion-linked holidays in Ukraine's labour code.
What did Ukraine's calendar look like as of 31 July 2023? Days earlier, on 28 July 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky had signed a bill passed by parliament amending the Labour Code, moving the date of Christmas celebrations in Ukraine from 7 January to 25 December.
The law also covered other state holidays whose dates are tied to religious observances. Its stated aim was to reject the Russian legacy of imposed Christmas celebrations.
The signing came as other international attention was on a different part of the region's politics. On 27 July 2023, Kim Jong-un, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese delegation met in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the cessation of hostilities in the Korean War. Kim and Shoigu also attended an exhibition of North Korean ballistic missiles, which are prohibited by multiple United Nations resolutions endorsed by China and Russia.
