Some Ukrainians who left the country after the war returned for the holidays to support their loved ones on the frontlines.
Soldiers fighting on the front should not feel lonely. The care packages they received were a way to show support, explains Father Waldemar Pawelec, head of the Pallottine community in Kyiv, in an interview with Polish Radio news agency IAR.
Chaplains of various faiths will hold Christmas services even in frontline conditions, allowing soldiers to celebrate the holidays.
On December 22, 2024, a service was held at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) in Kharkiv, Ukraine (photo: PAP/Mykola Kalyeniak)
Poles in Kyiv will also gather for Christmas Eve dinner, despite the ongoing war and threat of Russian airstrikes. Among them is Lesia Yermak, the head of the Union of Poles in Ukraine, who will spend Christmas with her family, singing carols and remembering those who have passed.
On December 21, 2024, during a Russian missile strike, the shockwave destroyed the stained-glass windows of St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in Kyiv, a national architectural landmark built between 1899-1909 in the Neo-Gothic style by architect Władysław Horodecki (photo: PAP/Vladyslav Musiienko)
After dinner, some will attend midnight Masses at Kyiv's churches, including St. Alexander’s and St. Nicholas, which was damaged in a recent Russian missile attack.
Kharkiv, Ukraine, December 22, 2024. A service was held at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate). Photo: PAP/Mykola Kalyeniak
In Ukraine, both Catholic and Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas, with December 25th being an important holiday.
Ukrainian Orthodox Christians will celebrate Christmas on December 25th for the second year in a row, following the government’s decision to change the date from January 7th (the traditional date based on the Julian calendar) to distance itself from Russian influence.
The difference between these two calendars is that the Gregorian calendar is more accurate and 13 days shorter, making the holidays fall later according to the Julian calendar.
Source: IAR
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