Ukrainians ditch Russian traditions and celebrate Christmas with the West

I've always wanted to attend an Eastern Orthodox mass.

Christmas in Ukraine traditionally begins on the 7th January, as it does in Russia. But this year, many have chosen to celebrate with the West instead.

There are different hypotheses regarding the date of Jesus' birth and in the early fourth century, the church fixed the date as December 25.^{[b][13][14][15]} This corresponds to the traditional date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar.^[16] It is exactly nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also the date of the spring equinox.^[17] Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, rather than knowing Jesus' exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas.^[18][19][20]

The Kremlin has called for a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to let Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas.