The Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on changing holiday dates

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the Ukrainian Parliament) generally supported the draft law on changing the date of public holidays submitted by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The MP from the "Voice" faction Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported this.

241 MPs voted for this decision.

From now on, Ukraine will celebrate:

• December 25 — Christmas (instead of January 7).
• July 15 — Ukrainian Statehood Day (instead of July 28). It honors the memory of the outstanding state builder, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince of Kyiv Volodymyr the Great.
• October 1 — the Day of Defenders of Ukraine (instead of October 14). The holiday is connected with the Ukrainian military traditions of commemorating the Day of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God.

According to Zheleznyak, the president will sign this law after July 28, so this year the Day of Ukrainian Statehood will be celebrated on July 28.

• On December 30, 2022, voting on the date of the Christmas celebration ended in the "Diia" application. The majority of respondents chose December 25.
• On May 24, 2023, at the bishopsʼ council, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) decided to switch to the New Julian calendar, but to retain the right of parishes and monasteries to celebrate church holidays according to the old Julian calendar. So Christmas will be celebrated on December 25, not January 7, Intercession on October 1, Epiphany on January 6, and Saint Nicholas Day on December 6. The changes, however, will not affect Easter and Trinity.