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Three soldiers dressed in Santa hats crew a T-64 battle tank, wrapped in Christmas lights, against a snowy background on December 24, 2023.
The 28th Mechanized brigade embarked on a combat mission near Bakhmut dressed as Santa in a festive tank.

Kostya Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

  • Much of Ukraine switched to December 25 to celebrate Christmas in 2023.
  • Ukraine's Orthodox Church broke away from the Russian tradition of celebrating on January 7.
  • Across the country and on the frontlines, Ukrainians have been celebrating.

In 2023, much of Ukraine switched the day it celebrates Christmas, in a rebuke to Russia.

Ukraine's Orthodox Church used to celebrate Christmas on January 7, aligning with the Church in Russia and other eastern countries.

But after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the church moved to allow its churches to choose to celebrate on December 25, aligning with the West.

Here's what that looked like:

The spiritual heart of Ukraine's Orthodox Church is St Michael's Cathedral in central Kyiv.
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv Ukraine: A gold-domed Orthodox church with pale multiple spires and pale blue walls.
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, seen in a file photo from August 2022.

Yurii Stefanyak/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Inside, the head of the Orthodox Church led a Christmas Eve service on the unusual date of December 24.
An Orthodox priest, in ceremonial robes of white, red, and gold, holds a scepter and leads a service in a gold-decked church in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Metropolitan Epiphanius I, the leader of Ukraine's Orthodox Church, at a Christmas Eve prayer service in St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 24, 2023.

Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Ukraine's president, Voldymyr Zelenskyy, hailed the change in a Christmas video.
Volodymy Zelenskyy in front of an ornate monastic building in Kyiv, Ukraine, with a Christmas tree in the background.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a Christmas video filmed at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy/Telegram

Zelenskyy's message was recorded at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a famed Christian site dating to the 11th century.

In Kharkiv, a group sang carols in a main square on December 24.
Student singers in Kharkiv perform carols in one of the main Kharkiv's squares on December 24, 2023 in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Student singers in Kharkiv perform carols in one of the main Kharkiv's squares on December 24, 2023 in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Oleksandr Lapshyn/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

In early 2022, much of the wider Kharkiv region was occupied by Russian forces, until they were pushed out by Ukraine's lightning fall counteroffensive of that year. The city itself underwent heavy shelling.

These soldiers in eastern Ukraine held a service around the most basic of meals.
Chaplain Ivan from the 72th Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducts a service on December 24, 2023 in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. He is seen standing at the head of a table surrounded by soldiers in a concrete room, some holding taper candles around basic foodstuffs.
Chaplain Ivan from the 72nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducts a service on December 24, 2023 in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Serhii Korovayny/Getty Images

The soldiers are part of the Ukrainian army's 72nd Brigade. They are based in Donetsk, one of the war's most fiercely-contested regions.

The 28th Mechanized brigade embarked on a combat mission near Bakhmut dressed as Santa in a festive tank.
Three soldiers dressed in Santa hats crew a T-64 battle tank, wrapped in Christmas lights, against a snowy background on December 24, 2023.
The 28th Mechanized brigade embarked on a combat mission near Bakhmut dressed as Santa in a festive tank.

Kostya Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

The press service of the 28th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine set this up as part of a festive Christmas greeting as the crew went on to perform a combat mission in the region of Bakhmut on Christmas Eve.

Ukraine lost Bakhmut to Russia in May after a months-long struggle, but has fought continually to take back the city and its surrounding towns.

A family in a tiny Ukrainian village gave thanks before a meal on Christmas Eve.
The Zelenchuk family — two elderly people, an adult, and four children — prays in front of a table laden with food — in Kryvorivnia village, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023
The Zelenchuk family prays before a Christmas dinner in Kryvorivnia village, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023

Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo

A group of Ukrainian soldiers performed this number on top of their decorated tank on December 25.

The video was shared by Ukrainian official Anton Geraschenko on December 25, 2023.

The men, from the 59th Separate Mechanized Infantry Brigade, sang a variant of the "Holidays Are Coming" jingle from the iconic 1995 Coca-Cola ad.

Ukrainian children sent Christmas stockings to soldiers fighting at the front line.
Pink and black
"Gift socks" with small gifts and cards from children, nailed at the entrance to the military residence on December 24, 2023 in Bakhmut Region, Ukraine.

Kostya Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

These ones are nailed at the entrance to a military residence in the Bakhmut region, where fighting continues.

Lieutenant-General Serhii Naiev, one of Ukraine's most senior officers, posted a video of a Christmas Day visit to troops in northern Ukraine.
Lieutenant-General Serhii Naiev, left, stands with a Ukrainian soldier, with others behind them, in a snowy woodland in northern Ukraine on December 25, 2023.
Lieutenant-General Serhii Naiev, left, with Ukrainian soldiers and a choir on December 25, 2023.

Serhii Naiev/Armed Forces of Ukraine

He said in a Telegram post that he brought a gift of medical supplies for the unit's combat medic, and sweets for everyone else.

He was joined by a choir in traditional clothing who sang for the soldiers.
A group of Ukrainian soldiers in northern Ukraine stand with a group of singers in a snowy wood on December 25, 2023.
Soldiers and a group of singers in northern Ukraine on December 25, 2023.

Serhii Naiev/Armed Forces of Ukraine/Telegram

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